Fall 2008
Instructor: Penny Morgan
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:00-2:30 PM
or by appointment
Email: pmorgan@uidaho.edu
Phone: 885-7507
Office:
Phinney B-10 (NE corner of basement of Phinney. To get here, walk south
across the parking lot behind CNR, past the gray Navy building to Phinney.
My windows look toward the Navy building)
Course Objectives:
Fire Ecology, FOR 526,
is designed to give you an in-depth understanding of fire
ecology in a
variety of ecosystems. We'll study fire effects on plants, animals, soils, water and air. We'll also read
extensively from current literature to gain familiarity with fire ecology research.
We will emphasize fire as an ecological process in wildland ecosystems, how to
characterize and predict fire effects over time and space, and how to apply this to
restoration ecology. We will draw upon ecological theories about succession,
disturbance, and ecological processes. Upon completing this course, you and the other
students will be able to:
- Synthesize and critique published fire effects research from a variety of
grassland, shrubland, woodland, and forest ecosystems.
- Predict the response of vegetation to fire based upon available knowledge and
a thorough understanding of the concepts of fire history and fire effects.
- Understand how fire effects are related to climate, topography and
vegetation.
- Research topics in fire ecology and discuss them with others in the class.
- Apply your fire ecology knowledge to restoration ecology.
Format:
The class sessions will be a combination of lecture and discussion. The three take-home essay
exams will require extensive library research. You have the opportunity to tailor the class to your interests,
both through active discussion and choice of exam questions.
For
each of the exam questions you choose to address, you will each submit citations and
brief summaries of two refereed journal articles that you find relevant to
the exam questions. These citations will be posted on Blackboard so that they will be accessible to you and others in the
class.
There
will three optional all-day Saturday field trips (I hope you'll attend
one). You are also welcome to participate in one of
the prescribed burns on the University of Idaho Experimental Forest (you
must be signed up as a volunteer, wear provided safety gear, and have
understand basic fire fighter safety). The prescribed burns happen whenever the
conditions are right, but typically on an afternoon and evening in mid-October.
Reading:
Although there
is no required text for this class, I expect you to read extensively about
fire ecology in journal articles, books, and web sites. Specific reading
assignments will be made for some in-class discussions. Whenever possible, I will choose
assigned readings that are available electronically through the University
of Idaho library. The take-home essay exams will require extensive
independent library research and reading of journal articles and other
references beyond those assigned.
Accommodations for disabilities: Reasonable
accommodations are available for students who have a documented
disability. Please notify the instructor during the first week of class of
any accommodations) needed for the course. Late notification may mean
that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations
must be approved through Disability Support Services located in the Idaho
Commons Building, Rm. 333, 885-7200,dss@uidaho.edu.
Plagiarism will NOT be
tolerated: In this class, you must summarize, paraphrase, quote and
reference sources to avoid plagiarism in your writing.
Academic honesty is
expected of you at the University of Idaho. Consistent with the
plagiarism policy
of the Department of Forest Resources,
plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism violates the code of academic
conduct at the University of Idaho. Under
UI policy, regulation O-2,
"Consequences for academic dishonesty may be imposed by the course
instructor. Such consequences may include but cannot exceed a grade of
"F" in the course". If you are
accused of plagiarism, you must meet with the course instructor and the chair of
the department to discuss the evidence, circumstances, and consequences. If you
have indeed plagiarized text, you will receive 0 points on the assignment, you
may fail the course and your unethical behavior will affect recommendations for
jobs and graduate school.
Cite sources to support and
lend credibility to your writing. Please be careful in citing
sources for your ideas when you write. You should be aware that web-based
searches for plagiarized text have become quite sophisticated. Even a sentence
or two plagiarized in a long document is inexcusable. It is very tempting and
easy to copy text directly, but it works against the educational process and is
a form of theft.
There are some good examples of plagiarized text as well as acceptable
alternatives on the
Forest
Resources Departmental web site and elsewhere on
the World Wide Web.
Grading:
For all written assignments, including take-home exams, citations &
summaries, 10% of the your
grade will be based on organization, clarity of reasoning, grammar, and
spelling. Your grade for
participation in class discussions will be subjectively assigned based on
how the frequently you ask pertinent questions and otherwise contribute
substance to our on-line and classroom discussions.
Your final grade will be assigned according to the University of Idaho
scale (90-100%=A, 80-89%=B, etc.) based on points earned out of total
available:
