Academics

This course covers the principles of experimental design, factorial experiments, various standard designs, analysis, analysis of variance (ANOVA), covariance analysis, and comparison between treatments. The discussion includes the basic assumptions of ANOVA. The material also encompasses simple linear regression, correlation between variables, multiple linear regression, Chi-square tests, and categorical data analysis.

The English course focuses on English grammar used in scientific writing, academic publications, and international seminars. Speaking skills (speaking and conversation) are also integral components of the material covered in this course.

This course discusses the background, objectives, and scope of Tropical Forest Silviculture (SHT); the relationship between silviculture and forest management, as well as its connection to sustainable forest management; forest dynamics; forest health monitoring; the relationship between tree growth and silvicultural practices; and silvicultural systems in tropical regions worldwide.

This course covers the scope and structure of Forest Management as a scientific discipline; the evolution of paradigms, philosophies, and principles of forest management from classical to contemporary approaches; and the application of quantitative methods in formulating forest management objectives and prescriptions.

This course explains the concepts of wildlife ecology and conservation, covering topics such as evolutionary history, classification, and taxonomy; anatomy and physiology; distribution and habitat; behavior; reproduction and breeding; the value and benefits of wildlife; and wildlife conservation.

Wood Technology I is a foundational course that provides fundamental knowledge on processing wood and other lignocellulosic materials into biocomposite products and forest-based chemicals. This course covers: (1) the general definition and scope of Wood Technology I, including biocomposites and forest-based chemicals; (2) plywood, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), and Glulam; (3) particleboard, Oriented Strand Board (OSB), fiberboard, and inorganic-bonded composites. In the following seven weeks, the course will explore the chemical processing aspects related to the comprehensive utilization of lignocellulosic biomass, discussing the basic principles and technologies for converting forest biomass into chemicals, energy, natural fibers, and their derivatives.

This course provides knowledge on the fundamentals of forest soil science, including its definition and scope, forest soils and biomes, forest soil characteristics, soil and root systems, forest biogeochemistry, the impact of forest disturbances on forest sites, forest nutrient management, and long-term forest productivity.

This course explores the sustainable utilization of forest plant genetic resources, covering the definition, status, and threats to genetic resources; population genetics; genetic variation; genetic conservation; selection; general principles of plant breeding; and the use of molecular markers for plant fingerprinting.

This course covers an introduction, scope, and key topics; advanced ecosystem concepts; forests and their plant communities; plant community dynamics; forest vegetation classification; forest formations in Indonesia; relationships between plant communities and their environment, along with measurement techniques; vegetation analysis techniques I and II; supporting equipment for forest measurements; forest disturbances; tree species selection; and ecological approaches to forest and degraded land rehabilitation.

This course covers an introduction to mangrove and peat swamp ecosystems, including their definition, functions, extent, and distribution; biological characteristics; environmental characteristics; flora and fauna composition; ecological roles of the ecosystem; ecosystem responses to stress; and ecological guidelines for the management of mangrove and peat swamp ecosystems.

This course provides knowledge on the concepts and principles of interactions among agroforestry components, subsurface interaction models, agroforestry crop models, applications of agroforestry models, and research in agroforestry modeling.

This course explores the concepts of ecohydrology and its principles, including: quantifying the hydrological cycle as a function of integrated hydrological and biological processes within a watershed; engineering the integration of processes within a basin to enhance ecosystem capacity and function; and regulating hydrological-ecological processes based on a holistic systems approach. Other topics include vegetation and water scarcity, such as growth patterns in tropical rainforests and semi-arid forests in relation to water availability, their impact on water flow, and carbon dioxide flux. Additionally, the course covers groundwater dynamics, including the relationship between water flow in unsaturated and saturated zones and forest plant growth systems, the spatial and temporal distribution of water availability, as well as fundamental equations and modeling of water balance in relation to forest vegetation.

This course provides an understanding of key terms and concepts in forestry policy and development philosophy. It also introduces methods for analyzing and synthesizing forestry development policies, covering policy instruments such as regulatory, administrative, fiscal, and informational aspects of forestry.

This course explores the scope of international forestry studies, the extent and distribution of global forests, global challenges in forest management, as well as international conventions, collaborations, and organizations in the forestry sector.

This course examines forest ecosystems as integrated systems of abiotic and biotic components (flora and fauna), as well as communities that interact to form dynamic equilibrium (integrity, stability, resilience). Conservation ethics serve as the foundation for perceptions (values) and harmonious relationships with the natural environment. Ecosystem-based sustainable forest management aims to achieve ecological sustainability, economic profitability, and social acceptability. Assessment is conducted using a systems approach (models of abiotic, flora, fauna interactions, and socio-economic models) to determine the status or scale of forest ecosystems in terms of ecological and economic dimensions. Concepts of population dynamics for stands, wildlife, and ecological processes are used as the basis for ecosystem assessment, integrated with quantitative methods.

