The results of the IXth Olympiad on Sustainable Forest Management have been summed up. It was held from March 20 to April 10 in an online format. 1,496 students from 44 universities and specialized colleges of Russia took part in the Olympiad.
“Forest ecosystems perform a number of useful functions for humans: they regulate the climate and hydrological regime, maintain the circulation of matter in the biosphere and biological diversity. At the same time, forest ecosystems are experiencing a powerful anthropogenic pressure. One fifth of the world’s forests are concentrated in Russia. Therefore, nowadays the forest and man more than ever need professional foresters, professional defenders, and rational users of forest resources. Our Olympiad is designed to draw students’ attention to the interesting aspects of forest and forestry life. We thought over the tasks in detail, carefully selected illustrations to make the Olympiad exciting, so that it was interesting to answer questions and we had to reflect and immerse ourselves in forestry,” said Alexander Ivanov, coordinator of the Olympiad, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, PhD.
The organizers of the IX Olympiad on Sustainable forest Management were the Primorsky State Agrarian-Technological University (Ussuriysk), Institute of Geology and Nature Management of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the scientific consortium “RITM carbon”.
The Olympiad questions were divided into courses of study and included tasks on botany and forestry history for first-year students, questions on forest management, GIS technologies and forest management for masters. The participants answered the questions: who is called the grandfather of Russian forestry? Which forest crops are the oldest in Russia? What are the properties of the soil indicated by the hazel under the canopy of the forest? What are succulent forests? Which tree is the most shade-tolerant, etc.? The participants identified tree species by bark, recognized inflorescences and defects of wood, identified species of insect pests, analyzed satellite images, and calculated the volume of trunks.
This year, at the initiative of consortium “RITM carbon”, the nomination “Carbon Cycle of forest ecosystems” was announced in the Olympiad. The consortium is working on the creation of a Russian climate monitoring system in terms of accounting for the emission and absorption of climatically active substances in forests and other terrestrial ecosystems.
“One of the difficulties we face in our work is the growing need for professional staff. It is important for us to support thematic scientific and educational events, and we are very pleased with the active response from universities and colleges. It is extremely necessary for us to ensure the continuity and preservation of scientific schools for the training of highly qualified specialists who will contribute to the development of forestry and forest science in our country. Perhaps in the near future one of the participants of the Olympiad will join our ranks,” said the head of the directions “Soil Biota” and “Education” of the consortium “RITM carbon”, head of the Department of the Laboratory of structural and functional organization and resilience of forest ecosystems, Center of Forest Ecology and Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences, PhD Anna Geraskina.
The winners of the Olympiad are determined at each course of each university and college. More than 250 participants will receive certificates of winners and prizes from the organizers.
On the website everyone can register and answer the questions of the last Olympiad!
Geography of participants of the IX Olympiad on Sustainable Forest Management