4:18 a.m.
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to invite you to the FORESTT international conference: FORESTs and global
environmental changes: social-ecological systems in Transition.
https://forestt-international-conference.colloque.inrae.fr/ which will take place in
October 5 to 7, 2027 in Metz (France). The conference is organized by the PEPR FORESTT
(French research program on Forest resilience), coordinated by the National Research
Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), under the auspices of Research
Groups and Task Forces of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations
(IUFRO), with involvement of voluntary regional, national, European or international
research initiatives in the field of social-ecological forest system resilience.
Specifically, we would like to bring your attention to the symposium Tree-microbe
interactions in forest health and disease. The abstract submission is now open:
https://forestt-international-conference.colloque.inrae.fr/scientific-progr…
The submission deadline is December 13, 2026.
Symposium abstract:
Global forest ecosystems face dieback and mortality events that compromise biodiversity,
productivity, and essential ecosystem services. On the one hand, chronic dieback events
with a marked biotic component are increasingly frequent. On the other hand, the emergence
of new diseases is also exponentially increasing. Those can be driven by the introduction
of exotic pathogens, but also by climate change and evolutionary shifts in pathogen
virulence, which can trigger outbreaks of native pathogens. Together, these processes are
often the underlying causes of widespread forest decline worldwide.
Tree-associated microbiota play a crucial role in host adaptation to environmental change
and biotic stress. By extending the functional phenotype of their host, these microbial
communities enhance nutrient and water acquisition, modulate physiological stress
responses, and contribute to protection against pathogens. Despite growing recognition of
these functions, much of our current understanding of host-microbiome-pathogen
interactions derives from studies on model organisms and agricultural systems. In
contrast, forest tree species and their complex microbial consortia remain comparatively
understudied, even as research at the interface between tree health, disease expression,
and the tree microbiome is rapidly expanding.
These advances highlight the need to move beyond traditional single-host-single-pathogen
frameworks toward more integrative perspectives on forest disease. Increasing evidence
highlights the prevalence of complex forest diseases involving multiple interacting
organisms, including intra- and cross-kingdom assemblages (fungi, oomycetes, bacteria
and/or viruses). These interactions are often intensified by abiotic stressors such as
drought, underscoring the necessity of integration of environmental stress into disease
ecology.
This symposium aims to explore mechanisms underlying tree and forest dieback from a
multidimensional perspective that integrates tree-microbe and microbe-microbe
interactions.
We particularly welcome contributions addressing:
* the role of microbiota in modulating tree disease expression,
* microbiome-mediated susceptibility or resilience to forest dieback,
* tripartite interactions between drought, pathogens, and tree-associated microbiota,
* the ecology of complex forest diseases.
By bringing together expertise across forest pathology, microbial ecology and
climate-related stress, this symposium seeks to advance a holistic understanding of forest
health.
Symposium organizers:
Mireia Gómez-Gallego (INRAE, France)
Aurélie Deveau (INRAE, France)
Jaime Aguayo (ANSES, France)
Jonàs Oliva (UdL, CTFC, Spain)
Two more symposium will be hold on biotic interactions and forest health:
* Multitrophic interactions in forest soils: How to bridge biodiversity and functions
in a global change context?
* Pine wilt disease: A multidisciplinary approach to an ongoing crisis
You can also browse the conference website for the themes:
Theme 1: Forest Ecological & Evolutionary Processes
Theme 2: Biotic Interactions & Forest Health
Theme 3: Monitoring, Modelling & Data Integration
Theme 4: Forest Management, Disturbances & Adaptation
Theme 5: Social-Ecological Forest Systems, Governance & Bioeconomy
Theme 6: Science, Policy & Education
We would be grateful if you could forward this email to any colleagues who might be
interested.
We hope you find this proposal appealing, and we look forward to welcoming you all to
France.
Best regards,
Mireia on behalf of the symposium organizers.