Upon completing this course, students are expected to understand and be able to explain, analyze, and synthesize aspects of forest harvesting, which include planning, harvesting, forest area development, Reduced Impact Logging (RIL) techniques, harvesting logistics chains, non-timber forest product management, occupational safety and health, log bucking optimization, and the control of forest soil compaction impacts.

This course covers the scope and structure of Forest Biometry as a scientific discipline, along with the application of quantitative methods (mathematics and statistics) in studying the characteristics and potential of trees, stands, and forest ecosystems, including challenges in forest management.

The Geographic Information Systems for Stand Management course is designed for master's students, particularly those interested in learning spatial problem-solving techniques related to forest stand management and other natural resources. This course covers the development and applications of geographic information system (GIS) technology in forestry, with a specific focus on spatial analysis.

This course covers the scope and structure of Forest Planning as a scientific discipline, along with the development of principles, methods, and techniques ranging from classical to modern approaches. It also includes the application of quantitative methods and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in determining forest area requirements, forest land use functions, forest management unit delineation, and management objectives at the unit level.

Forest governance is inherently linked to various interests and power dynamics. The allocation of forest resources as public goods is determined through multiple forms of transactions, whether regulated by legislation or influenced by power networks within and beyond the governmental system. Decentralization, bureaucratic performance, and governance systems are key factors in ensuring the efficiency, equity, and sustainability of forest resource management.

The Digital Image Analysis for Forestry course is an elective designed for master's students interested in advanced techniques for extracting information from digital imagery, particularly satellite images, for forest management. This course covers the development of remote sensing technology and image analysis techniques for managing forests and other biological natural resources.

This course explores modeling for forestry and the environment as a tool to understand the complexities of forest resource management and its interactions with the environment, project future scenarios, and develop policy frameworks for sustainable forest and environmental management. Various modeling approaches, including system dynamics, multi-agent systems, and soft system methodology, are utilized to simplify and analyze complex issues.

This course provides students with knowledge to analyze the meaning and scope of wood deterioration, preservation, and natural durability, including non-wood materials such as bamboo and rattan. Topics covered include biodeterioration threats in Indonesia, biological wood-degrading factors, anatomical wood structures influencing preservation effectiveness, types and requirements of wood preservatives, wood preservation processes and pre-treatment methods, preservative retention and penetration along with influencing factors, environmental and economic aspects of wood preservation, pesticide use, and techniques for controlling wood pests in buildings.

This course provides fundamental knowledge of wood physical properties, including moisture content, density, specific gravity, dimensional stability, thermal properties, electrical properties, and acoustic properties. Additionally, it covers basic statics, types of mechanical properties of wood, testing and standardization, factors influencing wood mechanics, basic stress, an introduction to structural wood grading, and the determination of allowable stress in wood.

Upon completing this course, students are expected to be able to analyze polymers and polymerization processes, the formation and characteristics of base binders, the composition and formulation of adhesives, wood adhesion theory, bond formation, wood surface analysis, and the analysis of wood bonding indicators.

This course explores the utilization of chemical components from forest products, particularly wood, including cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and extractives for various applications. These applications include pulp, paper, rayon, essential oils, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, dyes, preservatives, biofuels (bioethanol, biomethanol, biodiesel), food ingredients, and other chemical products.

This course covers the fundamental processes in pulping and bleaching technology. Topics include: (1) raw material preparation (from debarking to storage and transportation of chips), (2) chip anatomy (including principles and calculations of dimensions, penetration ability, and chip compaction in cooking solutions), (3) reaction kinetics and mass transfer underlying cooking with batch digesters and continuous digesters, (4) pulp screening and washing, (5) pulp bleaching processes, (6) paper making processes, and (7) an overview of environmental impact control in the pulp industry.

This course provides an overview of wood engineering properties, sawntimber, and engineered wood products (EWPs) such as Glulam, Plywood, LVL, and others. Topics include the design processes for wooden building structures, durability of wooden buildings, wooden bridge design, connection systems, as well as examples of wooden building designs, such as portal frames, arches, truss systems, and pile structures.

This course covers: Decision Theory and Games, Inventory Models, Markovian Decision Processes and Applications, Queueing Theory and its Applications, and Simulation.

This course covers the scope, history, and development of fiber and composite technology. Topics include the production of fibers and recycled fibers, lignocellulosic fiber-based composite products, nanocomposites, lignocellulose, adhesives, and additives as raw materials for composite boards, general processing of boards, parameters affecting composite board properties, as well as various products such as plywood, comply, blockboard, laminated wood, cement board, cellulose-based non-wood particle boards, oriented strand boards, plastic boards (WPC, wood polymer composite), particle boards, and zephyr.

The Biomass Conversion for Energy course covers: thermochemical processes, including combustion, gasification, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal liquefaction/direct liquefaction; primary products from thermochemical processes; and applications of thermochemical processes such as heat, mechanical power, electricity, synthesis of chemical compounds, solid fuels, activated carbon, combustion fuels, and chemical resins.

This course covers the definition and scope of Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFP). Topics include the processing of resins, tannins, and gums; processing of various types of Palmae; oil extraction; spices and medicinal plants; as well as animal-based forest products.

This course studies the definition of waste in general, including forestry waste generated from forest product harvesting and the types of waste produced by the forestry industry along with their impacts. Topics include the concept of waste management engineering, waste management stages, standardization, and issues related to forestry industry waste; wood production cycles; rehold and retro processes; physical, chemical, and biological waste management; life cycle assessment (LCA) in the forestry industry; recycling of forestry industry waste; post-harvest waste management; the principles of reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse, and return; utilization of forestry industry waste; and field visits to industries that use waste as raw materials or waste processing industries.

This course covers the scope of wildlife management, the value and benefits of wildlife, population management, population growth and control, management of population dynamics, evolution and adaptation, intra- and inter-species population interactions, wildlife movement, wildlife habitat management, the role of inventory in wildlife management, and the management of migratory wildlife.

This course covers the study of strategies and action plans for the conservation of key wildlife species, such as the Sumatran Tiger, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Orangutans, and Elephants. Topics include threats to wildlife, the scope of human-wildlife conflict (HWC), the impact of deforestation and forest degradation on HWC, benefit-cost (B-C) analysis of in situ and ex situ wildlife conservation strategies, economic analysis of HWC losses, public perception of HWC, mapping of HWC areas, HWC mitigation techniques, HWC resolution based on stakeholders, local institutional wisdom in mitigating HWC, and government policy evaluation in mitigating HWC.

This course discusses the socioeconomics of ecotourism, visitor management, thresholds, impact and risk analysis of ecotourism, and environmental services. It covers topics such as the institutional aspects of ecotourism and environmental services, economic valuation, dynamic systems for ecotourism and environmental services planning, water environmental services, and carbon environmental services.

This course covers the basic concepts and workings of GIS, projection systems, databases, geostatistics, GPS, satellite image preprocessing, multispectral image analysis, radar image analysis, landscape metrics, spatial modeling, and case studies.

This course provides an introduction to the condition of rare plants in Indonesia, the concepts of CITES and IUCN, plant quarantine, flora certification, plant breeding, cultivation of plants, rare trees, Palmae, understory plants, vertical flora, and plants as wildlife feed.

This course covers an introduction to ethnobotany, plant classification, ethnobotany of medicinal plants, ethnobotany of biopesticide plants, ethnobotany of ornamental plants, ethnobotany of dye plants, ethnobotany of aromatic plants, ethnobotany of surfactant plants, local wisdom in flora, and recent research in ethnobotany.

This course discusses global climate conditions, global climate change and its impacts in Indonesia, natural disasters, hydrometeorological disasters, losses due to climate-related disasters, disaster response, disaster mitigation, haze disasters caused by forest and land fires, early warning systems for disasters, and community-based disaster mitigation.

This course discusses the understanding of terms related to peatland ecosystem conservation strategies, policies and regulations concerning peatland ecosystems (PE), peatland ecosystem profiles, functions, threats from land-use change, the dangers and losses caused by peatland fires, standard criteria for peatland damage, peatland mapping, hydrological restoration of peatlands, monitoring groundwater levels in peatlands, vegetation rehabilitation, revitalization of community independence around peatlands, institutional arrangements and law enforcement, and synthesizing peatland conservation strategies.

This course discusses the understanding of terms related to urban forest landscape conservation, the dynamics of urban life and environment, the history and development of cities, the functions of urban forests, the synergy of urban forests for development, urban forests worldwide, urban forest design and mapping, types of urban forest vegetation, types of fauna in urban forests, management of urban forest growth sites, urban forest health monitoring, strengthening urban forest institutions, and synthesizing urban forest landscape conservation strategies.

The scope of the Research Methodology course includes the concepts of truth and scientific truth, the requirements for scientific truth, scientific research methods, classification of scientific research, stages of scientific research, and the guidelines for writing scientific papers according to the USU Guidelines for Writing Scientific Papers.