Dear IUFRO Meliaceae Working Party:
Abstract submission is now open for the IUFRO World Congress in Curitiba,
Brazil, 29 September - 5 October, 2019. See
http://iufro2019.com/abstracts-submission/ . The deadline for abstract
submission is 31 Dicember 2018. Please consider participating in the
Congress and please also tell your colleagues about this opportunity.
Below are the sessions that are linked to the International Society of
Tropical Foresters, three of which are specifically linked to the
Meliaceae. Session descriptions for all sessions are available at
http://iufro2019.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/sessions-english-portuguese…
SESSION A2a: Sustaining iconic and high-value species in natural forests
and plantations
ISTF CONTACT: Erich Schaitza, EMBRAPA, Brazil (erich.schaitza(a)embrapa.br )
SESSION SUMMARY: Maintaining healthy populations of heavily used species
like Araucaria and Swietenia is a challenge. Problems include habitat loss;
overharvest (past or present); insufficient regeneration and genetic
variation, failings in forest policy, governance, or regulations; and
devaluation of products because of species removal from the market. The
session will cover possible solutions, including, among other topics:
corrections to harvest policies, regulations, and planning; sustaining
regeneration and genetic variation of target species; corrective
regeneration and silvicultural practices; modelling to balance extraction,
regeneration, and genetic diversity; use of market demand to create value
and interest in these species.
SESSION A4c: Monitoring and Assessing Urban Forest Services and Values at
the National to Local Scale
ISTF CONTACT: Vindhya P. Tewari, Himalayan Forest Research Institute, India
(vptewari(a)yahoo.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: Trees and forests within urban areas provide numerous
benefits to city residents, but relatively little is known about their
structure, the services provided by these forests and how these forests are
changing. While many countries inventory and monitor rural forests, only
recently have forest inventory and monitoring efforts been established
within urban areas. The purpose of this session is to discuss the various
approaches that countries across the world are taking to develop national
inventories of urban forests. This session will not only address the
approaches to inventorying and monitoring, but also mean to assess the
services and values derived from the urban forests. By discussing current
means to inventory and monitor urban forests, many nations can learn how to
monitor and assess these important forests that directly affect the health
and well-being of over half of the world’s population.
SESSION B5b: Small-scale sustainable energy alternatives for developing
countries
ISTF CONTACT: Lamfu Fabrice Yengong, University of Buea, Cameroon, (
lamfu2035yengong(a)gmail.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: In developing countries, wood accounts for 50-90% of the
fuel used, and increased efficiency or replacements for wood are needed.
This session explores sustainable energy alternatives. Presentations might
include: utilizing waste through “3R” (reduce, reuse, and recycle); more
efficient technologies for cooking with wood fuel; social costs of
increasing scarcity of fuel wood; characteristics related to fuel wood
energy content; solar cooking as an alternative; potential for material and
energy recovery from waste; appropriate technologies for developing
countries; integrated renewable energy production and utilization from
biomass combustion and waste gasification, among other topics.
SESSION C1b: Advances in management and science for the high-value Meliaceae
ISTF CONTACT: Liu Jun, Research Institute of subtropical forest, Chinese
Academy of forestry, China, (ywliu2005(a)163.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: Tropical timber species of the Meliaceae (including
Cedrela, Entandrophragma, Khaya, Swietenia, and Toona) are among the
world’s finest woods, and many species have other uses. Their sustainable
management faces similar issues around the world. This session will share
the latest in research and applications for a global perspective on these
species. Topics could cover conservation of genetic resources, genetic
improvement, advances in shootborer control, natural forest management, and
development and products useful for human health, among others.
SESSION C1c: Improving high-value Meliaceae yields in plantations
ISTF CONTACT: Antonio Ferraz, Universidade Federal do Piauí, Brazil (
acferrazfilho(a)gmail.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: This session will focus on better production of Meliaceae
species grown in plantations. Many species (e.g. mahogany, African
mahogany, Australian red cedar, Melia) have recently been grown as
plantations around the world and research is needed over a wide range of
topics. The main objectives are to share experiences and to find common
research themes to build possible collaborations among researchers working
with Meliaceae species in plantations around the world.
