BIOL 418: Fire Ecology
Prerequisites: BIOL 111 AND BIOL 112
Credit Hours: (3)
The goal of this course is to learn the fundamentals in wildland fire ecology and management. Students learn about the history of fire, the impacts of fire on various environments, the environmental influences on fire behavior, and how fire is used as a land and vegetation management tool. The course also provides students with the knowledge and training to qualify as a wildland firefighter (Red Card) and near completion of the S-130/S-190/F100/L180 fire course. Students also participate in a prescribed fire at the Selu Conservancy. The lecture is 2 days a week, plus additional planned field trips to plan for and implement a prescribed fire.
Detailed Description of Course
Weekly Topics
Introduction
History of fire
Fire fuels and behavior
Planning for a prescribed fire 1
Planning for a prescribed fire 2
Impacts of fire on soil, water, air
Impacts of fire on vegetation
Impacts of fire on animals
Fire & invasive species Additionally, 3-4 weeks of classroom meetings will be dedicated to working towards completion of the wildland fire training managed by the Virginia Department of Forestry.
Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Course Requirements
1. Class structure – 1 day of lecture (occasional guest lectures, as available), 1 day of class discussion of readings (assigned outside of class)
2. Full participation in prescribed fire – planning, implementation, and follow-up assessment of the fire (cooperative participation)
3. Enrollment & completion of S-130/S-190 fire course (coupled with F-100 and L-180 training) through Virginia Department of Forestry, including one-day training (generally in late May). On-line training: this is a self-paced, internet-based program. This computer-based portion will expose you to approximately 20-24 hours of material, the very same material that you would have received if you attended 3 days of traditional in-person training. Quizzes and tests through that course will count as grades in this course.
4. Lecture exam – covering lecture notes, reading assignments, and material posted on D2L.
5. Course paper – on fire topic of student choice. Including contemporary (post-1990) journal articles or government publications related to the topic.
Student Learning Outcomes
Having successfully completed this course, the student will be able to (1) Identify, critically evaluate, and synthesize scientific literature; (2) Generate questions/hypotheses, collect data using appropriate methods and rationale, and appropriately analyze collected data; (3) Communicate biological ideas (content or research) in written formats in a style appropriate to the audience; (4) Demonstrate the ability to effectively work as teams to solve scientific problems collaboratively.
Assessment Measures
1 exam (traditionally graded), completion of quizzes during online training, participation grading during class discussions, term paper graded as stepwise goals – topic submission, references submitted, outline submitted, 50% rough draft, final paper – each with increasing points as the project comes together.
Other Course Information
N/A
Review and Approval
April 22, 2026