All-IUFRO Conference: Conference Announcement and Call for Abstracts

All-IUFRO Conference: Forests in a Volatile World – Global Collaboration to Sustain Forests and Their Societal Benefits
University of Applied Arts (“Die Angewandte”), A-1030 Vienna, Vordere Zollamtsstraße 7
21-23 September 2022
 

NOTE: ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST BE MADE ELECTRONICALLY ON THE CONFERENCE WEBSITE BY 7 JUNE 2022.
LINK TO ABSTRACT SUBMISSION WEBSITE TO BE COMMUNICATED AT https://www.iufro.org/events/all-iufro-conference-2022/  SOON!

Forests and society are facing a number of tremendous challenges, including those posed by global change (including climatic and social), the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and major armed conflicts. There is also a growing realization of the critical importance of halting and reversing environmental degradation worldwide, and society is beginning to recognize the significant role that forests play in sustaining a healthy biophysical and social environment. The global conference will explore the critical roles of research for the conservation and sustainable management of forests and trees under these rapidly changing environmental, economic, and social conditions. Open to all IUFRO Divisions, Task Forces and Special Programs and Projects, the conference will include a special focus on the importance of forests for meeting the Sustainable Development Goals, and explore opportunities for cross-divisional and cross-task force collaboration to address these critical questions.

The conference will include six scientific plenaries that involve a panel presentation, lightning talks and associated posters, a wrap-up session focused on the connections to global change, a conference dinner, as well as a professional field trip (for the participants of the conference and the preceding IUFRO Board meeting). The field trip on the first day of the conference will include a visit to a forest watershed management area in the Eastern Alps protecting one of the most important drinking water resources of the City of Vienna. In addition, efforts towards building climate-resilient forest stands will be demonstrated at another site located in the "Wienerwald" region. More details for the field trip will be presented on the conference website in the next month. The six plenary sessions will focus on the following topics:

1. Forests and Human Health – A One Health Perspective
   From an integrative One Health perspective, this session will discuss the many close relationships between forests and human health, from providing urban residents with restorative spaces and cool spots during heatwaves to the role forests play in the livelihoods of rural and forest-dependent communities. Wider forest-human health relationships also relate to, for example, the health of other living beings and of ecosystems, management of zoonotic diseases, and the importance of spiritual values of forests. 
    
2. Bioeconomy
   Bioeconomy has emerged as a progressive economic model to mitigate climate change, address biodiversity loss, and alleviate poverty; three global challenges. The primary focus of bioeconomy strategies has been to reduce dependence on fossil fuels by using woody biomass more efficiently. A forest-based bioeconomy is more than that! This session will explore the nuances of what entails a forest-based bioeconomy that integrates all forest products - timber and non-timber. Presentations are encouraged that focus on social, cultural, economic, gender, silviculture, and other aspects of forestry within a context of the economy.
    
3. Forest Degradation and Restoration
   Forest degradation is a global phenomenon aggravated by global change. This session aims to bring together people working on issues related to forest degradation, including substantial tree mortality, failed forest rejuvenation, and loss of forest productivity and their implications both at a stand and the landscape level. We seek contributions that report instances of forest degradation and how these have been addressed via landscape restoration measures or transformative actions.
    
4. Gender (un-)Equal Networking of IUFRO
   Based on analysis of functions, positions and experiences in the IUFRO network, this session will problematize the "doing of gender" in forest research, by inviting top level IUFRO members for a round-table panel discussion and provide room for a larger discussion with the audience on emerging questions. In collaboration with the 6.08.00 Research Group, results of the latest gender-related research will be presented in the form of posters and lightning talks.  
    
5. Forest Genetic Resources for Future Resilient Forests
   Making forests more resilient and maintaining their functions requires rapid and focused efforts based on the sustainable use and conservation of forest genetic resources and deployment of forest reproductive material. This session will seek best practises and identify research gaps, linking disciplines such as genetics, forest health, silviculture, and modelling, while ensuring that transformative change to achieve SDGs 13 (Climate Action) and 15 (Life on Land) is implemented in a socially responsible manner.
    
6. Forest and Water
   Management of forest-water relations directly and indirectly affects various SDGs. This session will critically examine three SDGs (SDG 1: No Poverty; SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation; and SDG 13: Climate Action) in terms of the impacts of forest management on water supplies and people, and likely co-benefits and trade-offs. It will also present case studies from around the world that demonstrate the close connections between forest-water management and each of the three SDGs under a changing environment.  

Each plenary will consist of invited talks or panels on the topic, as well as opportunities for presentations as lightning talks (3-5 minutes) and/or in poster sessions. The Conference Scientific Committee (CSC) welcomes submission of abstracts for these lightning talks and posters.

All  presenters, whether participating in person or virtually, are required to register for the Conference by 31 July – failure to do so will mean that the presentation will be deleted from the program and from the abstracts volume.

INFORMATION TO BE PROVIDED WHEN SUBMITTING AN ABSTRACT

• Language: English
• Topic: when submitting an abstract you will be asked to select the most appropriate Plenary Topic.
• Title of poster/flash talk (less than 20 words long): should clearly summarize the topic of the abstract.
• Name, organizational affiliation and email address of each author/presenter. The session moderator or author who will present the paper or poster at the Congress must be designated as the Presenting Author.
• Key words or phrases (up to 5).
• Main text of abstract (350-400 words). Should describe the context and specific problem/topic of study, methods, main results and conclusions in plain writing.

Even though there will be opportunities for virtual participation, all posters and talks will be presented in person.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
All abstracts will be reviewed by members of the Conference Scientific Committee. Primary selection criteria include scientific quality and novelty, topical significance, and relevance to the Conference themes.
Abstracts are due by 7 June, with acceptance notification made no later than 30 June.

All accepted abstracts will be published prior to the Conference. Submission of an abstract implies consent by the authors to have the abstract published by the Conference. Although Conference proceedings with full papers will not be published, alternative publication options will be explored.

SCIENTIST ASSISTANCE PROGRAMME
IUFRO's Special Programme for Development of Capacities (SPDC) will offer support for conference participation for a limited number of forest scientists from economically disadvantaged regions. For more details please visit: https://www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/sap/cfavienna/.

 

KEY  DATES

PDF for download

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