Dear colleagues and friends,

Please note, abstracts are due at the end of November for the upcoming IUFRO All Division 7 Conference “Global Change and Forest Health” (University of Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey, 25-29 April 2016, see www.foresthealth2016.com).

Key points

- Abstract submission is open until 30 November 2015 (see below)

- Early Bird registration is available until 31 December 2015 (300 Euros regular, students receive a 50% discount)

- Keynote speakers have been confirmed (see below)

Safety

With the tragic events in the last two weeks, there is heightened awareness about safety. The conference organizing committee have considered this and we consulted with the Secretariat of IUFRO. We have been advised that there are currently no travel advisories for Istanbul or western Turkey. Other conferences in Turkey and Europe will go ahead as planned. Also, the venue of our conference is in a quiet part of the city, and the location is regarded to be safe.

The conference organizing committee have decided to continue to monitor the situation, and we will advise you if there are any changes.

Keynote speakers

We have now confirmed three keynote speakers who will address different aspects of the conference theme “Global Change and Forest Health”:

- Dr. Treena Burgess (Murdoch University, Australia, Associate Professor in Plant Sciences)

- Dr. Marcus Lindner (European Forest Institute, Head of Programme, Sustainability and Climate Change)

- Dr. Andrea Battisti (University of Padova, Italy, Professor of Forest Entomology)

Numerous other plenary and invited presentations will be given (and announced later)

Abstract submission

You are kindly invited to submit your abstract for oral or poster presentations (see www.foresthealth2016.com). When you submit your abstract, you can select either one of the 16 pre-arranged sessions or a general session (“other”).

We will review all abstract submissions and ensure they will be placed in suitable sessions. Cross-disciplinary abstracts including two or more of the conference subjects (climate change, biological invasions, air pollution, forest pathology, forest entomology) are particularly encouraged.

Please submit your abstracts by 30 November 2015.

See the web page www.foresthealth2016.com for more information on the conference.

Feel free to contact us with any questions and comments.

Kind regards

Ecki Brockerhoff, Yusuf Serengil, Elena Paoletti, Jolanda Roux, Sandy Liebhold

(Conference Scientific Committee)

Eckehard Brockerhoff

Scion (New Zealand Forest Research Institute) and

University of Canterbury, School of Biological Sciences - New Zealand

Coordinator IUFRO Division 7, Forest Health

Member of the Conference Scientific Committee

eckehard.brockerhoff@scionresearch.com