Last week’s EFI annual conference was a great success. Every year the conference hosts a EFIMarket session, where researchers, organizations and regional EFI offices can share their ongoing research or future plans and strategies.
Head of EFINORD office, Mika Mustonen presented some of the office’s present and future forest research and collaboration initiatives for the Nordic-Baltic region.
This was the theme of NordGen Forest’s annual conference held at Hallormsstadur in eastern Iceland on 17-18 September.
More than 30 participants from all Nordic countries attained the conference which contained 11 high-quality presentations addressing the expected nature of climatic change, consequences for forest ecosystems and forestry and measures to meet these changes.
Introducing exotic tree species offers an attractive solution to dealing with a warmer climate. However, it is a solution associated with risk. What are the guarantees that the exotics don’t become invasive and turn out to be a problem? An SNS- supported project draws the conclusion that introductions will still be needed, but must be undertaken with caution and based on experience.
In Sweden there are tree breeding programs for both Scots pine and Norway spruce, and recent studies in a trial area outside Örnsköldsvik shows that a way to minimize the unwanted inbreeding from surrounding trees is simple. From 2010 to 2013 a plastic tent have been erected over the stand and from the pine cones that were a result from the flowering in 2010 shows that the idea was successful, there had been no pollination from trees outside the trial area.
The accelerating decline of Fraxinus excelsior in Europe has been a mystery. The fungus responsible for the disease has now been disclosed as coming from the Far East. It still remains a challenge for science to find methods to save the ash from extinction. The SNS-supported project "Decline of Fraxinus excelsior in northern Europe" took a firm grip on the issue from a scientific viewpoint.
A new study on NordGen talks about how forest trees have survived a series of climate change cycles in the past. The study implies that trees are robust and have an extensive adaptive potential to changing climate patterns.
The International Model Forest Network (IMFN) is a global community that works towards the common goal of sustainable managing forest-based landscapes through the Model Forest approach. The IMFN is comprised of all member Model Forests around the world.
