Opportunities and Challenges in Forest Regeneration When the NordGen Forest Conference 2022 Takes Place in Lund

2022.06.22

The forest conference will be held on September 27-28, read more in the article about the rich program.

Adaptation of forests to climate change, opportunities in seedling production and planting, excursion and a 50th anniversary dinner. The NordGen Forest Conference 2022, taking place in Lund in September, will cover it all.

The conference Scoping our forests for the future

will be arranged by NordGen Forest and partners in Lund, Southern Sweden, 27 to 28 September. The first day will include presentations, covering a wide range of topics important for Nordic forestry, and on the second day, an excursion will take place. The lecturers will address future challenges and opportunities in seedling production and planting, the latest development in breeding and how to create resilient stands. Adaptation to climate change will certainly be an overall topic.

It's Time to Move

Presentations will be held in English by speakers from all the Nordic countries and beyond. One of the long-distance guests will be Debojyoti Chakraborty from Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW). His presentation has the title It’s time to move: Lessons from Assisted migration of major European tree species.

– Adapting forests to climate change is a worldwide challenge. Specifically, in Northern Europe, the challenges are even greater because of the predicted above-average rise in temperature combined with droughts and extreme events, says Debojyoti Chakraborty. He continues: – Assisted migration, which practically means human-assisted facilitation of tree species and seed material movement within and beyond the natural range of forest tree species, is being discussed as a potential nature-based solution. Therefore, lessons learned from Assisted migration studies need to be shared. Another lecturer will be Eeva Terhonen from the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). In her presentation she will cover research done over the fungal disease Diplodia tip blight, caused by the pathogen Diplodia sapinea

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– In 2021 we reported the first cases of Diplodia tip blight on Scots pine in Finland. This disease can be expected to increase in the near future. Scots pines in the Nordic countries might not be able to keep up with rapid changes in climate due to long tree generations, making them more susceptible to drought stress and Diplodia sapinea

invasion, says Eeva Terhonen.

Forest Excursion

On the 28

of September, a forest excursion will be arranged in the area. This will, for example, include a trip to the research station Ekebo, which is one of the breeding centers operated by the Forest Research Institute of Sweden (Skogforsk). The excursion will also include a visit to the forest estate Dragesholm, which is situated on the plane and slopes of Söderåsen. In the conference there will also be a poster session in which PhD students, young researchers or young practitioners from Nordic or Baltic countries, will be presenting posters relevant for forest genetic resources, plant production and forest regeneration. With support from SNS and Föreningen Skogsträdsförädling, some of the participants in the poster session will be able to receive grants for traveling cost and accommodation. Please be aware, the deadline for submission of a short abstract and an application for support has been postponed till 5 August. In 2020, NordGen Forest turned 50 years. But restrictions during the pandemic made it impossible to arrange events on site. Therefore, a postponed celebrational dinner will take place in the evening of the conference in Lund, on September 27.

about the conference program, accommodation and don’t forget to register before September 5th.