All-IUFRO Conference 2022

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

event092022(at)iufro.org
In-person with hybrid participation


IUFRO is pleased to announce that an in-person IUFRO event with hybrid participation will be held in Vienna, Austria, on 21-23 September 2022.

The conference will explore the critical roles of research for the conservation and sustainable management of forests and trees under rapidly changing environmental, economic and social conditions. The program, developed jointly by IUFRO Divisions, Task Forces and Special Programs and Projects, will place a particular focus on the importance of forests in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

The global conference will include scientific plenaries in different formats, a poster session, a professional field trip (for the participants of the conference and of the preceding IUFRO Board meeting) as well as a conference dinner. Please mark your calendars for this important event!


Media Coverage



Conference Registration

IUFRO Headquarters is pleased to announce that registration for the all-IUFRO conference and excursion is open. The conference will be held as a hybrid event.
 

Registration deadlines

  • In-person participants:  limited to 250 persons; registration will close on 13 September, 23:59 h.
  • Presenters: 14 August (Notification of abstract acceptance will be given by 15 July. Failure to register will mean that the presentation will be deleted from the program and from the abstracts volume.)
  • Virtual participants:  14 September


Registration fees

  • All-IUFRO conference: € 220.--. This rate includes the food during the 2 days of the conference and the conference dinner.
  • All-IUFRO conference and excursion: € 300.--. This rate includes a) the food during the 2 days of the conference and the conference dinner, and b) the lunch bag and the dinner on the excursion day.
  • Virtual participation: free

Please note our Registration Fee Refund Policy.


To register, please visit  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/all-iufro-conference-2022-registration.

In case of any questions, please contact event092022(at)iufro.org.


Please note that in-person participants have to keep themselves informed about the COVID-19 regulations in place as a valid COVID-19 certification (showing vaccination, recent negative PCR test, or proof of recovery) might be compulsory in September for you to be allowed to travel to Austria and/or to enter the venue. Please make sure to check: https://www.austria.info/en/service-and-facts/coronavirus-information/entry-regulations  and  https://www.dieangewandte.at/covid19_en  before travelling.


Mentoring Program

Mentoring relationships are mutually beneficial and support personal or professional development.

IUFRO has an interest in a continued involvement of students and young scientists in the organization. It is a way to safeguard the interest of aspiring scientists in collegial cooperation and the gradual process of organizational renewal. The IUFRO-IFSA Mentoring Program has been held at previous IUFRO conferences and has been immensely successful at connecting young professionals to senior scientists. We are therefore planning to hold this event again. The Mentoring Program comprises two forms: the mentor-mentee bilateral networking and two events in Vienna for all mentor-mentee pairs.
 

A. Outline:

1. Before the conference

Register for the Mentoring Program by clicking the box in the registration form, stating whether you are interested in being a Mentor or a Mentee. It is important that you let us know about your main forest research interest so that we can make the best possible match between Mentor-Mentee.

The Mentor and Mentee pairs will be formed before the Conference by the organizing committee and the pairs are encouraged to get in contact online before the conference, to get to know each other, exchange professional profiles and discuss specific needs and wishes how to use the time together during the conference. 

2. During the conference

Mentees and mentors meet in Vienna - meeting time and place are self-organized by the pairs. Mentors and mentees can organize their activities based on their needs, this might include sharing networks, discussing results and perspectives as well as ways to join IUFRO activities and needs for further activities.

All Mentors and Mentees meet during the event “Get involved in IUFRO”  that takes place on September 22nd at lunch time (brown bag lunch) in form of speed dating. Mentees, but also mentors and further IUFRO officeholders are invited to take part and share their perspectives around IUFRO.

An inspirational speech is given by a specially invited guest as input for discussing the (forest) scientific career development on the evening of the 22nd of September before the conference dinner. Especially mentees are invited but all conference participants are welcome to join the discussion as well.
 

B. Motivation to take part

  • Wider network and contacts with forest scientists within IUFRO
  • Support in your personal and professional development
  • Help with identifying professional directions and goals (including a SWOT analysis)
  • Increase your chances of a successful career in academia
  • A certificate of participation

We support the development of the mentor-mentee relationship by providing the venue, guidance and inspirational events during the conference.
 

Interested?

All you need to do is: click the box in the registration form for the conference and respond to the linked questions.


PDF for download


Submission of Abstracts

Abstract submission is closed.

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.

Acceptance notification will be made no later than 15 July.

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.


Conference Structure and Themes

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).

TOPICS OF THE SIX PLENARY SESSIONS

  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 are required to register for the Conference by 14 August – failure to do so will mean that the presentation will be deleted from the program and from the abstracts volume.


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/.


Excursion

Wednesday, 21 September 2022

Forest management at the lower timberline

We will visit the secondary black pine forests in the Steinfeld, which literally translates as "field of stones" near Wiener Neustadt. The area is located south of Vienna in the state of Lower Austria and experiences Pannonian climate with hot summers, cold winters and low precipitation rates resulting in a potential natural vegetation of oak and hornbeam forest. Over the past few centuries, the area has been converted into agricultural land.

During the 15th century Wiener Neustadt was the capital of the Austrian Empire ruled by Emperor Maximilian. He initiated large reforestation projects with black pine to avoid erosion, but also to create hunting grounds. In the 18th century Empress Maria Theresia continued these projects. The economically highly profitable production of tree resin harvested from the black pine forests became a major source of income in the region but ended when the resin was replaced by fossil materials.

Today the area is the largest secondary black pine forest in Central Europe and has a lot of small landowners. It is considered highly vulnerable to climate change because of the sandy soils and the low and declining precipitation rates in the region. Drought stress, resulting bark beetle infestation and forest fires are increasing threats to these forests and present huge challenges for forest management.

Our guides will be a scientist of the Institute of Silviculture, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, and representatives of the local forest authorities.


Forests and water

We will visit "Kaiserbrunn", which literally translates as "Emperor's Well", the place where Vienna's drinking water originates. It is located south of Vienna in the Rax-Schneeberg region at the border between the states of Lower Austria and Styria at the edge of the Eastern Austrian Limestone Alps. The region experiences mountain climate with a lot of rain and snowfall in winter, which provides excellent conditions for drinking water. Historically, the area served as hunting ground for Franz Joseph I, the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the 19th century Vienna recorded a strong population growth, which resulted in a shortage of water especially for poor people. Thus, Emperor Franz Joseph decided to have the First Vienna Mountain Spring Pipeline built. The 95km-long pipeline was opened in 1873 after a construction period of roughly four years. In 1910 a second water pipeline of ca. 180km was opened. The water flows at a speed of 5km/h by gravitational energy only. It takes about 36 hours for the water to reach the city of Vienna from the Rax-Schneeberg region. The forest in the water catchment is owned and managed by the City of Vienna with a focus on ensuring high-quality drinking water for Vienna's about two million inhabitants.

We will visit the well, the water museum and enjoy the mountainous landscape of the region. Our guides will be representatives of the City of Vienna.

Photos: Professor Hubert Hasenauer, BOKU University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences

 

PDF for download


Key Dates

Submission of abstracts deadline

30 June

Confirmation of abstract acceptance

15 July

Registration opening

30 June

Presenter Registration deadline

14 August

Conference

21-23 September