SESSION C9a: Discovery, curation, and uses of legacy tropical forest data
sets
ISTF CONTACT: Sheila Ward, Mahogany for the Future, Inc., Puerto Rico (
tropfordata(a)gmail.com)
SESSION SUMMARY: Legacy tropical forest datasets have been generated by
various projects over time, and many are in danger of being lost. These
datasets are valuable for understanding how tropical forests change through
time, and many of the forests they characterize no longer exist. To
safeguard these data, standardized metadata and electronic archiving
schemes need to be developed. The purpose of the session is to share
information on the potential uses of such datasets, their current status,
and appropriate curation and metadata strategies.
SESSION F6b: Effective educational strategies for the next generation of
forest professionals
ISTF CONTACT: Ruth Metzel, Azuero Earth Project, Panama, (
ruth(a)proecoazuero.org)
SESSION SUMMARY: University-based programs on forest related fields are
evolving and inherently need to change towards multidisciplinary programs.
Some major drivers of these changes are globalization of the economy,
climate change, and new technologies and informatics, in a similar vein
solution for real life resource management problems around forest key
issues like health, bioenergy, climate change are consistently calling for
more holistic and cross-sectoral approaches. Universities curricula need to
meet diverse higher demands, and new ways to approach these challenges
involving various disciplines in a multicultural environment. This session
will highlight finding on research aiming to understand those challenges
and also research that addresses innovative strategies that allow forestry
students and professor and providers of non-formal education to keep
abreast with the time, such online classes, field practices, case studies
among others.
Dear Meliaceae Working Party:
The survey below is still open. You may have relevant experience to share.
Thanks,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Brigitte Burger <burger(a)iufro.org>
Date: Mon, Jun 18, 2018 at 9:54 AM
Subject: [IUFRO Div 1] Experiences with Adaptive Measures in Forestry and
Forest Restoration under Global Change - Survey
To: <div1(a)lists.iufro.org>, <div2(a)lists.iufro.org>, <div3(a)lists.iufro.org>,
<div4(a)lists.iufro.org>, <div5(a)lists.iufro.org>, <div6(a)lists.iufro.org>, <
div7(a)lists.iufro.org>, <div8(a)lists.iufro.org>, <div9(a)lists.iufro.org>
Colleagues,
The members of the Task Force "Forest Adaptation and Restoration under
Global Change" of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations
(IUFRO) are conducting a survey to gain data and insights for developing
best practice approaches for forest adaptation and restoration under global
change. This survey relies on the knowledge of experts/professionals from
forestry and related fields and their information about actual examples of
Adaptive Measures in Forestry and Forest Restoration.
The collected data will contribute valuable information to a study of the
local and regional experiences with Adaptive Forest Management (AFM) and
Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) under climate- and societal change with
the aim to increase the adaptive capacity of forests and forest landscapes
with regards to those changes.
If you are working or have experience in this field, please participate in
this survey. You can choose among 13 languages. It will take approximately
15-20 minutes to fill in the survey. For any remarks to the survey (content
and technical aspects), please contact directly Markus Hoehl (
markus.hoehl(at)thuenen.de).
Please support the Task Force - Forest Adaptation and Restoration under
Global Change (Coordinator: Andreas Bolte, Markus Höhl, Survey admin; both
Thuenen Institute) in expanding our common knowledge base on these very
current and important topics!
https://gdi.thuenen.de/wo/limesurvey/index.php/883655
We would like to thank you in advance for your time and consideration!
**************************
Posted on behalf of the Task Force by Brigitte Burger, IUFRO Headquarters
_______________________________________________
IUFRO Mailing List
To post a message to all list members, send email to: div1(a)lists.iufro.org
List info and Archive:
http://www.iufro.org/science/iufro-mailing-lists/overview/
Dear Meliaceae Working party:
The IUFRO 2019 Congress will be held in Curitba, Brazil September 29 –
October 5 2019. The website at http://iufro2019.com/abstracts-submission/
is now open for submitting abstracts. Please consider attending the
Congress!
Sheila Ward
Dear Meliaceae Working party:
Below is the IUFRO Issue 9 2018 newsletter. Past editions of the newsletter
can be found at: https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Thu, Oct 4, 2018 at 2:52 AM
Subject: IUFRO NEWS 9, 2018
To: Dear IUFRO Officeholder <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO News]
Issue 9, 2018
IUFRO NEWS 9, 2018
Dear IUFRO Officeholder:
We are happy to present to you issue 9 of IUFRO News 2018, volume 47. The
newsletter is also available for download as a PDF or Word file at:
https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/.
