NIGK14007U Tree Biology and Arboriculture

This course is indispensable if you wish to work professionally with trees. It gives you an introduction to the fascinating world of tree biology, and enables you as tree manager to make wise decisions. Having completed this course, you will never look at trees in the same way again!

Woody plants dominate most vegetation on Earth, and provide microclimate, habitats, and resources for a profusion of other life forms, including humans. Direct tree products include timber, fiber, biomass, fruit, and secondary substances with innumerable economical uses.

Irrespective of the purpose for growing trees, successful establishment, good growth and health, and high stress tolerance are important. The course aims at improving the quality and economy of tree growing by providing an understanding of tree biology in relation to natural environments and cultivation. The course is intended for future tree managers in forests and plantations, parks and urban forests, woody plant producers and biologists with particular interest in woody plants.

The main objective of the course is to provide a biological understanding of the tree as a living system, and on how management affects trees. The course comprises four modules:

Tree structure and function with focus on water balance

Plant production and establishment

Annual variation in trees and environmental impacts on trees

Management, stability and old age

The course spans disciplines of plant anatomy, physiology, biophysics, ecophysiology and ecology, all in relation to trees: growth patterns and architecture, adaptation to seasonal change and to stress factors, root system structure and function, challenges of a large plant body, ageing and rejuvenation, and effects of competition.

The course includes practical issues such as nursery plant production, plantings, thinning, pruning, stability, and management related to water balance and environmental stresses. Comprehensive knowledge about tree interactions with the surroundings over time provides a basis for practical management of old and young trees.

Responsibilities of tree managers in relation to global challenges including climate change, sustainability and safety issues will be discussed during the course. Although the course has focus on temperate trees, it also includes examples from other climate zones.