7.02.06 - Disease/environment interactions in forest decline

Coordinator:

Lori Eckhardt, United States

About Unit

The aim of this Working Party is to promote international collaboration and increased contact between forest pathologists and forest health professionals working on disease and environment interactions associated with forest decline.  Meetings of the Working Party are organized at intervals of 3-5 years.  The number of participants range from 20-40.  The atmosphere of the meetings is relaxed and designed for creative exchanges of ideas to motivate both young and senior researchers.


State of Knowledge

Forest trees across the globe are experiencing massive declines caused by a number of stressors, both abiotic (climate change, pollution, and fragmentation) and biotic (fungi, bacteria, viruses and insects).  It is difficult to determine the cause due to the complexity of tree declines, but the move towards multidisciplinary research will positively contribute to our understanding.