You are welcome to pass on this newsletter to your colleagues!
To find out more about IUFRO, just visit <https://www.iufro.org/>
www.iufro.org and follow our blog http://blog.iufro.org/, Twitter: @iufro
<http://twitter.com/IUFRO> and IUFRO Facebook entries
<https://www.facebook.com/iufro>.
Enjoy the read!
Alexander Buck
*IUFRO Executive Director *
*IUFRO News is widely distributed among IUFRO Members, officeholders and
other interested groups. If you would like to publish in IUFRO News,
contribute to the IUFRO website content or promote a publication via IUFRO
Spotlight, do not hesitate to contact us at IUFRO Headquarters:
office(a)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org> *
*New Insights into Root and Stem Rots*
Root and stem rots cause extensive damage and economic loss to trees
globally. Eighty experts from 30 countries discussed this serious problem
at the joint IUFRO Working Party 7.02.01 Root and Stem Rots & LIFE+ ELMIAS
Ash and Elm Conference (IUFRO-LIFE) in Uppsala and Visby, Sweden. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27976>…
*Job Opportunities for Junior Researchers*
Jobs for 2 MSc graduates (forest-related) of all nationalities: Join EFI's
Resilience Programme to do research on future green jobs in the forest
sector in close collaboration with IFSA & IUFRO! Apply before 15 Oct 2018!
*More* <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27975>…
*Innovative Natural Resources Inventory Approaches*
The 2018 joint symposium of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management (SFEM)
and multipurpose inventory held in Sun Moon Lake, Nantou, China-Taipei,
aimed to showcase multiple inventory techniques and management science
methods to preserve the forest ecosystem for future generations. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27974>…
*Cool Forests at Risk?*
About 200 participants from 30 countries including Russia, China, the
United States, Canada, Northern European countries, Japan and the host
country Austria met in Laxenburg, south of Vienna, to discuss and raise
awareness on the critical role that boreal and mountain ecosystems play for
people, bioeconomy, and climate. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27973>…
*IUFRO and FFPRI Strengthen Cooperation*
The Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute Japan (FFPRI) and IUFRO
entered into a Memorandum of Understanding in Vienna, Austria, on 30 August
2018. With this MoU the two partners reaffirm their commitment to continue
and further strengthen their cooperation in the long term. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27972>…
*New Opportunity for Early-Career Scientists*
The IUFRO-EFI Young Scientists Initiative (YSI) is the latest collaboration
between IUFRO and the European Forest Institute (EFI). It will offer a
limited number of grants for short scientific visits in 2019 for young
scientists from Africa, Asia and Latin America to conduct collaborative
research in Europe. *More* <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27971>…
*Publications*
This booklet by Victor Teplyakov for the first time presents short
biographical stories of the Honorary Members of the International Union of
Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) from the beginning of the
establishment of this highest IUFRO Award in 1953. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27969>…
*Other Information*
Publications <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27969>
Fellowships and Scholarships <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27970>
Courses <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27967>
Positions <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27968>
IUFRO Meetings <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27966>
Other Meetings <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6709#c27965>
*IUFRO Website Features*
IUFRO Blog <http://blog.iufro.org/>
Noticeboard <https://www.iufro.org/discover/noticeboard/>
Proceedings Archive <https://www.iufro.org/publications/proceedings/>
Scientific Summaries <https://www.iufro.org/publications/summaries/>
RSS Feeds <https://www.iufro.org/about-rss/>
Newsletter Archive
<https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/>
______________________________________________
*IUFRO News Issue 9*
*, 2018, published in early October 2018by IUFRO Headquarters, Marxergasse
2, 1030 Vienna, Austria.Available for download
at: https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/
<https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/>Contact the
editor at office(at)iufro.org <http://iufro.org> or
visit https://www.iufro.org/ <https://www.iufro.org/> If you wish to
unsubscribe from IUFRO News, please send us a short note by e-mail
(burger(at)iufro.org
<burger(a)iufro.org>).Imprint: https://www.iufro.org/legal/#c10402
<https://www.iufro.org/legal/#c10402>*
Dear Meliaceae Working party:
Below is the IUFRO Issue 7/8 2018 newsletter. Past editions of the newsletter
can be found at: https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Mon, Sep 10, 2018 at 5:53 AM
Subject: IUFRO NEWS 7/8, 2018
To: Dear IUFRO Officeholder <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO News]
Double Issue 7/8, 2018
IUFRO NEWS 7/8, 2018
Dear IUFRO Officeholder:
We are happy to present to you double issue 7&8 of IUFRO News 2018, volume
47. The newsletter is also available for download as a PDF or Word file at:
https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/.
