The aim of this course is to learn how to draft a Forest Management Plan (POF) from scratch, which can be applied to any other territorial project in which geographers may participate as part of multidisciplinary teams.

To draft the POF, a wide range of tasks will be carried out throughout the course, enabling students to acquire knowledge in searching for and processing information through various means.

The initial information search will focus on digital sources (legal and natural status of the forest), as well as written bibliography. GIS analysis will be a key component of the course, and practical and functional aspects will be reviewed to obtain results for the POF. GIS tools will be used to prepare for fieldwork prior to the forest inventory session, to calculate areas and perform required analyses for the final PDF document, and to graphically present the results of the POF.

Fieldwork will provide hands-on experience with forest inventory instruments, core extraction for tree age calculation, and the assessment of potential actions (livestock, production, public use, and biodiversity) in each forest area.

Throughout the process, students will need to listen to the demands of various stakeholders involved in forest use and management—such as rural agents, Natural Park staff, livestock farmers, and forest owners—and integrate them into the proposed actions as part of the technical team drafting the POF.

As the drafting team, students will be expected to make coherent and feasible proposals for new actions and infrastructures, based on the knowledge acquired and their ability to assess and interpret both quantitative and qualitative information.

The entire drafting process of the POF will be evaluated through periodic submissions during the course, as well as punctual assignments and the final oral presentation of the project, including the students’ own forest management proposal for the next 10 and 20 years.

From the list of recommended readings (available in the course guide and at the beginning of the term), students will deliver individual presentations at the start of each optional and assessable session.

Teaching Methodologies Used

• Lectures
• Classroom practicals
• Debates
• Oral presentations of projects
• Tutorials
• Field trips: dasometry and measurement practices using forest instruments (2 days in the Virós Forest, Pallars Sobirà)
• Project development
• Article reading
• Laboratory practicals

During field trips, the Faculty’s Field Trip Protocol will be applied. Students will have access to specific documentation on safety for activities conducted outside the UAB campus, which they must read and accept.

The evaluation of this course will be based on the following components:

• Final submission of the Forest Management Plan (POF) document (30%)
• Partial submissions of the final document throughout the course, individually assessed (30%)
• Assessment of preparation and participation in debates and oral presentations of the assigned readings (30%)
• Assessed laboratory and GIS practical (10%)

Grade Review

The maximum deadline for providing feedback and communicating the grades of the assessment activities is three weeks.

At the time of each assessment activity, the teaching staff will inform students (via Moodle) of the procedure and date for grade review.

Resits

To be eligible for resits, students must have been previously assessed in activities that account for at least two-thirds of the total grade.

Partial submissions, oral presentations, and participation in debates are not eligible for reassessment. The laboratory and GIS practical work, the partial submission of the POF and cartography results, and the final POF submission may be reassessed. Individual reassessment of group submissions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Assessment activities in which irregularities are detected are not eligible for resits.

Non-assessable Students

Students will receive a \"non-assessable\" grade if they have not submitted more than 30% of the assessment activities.

If an assessment activity is not completed, the grade will be 0, it will not be eligible for resit, and it will be included in the weighted average.

Field trips and laboratory sessions are mandatory. Failure to attend either will result in a \"non-assessable\" grade.

Plagiarism or Fraudulent Conduct

If a student commits any irregularity that may significantly affect the grade of an assessment activity, that activity will be graded with a 0, regardless of any disciplinary action that may follow. If multiple irregularities are detected in the same course, the final grade will be 0.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

In this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence technologies is permitted exclusively for bibliographic or information searches. Students must clearly identify which parts were generated using AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools influenced the process and final outcome of the activity. Lack of transparency in the use of AI will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in partial or full penalties on the activity grade, or more severe sanctions in serious cases.

Single Assessment

This course does not offer a single assessment option.