Field Silviculture is part of the Field Station curriculum and is required for all forestry majors. During this class, students learn the ecological underpinnings of how to make silvicultural management decisions in the field.
This course is taught outdoors, and students go on field trips to see different silvicultural operations, such as bedding, ripping, and plowing . Students observe and collect data on tracts of land in different conditions and stages of growth and then write stand descriptions. Discussing management decisions in the field emulates realistic job experiences, while visiting professionals such as early rotation silviculturists, tree improvement researchers, nursery operations specialists, and state agency foresters show students what contemporary foresters do in a transforming business.
Students visit private and public tracts of land to contrast the different management practices. Upon completion of this course, students have the skills to understand decisions about silvicultural processes on a professional level.