About the course
See highlights and photos from the 2023 field school here: https://global.ubc.ca/news-events/stories/oct-26-2023-learning-doing-south-american-rainforest.
This course offers a profound vision of how forestry stakeholders can contribute with solutions for producing more wood without deforesting while alleviating environmental and social issues. Chile is blessed with a remarkable diversity of resources such as industrial plantations with some of the fastest tree growth rates in the planet, exuberant native forests of high protection value, a world-class modern forest industry, diverse geoclimatic conditions, a well-developed institutional forestry network, and extraordinary indigenous knowledge.
Contents are organized in four modules: Chile in the global forestry context, fundamentals of intensive silviculture, cutting edge forest products and society & land use optimization. Based on the spectacular Chilean scenery, participants will hold a fascinating broader discussion about native vs. planted forests and how government policies have historically influenced deforestation and competition between traditional land uses —forestry, agriculture, urban development and even energy production.
Solutions to century-old land use and forest productivity inefficiencies will be elaborated in the Chilean laboratory but with a global transformative perspective. To achieve this, students will visit a variety of magnificent natural forests, productive fast-growing plantations, ecological restoration efforts, agricultural and urban landscapes, industrial wood processing facilities, tree nurseries, research trials of exotic and native tree species, and key forestry institutions.