You are welcome to pass on this newsletter to your colleagues!
To find out more about IUFRO, just visit <https://www.iufro.org/>
www.iufro.org and follow our blog http://blog.iufro.org/, Twitter: @iufro
<http://twitter.com/IUFRO> and IUFRO Facebook entries
<https://www.facebook.com/iufro>.
Enjoy the read!
Alexander Buck
*IUFRO Executive Director *
*IUFRO News is widely distributed among IUFRO Members, officeholders and
other interested groups. If you would like to publish in IUFRO News,
contribute to the IUFRO website content or promote a publication via IUFRO
Spotlight, do not hesitate to contact us at IUFRO Headquarters:
office(a)iufro.org <office(a)iufro.org> *
*Comprehensive Assessment of Forest and Water Links: GFEP Scientists
Present Their Findings*
The peer-reviewed report entitled "Forest and Water on a Changing Planet:
Vulnerability, Adaptation and Governance Opportunities" (*IUFRO World
Series 38*) constitutes the most comprehensive systematic scientific
syntheses on the interactions between forests and water to date. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27852>…
*Alpine Forest Genomics*
AForGeN (Alpine Forest Genomics Network) is a network of scientists from
Europe and the US who share an interest in the genomic resources of high
mountain forests. The AForGeN meeting 2018 took place in Kranjska Gora,
Slovenia, on 21-23 June, 2018, and was supported by IUFRO Working Party
2.04.11. *More* <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27851>…
*Reforestation Challenges*
The conference on "*Reforestation Challenges*" took place on 20-22 June
2018 in Belgrade, Serbia, at the Faculty of Forestry of the University of
Belgrade. It was an excellent opportunity for scientists to gather and
present results and report on experiences from research areas relevant to
reforestation. *More* <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27850>…
*New on the IUFRO Blog*
Report from the International Knowledge-Sharing Workshop "Best Practices
for Implementing Forest Landscape Restoration in South Asia" held in
Chilaw, Sri Lanka, 15-17 August 2018. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27849>…
*Cities and Green Sharing*
The Forum "Forest Cities and Green Sharing" was held on July 6, 2018,
during the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2018. Prof. Liu
Shirong gave a brief introduction of IUFRO and its academic activities in
urban forestry, such as the First International Forest City Conference
co-organized by the State Forestry Administration and IUFRO in Shenzhen
City, 2016. *More* <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27848>…
*Revolutionary Traditions, Innovative Industries*
The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental
Conservation hosted the 41st Annual Council on Forest Engineering (COFE)
Meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia, U.S.A. on July 15-18, 2018. The meeting
was supported by IUFRO Division 3 Forest Operations Engineering and
Management. *More* <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27847>…
*2018 International Conference on Protective Forests ICPF2018*
The 2018 International Conference on Protective Forests (ICPF2018) was held
back to back with the celebrations of the 40th Anniversary of Three-North
Afforestation Program on August 1-5 2018 in Shenyang, China. A special
issue on protective forests from this conference is expected to be
published in 'Agroforestry Systems'. *More*
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27846>…
*Other Information*
Publications <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27845>
Positions <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27842>
Courses <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27841>
IUFRO Meetings <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27839>
Other Meetings <http://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=6683#c27838>
*IUFRO Website Features*
IUFRO Blog <http://blog.iufro.org/>
Noticeboard <https://www.iufro.org/discover/noticeboard/>
Proceedings Archive <https://www.iufro.org/?id=75>
Scientific Summaries <https://www.iufro.org/?id=79>
RSS Feeds <https://www.iufro.org/?id=3745>
Newsletter Archive <https://www.iufro.org/index.php?id=147>
______________________________________________
*IUFRO News Double Issue 7/8*
*, 2018, published in early September 2018by IUFRO Headquarters,
