The Advanced Field Course in Ecology and Conservation - Xishuangbanna (AFEC-X) comes to its 9th year. On October 12, the AFEC-X 2017 opened at the headquarters of Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG).
The opening ceremony brought together its ninth group of students of 29 trainees from 8 countries, and teacher representatives.
Prof. Chen Jin, director of XTBG, delivered an opening speech. He said that XTBG continuously hosted the AFEC-X and played an important role in cultivating young researchers of ecology and conservation biology in Asian countries. It also plays a role in carrying out regional cooperation in such researches.
The chief lecturer of the training course introduced targets of the advanced field course in ecology and conservation, and curriculum of this course.
Advanced Field course in Ecology and Conservation is an intensive course in field research methods, including research design, sampling and data analysis, intended primarily for early-stage graduate students in Ecology and Conservation. XTBG invites professional and experienced ecologists and conservation scientists to guide through the course.
The topics included tropical environments and ecosystems, biodiversity science, conservation biology, soil ecology, plant-animal interactions, invasive biology, climate change biology, molecular ecology, G.I.S. and spatial modelling, experimental design and R statistics, presentation and writing Skills, etc.
The training course includes lectures, practical work in the field or laboratory, and informal discussion. Participants will take part in established long-term field monitoring experiments and gain experience in independent project design. The course is based mainly at XTBG, with excursions organized to different field sites in the region.
Teachers and trainees pose a photo
