Fire Ecology for Environmental Restoration

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

• understand prehistoric forest changes, 700 years of fire history, and the impacts of 180 years of colonial fire and forest management 
• define and examine fires as an ecosystem process 
• decode and describe fires, including natural/second growth forests, and their attributes 
• identify and interpret the relationships between fire and climate change
• value and understand First Nations’ cultural burns and traditional ecological knowledge 
• understand the use of fire as an ecosystem restoration tool
• understand the applications of conventional/novel forest management techniques such as ecological thinning to mitigate wildfire and reduce fuel loading and risks 
• retain or create forest-level structural elements that allow ecological processes to return and begin functioning, while providing habitat possibilities, and the full production of ecological goods and services
• use decoding to determine ecosystem needs and possible restoration actions
• understand and assess fire and forest landscapes, recommend restoration and mitigation strategies, and create a restoration plan for either a fire or forest landscape