Opening of the first ever IUFRO All Division 8 “Forest Environment” Conference on 23 October, 2016, in connection with the IUFRO Regional Congress for Asia and Oceania in Beijing, China

In his inaugural statement IUFRO Division 8 Coordinator Jean-Michel Carnus highlighted the complete alignment of IUFRO Division 8’s thematic focus with the Regional IUFRO-AO 2016 Congress theme of “Forest Environment under changing climates and societies“.

Recognizing that the participants were the most important ingredients of a successful Congress, IUFRO Vice-President Björn Hånell proudly acknowledged the 20 sessions and 100 presentations of Division 8 that had been fully integrated into the Congress program. He pointed out that the need for knowledge on forest environment had never before been so urgent. And, since such a broad field cannot be mastered alone, scientific cooperation and networking are of utmost importance.

Three keynote presentations introduced the three major research streams of Division 8.

Keynote Speaker Prof. David Ellsworth

David Ellsworth, Western Sydney University, Australia:
– Will Rising [CO2] Affect Forest Species and Function in Large-Scale Forest CO2 Enrichment Experiments? The Next-Generation of Forest Experiments

Against the background of rising atmospheric CO2 concentration in global forests, David Ellsworth asked 3 main questions: What are the changes in forest functioning that are forecast with rising atmospheric CO₂? What is the evidence from forest ecosystem experiments for these changes? Will these changes matter in terms of altering forest species composition? He showed that manipulation experiments yielded powerful insights into forest functioning. There is, however, a lack of sufficient experiments in forests, which are particularly under-studied in China, due to difficulties in scale.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Hong S. He

Hong S. He, Northeast Normal University, China
Effects of Climate Change and Disturbances on Forests of Northeastern China and Eastern U.S.

In his presentation, Hong S. He examined how climate change, fire and timber harvest would affect the distribution and abundance of tree species in the coming 150 years. He investigated responses of forests in Northeastern China and Eastern U.S. A framework of coupling forest ecosystem and landscape models was applied to simulate about 200 million ha forest areas at 100 – 300 m spatial resolution for 150 years.

Keynote Speaker Dr. Hervé Jactel

Hervé Jactel, INRA Bordeaux, France
Biodiversity and Regulating Ecosystem Services in Forests

Hervé Jactel reviewed the current scientific knowledge about tree species diversity effects on forest health in the broadest sense. Based on comparisons between tree monocultures and mixtures, he presented the global pattern of tree diversity effects on forest resistance to biotic and abiotic hazards. Suggestions for science-based solutions for the establishment of more resistant mixed forest plantations through relevant tree species associations completed his talk.

Find out more about IUFRO Division 8 “Forest Environment”: http://www.iufro.org/science/divisions/division-8/

For more information about the keynote speakers, visit:
http://www.iufro-ao2016.org/en/page.asp?hid=&pageid=94.html