Postgraduate Programs

Course objectives

To acquire the scientific basis for understanding the functioning of tropical humid forests.

To make students aware of the problems posed by biodiversity conservation and forest management in the humid tropics, based on concrete examples and testimonies of Guyanese stakeholders.

Course contents

  • Course
    • The functioning of tropical humid forests: biogeography, geomorphology, pedogenesis, characterisation of soils and soil-plant relationships, botany, definition, measurement and maintenance of biodiversity, forest dynamics
    • Forest management issues in French Guiana: presentation of the specificities of French Guiana, peasant production systems, forest management, timber industry, non-timber forest products.
  • Field projects: group projects dealing with scientific or technical problems, relating to various subjects such as tree root systems, wood resource management, plant-soil interactions, forest inventories, forest typology, standing timber quality, vegetation mapping, or mangrove characterisation...

Teaching and learning methods

  • Lectures, seminars and practical work on the AgroParisTech campus in Kourou and on field trips (2 weeks).
  • Group field projects (2 weeks: bibliography, fieldwork, analysis and preparation of an oral presentation).

Course evaluation

Field project defence

Target skills

Understanding of the principles of functioning and management of a tropical rainforest. Collective execution of a field project. Ability to live and work in a tropical rainforest environment.

Important information

As French Guiana is not part of the "Schengen" area, non-European students need an additional visa to be able to stay in French Guiana. The formalities for obtaining this visa are usually carried out in the French embassies and consulates if you are abroad or in the prefecture if you are in metropolitan France. The prefecture of Montpellier is used to this procedure. Therefore, we invite the students present in Montpellier during the first semester, to carry out these procedures before a possible summer stay in their country of origin.

Notes

The module takes place in September (4 weeks). All detailed information is available on the Ecofog lab module webpage.

 

 


UFR G-ENV — AgroParisTech

Montpellier campus
648 rue Jean-François Breton
BP 44494
34093 Montpellier Cedex 5
France