Marxergasse 2, 1030 Vienna, Austria.Available for download
at: https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/
<https://www.iufro.org/publications/news/electronic-news/>Contact the
editor at office(at)iufro.org <http://iufro.org> or
visit https://www.iufro.org/ <https://www.iufro.org/> If you wish to
unsubscribe from IUFRO News, please send us a short note by e-mail
(burger(at)iufro.org
<burger(a)iufro.org>).Imprint: https://www.iufro.org/legal/#c10402
<https://www.iufro.org/legal/#c10402>*
Dear IUFRO Meliaceae Working Party:
Below is IUFRO Spotlight #61. Other Spotlights can be found at:
http://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
Regards,
Sheila Ward
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: IUFRO Headquarters <office(a)iufro.org>
Date: Tue, Oct 16, 2018 at 2:22 AM
Subject: IUFRO Spotlight #61 - Digging into soil and what it means to
earth's survival
To: Dear Reader of IUFRO News <mahoganyforthefuture(a)gmail.com>
[image: IUFRO Spotlight]
IUFRO Spotlight #61 - Digging into soil and what it means to earth's
survival
*IUFRO Spotlight* is an initiative of the International Union of Forest
Research Organizations. Its aim is to introduce, in a timely fashion,
significant findings in forest research from IUFRO officeholders and member
organizations to a worldwide network of decision makers, policy makers and
researchers.
IUFRO will encapsulate, and distribute in plain language, brief, topical
and policy-relevant highlights of those findings, along with information on
where/how to access the full documents. The *IUFRO Spotlight* findings will
be distributed in a periodic series of emails as well as blog postings.
*________________________________*
*Digging into soil and what it means to earth's survival*
PDF for download
<https://www.iufro.org/download/file/29805/6715/spotlight61-humusica_pdf/>
<http://www.iufro.org/index.php?eID=tx_cms_showpic&file=19833&md5=f546a1a0cc…>
*The new living structures are the result of the re-elaboration of the old
ones. Soil plays the main role in the process. So, humans who endanger life
on our planet express a severe disagreement with a natural harmony that
risks triggering negative feedback for the species. This always occurs to
other species, why shouldn't it happen to us? In: Zanella et al., 2018.
Humusica 1, article 1: Essential bases – Vocabulary. Applied Soil Ecology,
122 (Part a), pp. 10–21.The new living structures are the result of the
re-elaboration of the old ones. Soil plays the main role in the process.
So, humans who endanger life on our planet express a severe disagreement
with a natural harmony that risks triggering negative feedback for the
species. This always occurs to other species, why shouldn't it happen to
us? In: Zanella et al., 2018. Humusica 1, article 1: Essential bases –
Vocabulary. Applied Soil Ecology, 122 (Part a), pp. 10–21.*
Most people think of soil simply as something that grass, trees and other
plants grow in and on.
But nothing could be further from the truth, says Dr. Augusto Zanella.
Below in quotes, some key concepts gathered during an IUFRO Spotlight
interview.
"Soils – in the forest and elsewhere – involve and affect ‘normal life'.
They modify the air we breathe, they influence the climate, impact the food
we eat and the water we drink".
"Soil is not a substrate or a source of nutrients. It is a living matrix
that sustains the functioning of every ecosystem".
"It works like an efficient bank. It capitalizes energy and nutrients to be
delivered for building and sustaining more complex and efficient
ecosystems. It is a source of new materials, continuously generated from
biodegradation and re-elaboration of dead structures".
"A comparison between natural and anthropic soil systems revealed the
importance of the biological structure of soil for understanding and
managing how the soil functions. Anthropic soil is that worked by humans in
a way to produce new characteristics that make it different from the
original natural soil".
"There is a connection between the soil and produced food qualities. There
is a relationship between the type of agriculture and climate warming.
There is a relationship between forestry, agriculture, soil and human
development/health. And there is an interconnected soil in space, air,
water and all living organisms."
