Dear Colleagues,

 

I am glad to share with you this announcement sent by Christophe Orazio (christophe.orazio@efi.int) who invites scientists from our Division 9 to join the proposed Task Force on planted forests that aims to continue the work of the Task Force on that theme that will finalize its work this year (https://www.iufro.org/science/task-forces/planted-forests/ ). Dr. Orazio sent the following description of the proposed Task Force, and invites all interested scientists to contact him:

Brief overview of the rationale, goals, and objectives of the proposed Task Force

The growth rate at which planted forests increase in area is expected to not only remain positive but strongly increase over the coming decades due to the role the UNFCCC Paris Agreement is foreseeing for forests as climate change mitigation tool. Thus, main driving forces are the renewed understanding of forest plantations being renewable mechanisms to create carbon sinks, an increasing demand for wood fibres, and established mechanisms to employ forest plantations for restoring degraded areas. Bio-refineries and popularity of wooden buildings might as well contribute to the expansion. Increasing the productivity of forest plantations up to maximum growth capacity levels while preserving their resilience to natural and anthropogenic disturbances such as forest fires will also push researchers to new monitoring recommendations and to the development of new silvicultural approaches, like precision management or species diversification. All these aspects justify the creation of a task force that operates coordinating an extensive network of researchers, well integrated and compromised with upcoming events sponsored by IUFRO (World Conference in 2019) and its expected outcomes. This task force is also in line with the conclusions of the fourth International Congress on Planted Forests^[1] (2018) and the setup of a new definition of plantation by FAO^[2] for the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. The Congress noted that planted forests are still as important for wood production as for their protection function combining both in most cases. This evidence is yet not always perceived by society, so the task force aims to address some of the main challenges identified during the congress, and not addressed by the previous task forces:

1.       Bring science-based evidence and support dialogue areas on how planted forest can serve societies providing multiple ecosystem services and social services

2.       Demonstrate how such planted forest can contribute to bioeconomy and a carbon free future society

3.       Propose and exchange of best management and genetic practices to improve the resilience of rural landscapes with planted forests

 

Thank you in advance for your kind attention.

 

Best regards,

 

Monica Gabay