This sub-organizer contains the following sections:
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
Suggested Instructional Strategies
Suggested Assessment Strategies
Recommended Learning Resources

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• describe nutrient cycles and energy flow in forest ecosystems
• relate climatic factors to plant distribution
• describe forest succession
• identify uses of the Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification in British Columbia

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Forest Ecology in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Provide students with a definition of forest succession  as well as resources illustrating changes in an ecosystem over time. Ask students, individually or in teams, to hypothesize factors at work within this ecosystem (e.g., shade tolerance) and make presentations describing how these factors have determined succession. They apply information obtained from their models to a recently harvested area and an unharvested area to identify what is there and why, and to predict future growth patterns. Ask students to explain how could they test their hypotheses.
• Invite students to examine different climatic characteristics and elevations in several areas, noting variances in slope and moisture regime, vegetation, and species of plants.
• Challenge students to use a biogeoclimatic map to determine the local zones and subzones. In the field, draw attention to changes in plant associations, and use a biogeoclimatic field guide to identify characteristics (e.g., plant species, moisture regime) in order to confirm and differentiate the subzones. Ask students to describe the factors that influenced the changes in associations. Draw students' attention to slope, soil texture, aspect, microclimate, frost pockets, nutrient regime, and drainage.
• Have students create annotated (with definitions) posters or flow charts to illustrate cycles of various nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, oxygen, carbon) in forest ecosystems.
• Divide the class into three groups to research and report on the roles of either primary producers, herbivores, or carnivores in the energy flow of forest ecosystems. Students then form new groups of three (one student from each of the original three groups) to prepare a presentation on how primary producers, herbivores, and carnivores are interrelated in forest ecosystems.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Discuss criteria for effective field study. For example, students might be expected to:
  • make detailed and accurate on-site field records, including sketch maps of where specimens were found
  • analyse their observations and field notes to draw reasoned conclusions about factors in an ecosystem
  • make connections to other sites or theories
  • use ecological terms accurately in their observations, analyses, and conclusions
  • present the results of their studies clearly and coherently
• Have students demonstrate their knowledge of the energy cycle and selected nutrient cycles by creating posters, models, or multimedia presentations based on research and field-study observations. Note the extent to which students' presentations:
  • are detailed, accurate, and show awareness of the multistage process in each cycle
  • identify the cause-and-effect relationships within cycles and between various cycles
• Have students rank and evaluate the factors that affect forest succession. Look for evidence that they are able to:
  • list key factors (e.g., light, water, soil nutrients, elevation, climate)
  • explain how each factor can positively or negatively affect growth
  • rank factors in order of importance and give reasons for their ranking
• Have students use data collected in the field to create a biogeoclimatic map or chart of the local area (including three to five subzones). Note the extent to which they:
  • collect appropriate data on factors such as slope, soil texture, microclimates, and plant and animal populations
  • use appropriate terminology
  • present the data in ways that show their awareness of important biogeoclimatic factors

• Forest Practices Code Guidebooks
• Regenerating British Columbia's Forests
• Seeing the Forest Among the Trees
• Trees, Shrubs and Flowers to Know in British Columbia & Washington
• Wildwood: A Forest for the Future, Second Edition

• The Boreal Forest I
• The Boreal Forest II
• The Dynamic Forest
• Forests for the Future
• Thinking Like a Forest: A Case for Sustainable Selective Forestry

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