Dear Colleagues,
We would like to inform you about the following technical session at the IUFRO Congress in Stockholm, 2024:
“Biology, ecology and management of pest and pathogen invasions in forests: a global perspective”
Invasive alien tree pests (including insects and pathogens) are increasingly introduced directly or indirectly by humans into places out of their natural range of distribution, where they can become established and
spread and have a detrimental impact on local ecosystems. Given the increasing global demand for forest products that relies on healthy and productive forests, the need to limit the potential movement of pests, and to contain and control new pest incursions
through improved biosecurity systems is one of the most pressing phytosanitary issues in the world today. Key to successful control and management of new invasions is their early detection and rapid on-the-ground response by relevant agencies, which can be
severely challenged by lack of adequate resources, preparation, and technological tools. Yet, several technologies are now mature for development of need-driven, practical scale biosecurity toolkits. Increased knowledge of pest biology and ecology, and the
intrinsic and extrinsic factors influencing their spread, is needed to make informed decisions about mitigation measures to reduce economic and ecological impacts. Capacity building activities delivered by nations with a more-developed biosecurity system are
becoming increasingly valuable for early detection of invasives. This session will cover and welcome a broad range of topics related to biosecurity, invasion biology, international regulations that limit the spread of forest pests and the management of incursions
of pests, including: rapid and portable molecular tools, eDNA methods for monitoring populations, smart trapping, AI recognition systems, sentinel plantings, phytosanitary programs and treatments, surveillance tools, biological control, and use of tree resistance
breeding to avoid impacts. A global perspective will be brought by discussions of the regulatory context of international trade of forest products, the science that underpins this regulatory context, and by showcasing a variety of biological invasions of pests
from around the world, including case studies of preparedness and pest incursion response.
The session includes short and long talks and posters. The deadline for submission is
2 June 2023: https://iufro2024.com/call-for-congress-abstract.
We hope you will consider to contribute to this session!
Kind regards,
Michelle Cleary, Alberto Santini, Ecki Brockerhoff, and Chris Howard
Dr. Michelle Cleary
Forest Pathologist, Associate Professor (Docent)
Senior Lecturer in Forest Pathology
Deputy Head of the Department for Research
Vice-Director of the Centre for Excellence on Fast-growing Broadleaves (TREES FOR ME)
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences/
Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet
Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre/Sydsvensk Skogsvetenskap
Mailing address : Box 190, 234 22 Lomma
Visiting address : Sundsvägen 3, 230 503 Alnarp
Telephone (office) : +46 (0)40 415181
Telephone (mobile) : +46 (0)76 7878771
Email :
Michelle.Cleary@slu.se
Websites: