``Forester's eye'', an instrument and a mirror of occupational activity. A vocational didactic perspective

This article focuses on ``forester's eye'' analysis as an instrument and a mirror of the forester's cognitive activity when he has to make a forest patch diagnosis in order to make silvicultural action decisions. How to see and learn to see in a living environment which cognitive ergonomics describes as a complex and dynamic environment? From a vocational didactics' perspective, we aim to study how the forester's visual skills are practiced in situation, how they taught and built in training. We analyze the practices of seeing mobilized in the work and training situations, and highlight the main organizing concepts which structure their representation of the forest to make prescriptions. Next, we model a conceptual structure of the forest patch diagnosis, which included different variables and indicators to reason and articulate the stand's concepts and forest sites concepts, production and ecology. These results can constitute a potential resource for the development of visual's skills for a forest ecology management.