Student has an understanding on carbon dynamics between forest soil (upland and peat soils), trees, understory vegetation and atmosphere, and possibilities for management of the carbon cycle in forest soils. The students further gain knowledge on approaches to study trace gas exchange and related biogeochemical cycles, and will learn aspects of soil and forest ecosystem functioning. The learning outcomes will be used to assess actual problems related to global change.

Carbon dioxide and methane dynamics between the atmosphere and ecosystem and its measurements, the flow of carbon bound by trees and understory vegetation into soil, the quality and decomposition of organic matter, carbon accumulation into forest soil, quantitative estimation of carbon pools, decomposition in oxic and anoxic conditions and methane fluxes, carbon transport by water, modelling of forest carbon dynamics, extrapolation in space, forest management, responses of ecosystems to global change, ecosystem approach.

The reporting of project conducted during the course.

Materials distributed during the field course.

Fail/Pass

Professor of Forest Soil Science, Professor of Ecological Environmental Science, Senior Researcher of Biogeochemistry, visiting teachers.

Site factors (Joensuu campus), Forest soils (Joensuu campus), Biogeochemistry (Kuopio campus), Soil Ecology I (Kuopio campus) or corresponding studies.

Every uneven year in early fall; 1 week intensive; next time in fall 2021.

Field station, location varies between years. Jointly organized between Joensuu and Kuopio campus.

Joensuu/Kuopio

The course is given in English. It is closely linked with the own research of teachers, and utilises their study sites. It is part of master level studies in Forest Sciences (Forest Soil Ecology and Management), Environmental Science (Environmental Biology) and the International Master's degree programs BEC and CBU.