BIO-3034 Ecological Restoration of Upland Areas: Revegetation and Damage Avoidance - 5 stp

Applicants for this MSc course must be a MSc candidate at UiT.

The course is intended for MSc students with basic knowledge in relevant fields of plant ecology and environmental sciences.

This MSc course will run together with a course for students at PhD level.

Number of participants: 5 (minimum) to 20 (maximum). The course will only run with a minimum of 4 PHOTOSYNTECH PhD students registered. If the number of applicants exceeds the number of places available, applicants will be ranked in this order:

• PHOTOSYNTECH PhD candidate members
• UiT MSc candidates.

Terrestrial upland ecosystems in cool climates (hilly or mountainous areas and some at lower elevations in the Far North) have slow-forming, nutrient-poor thin soils, and often slow-growing plants and low vegetation cover. This makes them particularly vulnerable to degradation, especially from footpath erosion.

Although the course is focussed on the avoidance of damage and the restoration of footpaths, the principles covered can be applied to the avoidance, mitigation and restoration of damage to upland/arctic habitats as a result of other recreational activities (e.g. ski-resorts) and to the installation of infrastructure (wind farms, mobile phone masts, tracks, pipelines, cabins/buildings, etc.).

The course will discuss the ways in which upland ecosystems may become degraded and the vegetation types that are the most vulnerable. It will demonstrate methods to avoid future damage as well as restoration and revegetation techniques to be employed at the small and large scale.

Students will be taken to visit a range of sites in the Tromsø area to demonstrate erosion and will be shown ongoing restoration projects. In addition, the students will be introduced to a range of non-university organisations and consultancies that are involved in ecological restoration.

There are 3 components to the course:

Preparation (at home): Students should carefully read the literature provided.

Intensive teaching (at UiT Tromsø) within a 2-week period.

Assessment (at home): development and presentation of a restoration plan.

Knowledge

Upon successful completion of this course, the student:

• Can identify the challenges posed by different types of ecological degradation.
• Knows about the vulnerability of upland ecosystems to damage and erosion.
• Has an overview of ecological restoration methods.
• Understands techniques to reduce the consequences of human activities in vulnerable upland ecosystems.
• Is aware of the relevance of long-term data for ecological restoration.

Skills

After completing the course, the student is able to:

• Carry out various ecological restoration and monitoring methods.
• Outline a restoration plan for an upland area.
• Suggest how to reduce future environmental degradation.

General competence

The student:

• Is aware of a practical use for ecological knowledge.
• Can communicate information in written and oral form.
• Can work in a team with others from a different background in a restoration project.
• Is aware of relevant experts in non-university organisations/ small consultancies/ local councils etc.

Students should read the background material provided before starting the intensive part of the course in Tromsø (1-2 weeks) which consists of approx. 10-16 hours of lectures and workshops, 6 hours seminars, and 2-3 days of field excursions.

Relevant safety training will be provided at the start of each field excursion.