International IUFRO Conference – Abies&Pinus 2022 “Fir and pine management in a changing environment: risks and opportunities” – Službena web stranica Šumarskog fakulteta u Sarajevu

Joint conference of two IUFRO units: 1.01.09 Ecology and Silviculture of Fir and 1.01.10 Ecology and Silviculture of Pine
The 17th International Conference on Ecology and Silviculture of Fir
The 6th International Conference on Ecology and Silviculture of Pine

The international IUFRO conference “Fir and pine management in a changing environment: risks and opportunities” was organized organized by the University of Sarajevo Faculty of Forestry and supported by IUFRO in Sarajevo in the period 19-22.09.2022. The international IUFRO conference was organized with the aim of reviewing previous experiences and improving the management of fir and pine in a changing environment, while recognizing the risks and opportunities for sustainable management of these types of forest trees. The opening of the conference was attended by representatives of: the Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Youth of Sarajevo Canton (minister Prof. dr. Aleksandra Nikolić), the Ministry of Economy of Sarajevo Canton (minister Adnan Delić), the University of Sarajevo (vice-rector for scientific research Prof. dr. Mirza Dautbašić), Faculty of Forestry (Dean Prof. Dr. Ahmet Lojo), IUFRO unit 1.01.09 Ecology and Silviculture of Fir (Prof. Dr. Andrej Bončina) and 1.01.10 Ecology and Silviculture of Pine (Prof. Dr. Teresa de Jesus Fidalgo Fonseca).

The conference brought together 98 participants from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Croatia, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden and Ukraine. More than 60 scientific papers and posters have been submitted for participation in the conference, presenting various problems in the field of forestry, with an emphasis on the management of fir and pine in a changing environment, which nowadays represents a challenge, having in mind that it is necessary to consider potential risks and opportunities for improving management practices. The following key issues were discussed:

Stand dynamics of fir and pine forests: regeneration, growth, mortality, dendrochronology, and soil fertility
Ecology and management of fir and pine species in a changeable environment
Gene pool and provenances of fir and pine species: improving their adaptability to a changing environment
Providing products and ecosystem services from fir and pine forests
Silviculture and management planning given the pressure on wood requirements

Climate changes can and do significantly affect the dynamics of fir and pine forests (regeneration, growth and mortality) and require adaptive management strategies for these species both globally and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The management of fir and pine nowadays represents a challenge for the silviculturists and forest managers bearing in mind that it is necessary to consider potential risks and opportunities for improving management practices. Science has provided useful guidance for the management of these coniferous species. More research needs to be pursued at regional and global levels to help address this challenge. Some of the actions suggested for adaptive management include the testing and use of more impact-resistant varieties of fir and pine, and silvicultural models aimed at minimizing vulnerability such as the use of mixtures, thinning, changes in rotation length. We believe that this international conference was successfully organized because it enabled the exchange of knowledge and experience from the management of different types of fir and pine around the world between experts from practice and scientists from different countries and various disciplines.

Conference program can be downloaded here

Book of Abstracts from the international IUFRO conference Fir and pine management in a changeable environment: risks and opportunities van be downloaded here

Report from the IUFRO for the conference: Abies & Pinus 2022 Fir and pine management in a changeable environment: risks and opportunities available at: https://www.iufro.org/uploads/media/news22-10.pdf

Pictures from the conference are available here

After the official conference program, the participants of the post-conference field tour travelled from Sarajevo to Mostar and Trebinje. During the three days participants had chance to visit stands of fir (Forestry stand designate for the production or harvest of seed), natural stands of pine (Pinus sylvestris and Pinus nigra), Woodcarving museum, stands of Pinus heldreichii (Bosnian pine) munika, visiting natural stands of Bosnian pine and endemic species that are on the red list, National Park Vjetrenica – The largest karst region of Europe in conjunction with the Mediterranean, visit and Monastery Tvrdoš, local vine production, national park Sutjeska and Virgin forest Perućica.

The program of the post conference tour can be downloaded here