Dr. Zanella, of the University of Padua, Department of Land, Environment,
Agriculture and Forestry, and Deputy Coordinator of IUFRO Working Party
8.02.03 – *Humus and soil biodiversity*, is one of the proponents of
*Humusica*, a concept that looks at soil and soil research from a somewhat
different perspective and seeks to provide an international and consistent
soil classification system.
"It is a new concept of soil; more biological and connected to the process
of natural evolution. It's soil seen as the place of the endless recycling
of structures that grow old and die. Life cannot exist without death. Soil
is the conjunction that links the two."
In a slight digression from the interview, 40-odd years ago, American
writer and environmentalist Wendell Berry put it somewhat differently, but
seemed to capture some of the essence of what Dr. Zanella and his
colleagues believe when he said: "If a healthy soil is full of death, it is
also full of life: worms, fungi, microorganisms of all kinds ... Given
only the health of the soil, nothing that dies is dead for very long."
As part of this new concept of soil, it would be beneficial, Dr. Zanella
says, to have a standardized vocabulary and classification system for humus
forms. That would be of immense benefit to anyone who works with soil. And,
on different levels, that's pretty well everybody from policymakers to
foresters, landscapers, farmers and weekend gardeners, he says.
To that end, he and his colleagues have produced a series of *Humusic*a
articles that, among other things, answer "three crucial" questions:
1. What is soil?
2. If soil has a biogenic essence, how should it be classified to serve
such managerial purposes as exploitation or protection? And
3. How can this soil classification be used for handling the current
global change?
The *Humusica* papers are presented in the form of a field manual that is
"a fundamental tool for assessing everything from land use to climate
change," Dr. Zanella says.
In addition to the publications, there is also a free iOS app – TerrHum –
available through the iTunes App Store. It is a University of Padua app
that allows the main content of the *Humusica* 1 field guide to be stored
on a cell phone. With this app (an app that is compatible with non-Apple
products is currently in development) it is possible to classify all
non-submerged forest topsoils on the planet.
He reiterates that this is a new way of looking at soil. "By accepting a
concept of soil related to the ‘planet Earth digestive system', that
involves microorganisms distributed everywhere, I better understand myself
and the world in which I live.
For instance, I better understand why I should prefer agriculture that pays
attention to the quality of the soil, because that has a crucial influence
on the quality of the produced food, and human health depends on it."
He adds that, given current global change conditions, soil – and how we
humans handle it – will be critical to human survival. Climate change
should be a top-of-mind concern, but there seems to be a general lack of
consciousness to the danger.
"The current climate warming will probably be the first major trial that
conscious humanity has to overcome in order not to perish. The soil will be
a crucial resource in that survival process."
This field manual and classification system (explained in 87 articles,
arranged in three Special Issues) can help fight the adverse effects of
global change by using the collected knowledge about the biodiversity and
functioning of natural (or semi-natural) soil to reconstruct the lost
biodiversity and-or functioning of heavily exploited or degraded soils, he
says.
*The Humusica articles are collected in the Applied Soil Ecology Special
Issues Vol. 122 a, 122 b and 123*:
https://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-soil-ecology/special-issues
*Information about the Humusica project and publications can also be found
on the webpages of IUFRO Unit 8.02.03 - Humus and soil biodiversity*:
https://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-8/80000/80200/80203/public…
<http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-8/80000/80200/80203/publica…>
*________________________________*
The findings reported in *IUFRO Spotlight* are submitted by IUFRO
officeholders and member organizations. IUFRO is pleased to highlight and
circulate these findings to a broad audience but, in doing so, acts only as
a conduit. The quality and accuracy of the reports are the responsibility
of the member organization and the authors.
Suggestions for reports and findings that could be promoted through *IUFRO
Spotlight* are encouraged. To be considered, reports should be fresh, have
policy implications and be applicable to more than one country. If you
would like to have a publication highlighted by Spotlight, contact: Gerda
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The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is the
only worldwide organization devoted to forest research and related
sciences. Its members are research institutions, universities, and
individual scientists as well as decision-making authorities and other
stakeholders with a focus on forests and trees.
Visit: https://www.iufro.org/
*________________________________*
*IUFRO Spotlight #61, published in October 2018*
*by IUFRO Headquarters, Marxergasse 2, 1030 Vienna, Austria.Available for
download at: **https://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/
<https://www.iufro.org/media/iufro-spotlights/>*
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