2019-2020 / FORE0004-3

Forest mensuration and forest inventory

Duration

15h Th, 18h Pr, 3h FT

Number of credits

 Master in forests and natural areas engineering (120 ECTS)4 crédits 

Lecturer

Adeline Fayolle, Philippe Lejeune, Gauthier Ligot

Coordinator

Adeline Fayolle

Language(s) of instruction

French language

Organisation and examination

Teaching in the first semester, review in January

Schedule

Schedule online

Units courses prerequisite and corequisite

Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program

Learning unit contents

Dendrometry (tree and forest stand measurements) and its role in forest science. - Size of trees (definitions, measurement devices, errors) - Height of trees (definitions, measurement devices, errors) - Other trees fetures (age, bark thickness, crown, stem) - Shape and size of trees (shape, reference volume, branches and wood piles) - Woody mass and biomass (general concepts and determination) - Volume tables (construction, precision, applications) - Characterization of forest stands (medium size, distributions, average height, density) - Measuring forest stands (surface, full inventory, determination of volumes, Bitterlich's relascope) - Growth of trees and forest stands (growth types, determination) - Estimation of forest productivity (methods, critical analysis) - Tables and production models (concepts, constructs, uses) - Inventory by sampling (basics, sampling units, production, random sampling, stratified, systematic, multi-phase, multi-stage, spots ...)

Learning outcomes of the learning unit

Analysis, mastery and application of techniques for measuring trees and forest stands for knowledge and resource planning and determination of their value.
At the end of this course, students should be able to: - use the main tools to measure trees; - characterize a tree or stand with adequate mensuration; - design a sampling plan and process a forest inventory dataset; - build and use volume tables of stand or trees; - build and use production tables and growth models.

Prerequisite knowledge and skills

Mandatory prerequisities : STAT1207-1 FORE0022-3
Knowledge of the operating system of a personal computer (directory and file management)
To be able to use Word, Excel and to perform statistical analyses (R or Minitab)

Planned learning activities and teaching methods

Lectures : 18 h Practical Works : 30 h

Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)

Face-to-face

Recommended or required readings

RONDEUX J. (1999) - La mesure des arbres et des peuplements forestiers. PARDE J., BOUCHON J. (1988) - Dendrométrie PICARD N., SAINT-ANDRE L., HENRY M. (2012) -  Manuel de construction d'équations allométriques pour l'estimation du volume et la biomasse des arbres DAGNELIE P. (1992) - Statistique théorique et appliquée (tome 1) DAGNELIE P., PALM R., RONDEUX J., THILL A. (1999, 2e éd.) - Tables de cubage des arbres et des peuplements forestiers

Assessment methods and criteria

During the teaching session - 10% individual report on tree volume estimation, - 10% oral presentation by the groupe of a specific dendrometric study including volume equations, - 10% individual report on forest inventory data,
During the exam session, a written exam including two parts : - 30% for theory, - 40% for practices (with course material).
For the repeating student, and because of potential agenda conflicts, the student can choose to : - keep their notes, for the reports and presentation, and attend the written exam, - attend the written exam only, which will be evaluated with the following weights : 45 and 55%, respectively for the theoretical and practical parts.
The student have to precise their choice one month prior the exam session.

Work placement(s)

Organizational remarks

Participation in practical work sessions and field trips is mandatory. These activities are followed by written reports which are taken into account for the final grade of this course.

Contacts

Adeline Fayolle adeline.fayolle@uliege.be
Gauthier Ligot gligot@uliege.be

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session

Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning

Courses not impacted by the measures linked to the covid-19 pandemic.

Assessment subjects

Assessment methods

For the second session, the notes concerning the practical courses and the oral presentations will not be integrated, and only the result of the exam will be used.
The written exam will be organized remotelu, with a formular / test on the e-campus platform. The student will be able to contact the teachers by mail or phone during the exam if needed (notably for any technical problem).
The student will have access to all material during the exam, but the practical aspects will be complemented by thinking questions needing a good expertise on the theoretical aspects.

Contacts

Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the Aug-Sept 2020 session

Assessment subjects

Assessment methods

Contacts

Items online

eCampus
Course et pratical sessions materials