IUFRO conference on forest landscape restoration

First call for papers

The International Conference on Forest Landscape Restoration will be held 14-19 May 2007. Technical sessions will be held May 14-16, with 1- and 3-day post-conference field trips. The conference venue is the COEX Convention Center in downtown Seoul, Republic of Korea. The conference is hosted by the Korea Forest Research Institute and IUFRO Divisions 1, 6, and 8, with sponsorship from the Korea Forest Service, USDA Forest Service, Northeast Asian Forest Forum, and Seoul National University. Updated information concerning the Conference, including preliminary program, registration, hotel information, key dates and deadlines, etc., will be available soon at http://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/korea.

This Call for Papers invites abstracts to be submitted for contributed papers and posters addressing the themes and purposes of the Conference as described below. Abstracts for selection of 300 words or less are due by December 22, 2006 and should be submitted electronically, providing Title, Conference Theme, Author(s) name, affiliation, address, email, phone, Preference for Oral or Poster, at http://shrmc.ggy.uga.edu/cgi-bin/upload.

The Conference Science Committee will review submitted abstracts to determine acceptance and appropriate session assignment. Abstract submitters will be notified of acceptance by 16 March 2007. Plenary, concurrent, special topic, and poster sessions are being planned. Space will be available for poster display throughout the Conference and will be highlighted at a special reception event. The Science Committee is open to proposals for special workshops and complementary side meetings; contact the Conference Chair as soon as possible at jstanturf@fs.fed.us .

The objective of the Forest Landscape Restoration Conference is to provide a stronger scientific basis for forest landscape restoration. Forest Landscape Restoration is a planned process that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in degraded or deforested forest landscapes by fostering appropriate forms of restoration at strategically chosen locations. Simply put, forest landscape restoration brings people together to identify, negotiate and put in place land use practices that optimize the contribution of forests and trees to environmental, social and economic benefits across the landscape.

Thematic sessions will explore topics such as

• Landscape History (How can restoration account for land use and management legacies of the past, as they affect the future landscape? What are the important differences between cultural or semi-natural versus natural landscapes and the implications for restoration?)

• Landscape Ecology (What are the important contributions from ecological theory and how do we operationalize theoretical constructs?)

• Governance, Land Tenure, and Equity (What is the role of government? How can we advance an understanding of forest landscape restoration within the broader context of land use or sectoral planning, land management, and different social and policy contexts? Are there restoration planning processes or techniques that accommodate the diverse and sometimes conflicting aspirations of stakeholders?)

• Ecosystem Services (Are they a measure of restoration success? How can the provision of ecosystem services be optimized? What methods are available for capturing the value of environmental services provided by restoration, in order that payments may be made to underwrite further restoration?)

• Future Landscapes (What strategies exist for adaptation of forests to climate change and climate variability? How can we incorporate uncertainty of climate variability or climate change into landscape restoration? What are the likely future climate conditions and what trajectories will current forests follow to adapt?)

• Managed Landscapes (How can we use commercial plantations or other planted forests to enhance the supply of goods and services at the landscape level, including biodiversity?)

• How to do landscape restoration (Case studies)

• Innovative approaches to science delivery in landscape restoration

The purposes of the Forest Landscape Restoration Conference are to enable participants to share current knowledge, document forest restoration practice as it occurs across landscapes, and reflect on future directions in consideration of the Conference themes.

Extended abstracts (short papers) of all accepted presentations (oral and poster) will be published online and distributed at the Conference. Arrangements are being developed for special refereed journal issues, that will offer selected presenters the opportunity for expedited article submissions, and a book is planned. The Conference does not reimburse authors for expenses incurred-either in the preparation of abstracts or final papers, or for travel to the conference. The Conference Organizing Committee, however, is exploring sources of funding for participants from less developed nations. Authors who submit final papers for the conference proceedings imply agreement to register for the conference at the appropriate fee, to attend the conference, and to present their papers/posters in person.

Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 21 Feb 2009
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