Overall objectives of Module 2.4 are to enhance students’ knowledge and comprehension of measures of diversity and their application to forest ecosystems at multiple spatial scales. Key topics include distinctions among measures of alpha-, beta-, and gamma-biodiversity and their applications, land mosaics and associated patch dynamics, island biogeography theory, genetic diversity as a function of patch size and distribution, and patch size effects on ecosystems.

Specific objectives are to enable participants to: Describe the relationship between diversity and ecosystem structure and function; Describe the interaction between forests, fish, and wildlife; and Describe various measures of diversity at different spatial scales.