Hi all, I am forwarding a message from Hervé Jactel (Deputy Coordinator 7.03, Forest Entomology): The next International Congress on Planted Forest (ICPF 2013) will take place in May 2013, in Estoril, Portugal. A satellite scientific workshop on "Vulnerability and Risk Management in Planted Forests" will be held from 16-18 May 2013 in Bordeaux, France. IUFRO Divisions 7 (Forest Health) and 8 (Environment) co-sponsor this event. The workshop will cover a range of topics including vulnerability of exotic tree plantations to various disturbance issues, susceptibility of tree monocultures, exposure of planted forest to invasive pests, development of integrated risk analyses and management systems adapted to plantation forests. Registration is now open at: http://www.efiatlantic.efi.int/portal/2013_icpf/registration/ Abstracts can be submitted online until 31 January 2013 at: http://www.efiatlantic.efi.int/portal/2013_icpf/abstract_submission/ Background Globally, planted forests represent about 7 percent of the world's total forest area, with an increasing area in all continents (FAO, 2011). It is forecasted that by 2050 the majority of the wood and fibre supply will originate from planted forests. Planted forests are commonly composed of pure, even-aged stands of fast-growing tree species. They are among the most productive forest ecosystems and planted forests are expected to play an important role in bio-based economies as well as contributing to climate change mitigation by way of carbon sequestration or bioenergy production. However, because planted forests are commonly managed as monocultures, often of exotic tree species, they may be prone to pest damage. Evidence is accumulating that suggests a positive relationship between tree species diversity and forest resistance to pests and pathogens, and alien tree species may be more exposed to pest species due to a lack of coevolution. It remains also uncertain whether the management of forests as pure and even-aged stands might increase the risk of wind and fire damage. There is therefore an urgent need to better evaluate the biotic and abiotic risks in planted forests and to decipher the underlying mechanisms of their specific susceptibility. This information will help foresters to adapt the design and management of planted forests in the face of global change uncertainties. The members of scientific committee are Hervé Jactel (IUFRO Division 7, email Herve.Jactel(a)pierroton.inra.fr), Jean-Michel Carnus (Coordinator, IUFRO Division 8), and Eckehard Brockerhoff (Coordinator, IUFRO Division 7). The organizing committee is made up of representatives of IUFRO, the European Forest Institute (EFI), the French National Institute of Agronomical Research (INRA), the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry (MAAF), the Regional Forest Owner Centre, the Aquitaine Regional Council, the Regional Association for Forest Fire Prevention. ________________________________ This e-mail and any attachments may contain information which is confidential or subject to copyright. If you receive this e-mail in error, please delete it. Scion does not accept responsibility for anything in this e-mail which is not provided in the course of Scion's usual business or for any computer virus, data corruption, interference or delay arising from this e-mail.