Sessions Description and Organizers
Session: General session on Forest Pathology and Entomology
Organizers: Edmundo Sousa,Julio Diez, Pedro Naves and Simone Prospero
Summary: This is a general session of pathology and entomology presentations that were not submitted or not accepted to one of the themed sessions
Session: Tree health in urban forests
Organizers: Johanna Witzell, Steve Frank and Hervé Jactel
Summary: Urban trees and forests are widely acknowledged as key contributors to human well-being, e.g. through the improvement of air quality, atmospheric cooling, biodiversity conservation and mental health. However, stressful urban conditions such as soil compaction or drought make trees particularly vulnerable to the emergence of native pests and pathogens. Proximity to international transportation hubs also exposes urban forests to colonisation by non-native species. It is therefore urgent that advanced strategies for the early detection, identification, eradication and control of urban tree pests and diseases be proposed. Presenting the progress of multidisciplinary research on these topics will be the objective of the proposed session at the Lisbon conference, in a session that will be the first official meeting of the new IUFRO WP7-03-17.
Session: Parasitic flowering plants in forests
Organizers: David Shaw, David Watson, Tod Ramsfield and Luiza Teixeira
Summary: Parasitic flowering plants are considered to be keystone components of natural and urban forests due to their impact in ecological processes, as well as in management and conservation of forest productivity and biodiversity. Our proposed session would cover the breadth of topics about parasitic flowering plants.
Session: Pine wilt disease
Organizers: Christelle Robinet, Luís Bonifácio, Hyerim Han and Katsunori Nakamura
Summary: This session on Pine Wilt Disease (PWD) aims to (1) disseminate new findings on the invasive Pine Wood Nematode (PWN), its host trees, its insect vectors and other organisms potentially involved, and 2) promote interactions with colleagues outside the pine wilt disease community, namely working on other fields and who will be present in this All-Division 7 conference. The conference will take place in Portugal, where the pine wood nematode has spread since its detection in 1999.
Session: The ecology and pathology of bark and ambrosia beetle-microbial symbioses
Organizers: Peter Biedermann, Dineshkumar Kandasamy, Paal Krokene and Maximilian Lehenberger
Summary: Bark and ambrosia beetles have been interacting with fungi for millions of years and in associations that range from antagonisms to mutualisms. This has resulted in reciprocal adaptations, like specialized morphologies and metabolic capabilities in the fungi and mycetangia and behaviors for fungal management in the beetles. These associations are often multipartite, including various lineages of filamentous fungi, yeasts and bacteria. The high diversity of associated microorganisms has certainly facilitated the diversification of these beetles and their ecological success but also makes them difficult to study. Despite growing risks of bark and ambrosia beetles and their microbial symbionts for human agriculture and forestry, detailed knowledge on the role of microbial associates and their interactions within beetle galleries is missing for most species. In this symposium, we present current efforts and results to understand the ecology and pathology of bark and ambrosia beetle microbial symbioses.
Session: Defense priming in forest trees: Mechanisms and practical applications
Organizers: Paal Krokene, Estrella Luna-Diez, Melissa H. Mageroy
Summary: In recent years we have seen unprecedented outbreaks of tree diseases and insect pests that have had devastating effects on tree survival. This includes both invasive species such as ash dieback and native species such as bark beetles. Recent outbreaks have been facilitated by climate change and increased market globalization. Much of the effort to control pest and disease outbreaks is directed at operational responses to immediate threats rather than longer-term solutions. One promising longer-term solution is priming of the trees’ inducible defenses. By priming the defense capacity of seedlings or mature trees these may be able to respond faster and stronger against attackers. While defense priming has been studied in model angiosperms for decades, we are just beginning to understand the mechanisms and practical application of defense priming in forest trees. This session will present examples of what defense priming is and how it can be studied, drawing on research on both conifers and deciduous trees.
Session: Gender issues in forest entomology and pathology (GIFEP)
Organizers: Jess Hartshorn, Jeremy Allison, Eckehard Brockerhoff, Molly Darr, Beccy Ganley, Maartje Klapwijk, Paal Krokene and Mariella Marzano
Summary: This session aims to be the first in a series of networking events to discuss and promote gender issues and equity in forest entomology and pathology. We plan to introduce this network with a presentation outlining results from a survey done in 2020 which assessed the experiences of women and men in forest entomology and pathology. Other speakers will present on a variety of topics on diversity and inclusion in the sciences, followed by a panel where speakers will answer questions and participate in discussion with other attendees. Following this workshop, a networking event will be held where participants will be able to discuss various issues (e.g. childcare responsibilities) with other participants as well as speakers and organizers. We will maintain a list of participants from which we will organize mentorship opportunities among junior and senior researchers.
Session: Invasive forest pests and pathogens - pathways, impacts and mitigation measures
Organizers: Dimitrios Avtzis and Eckehard Brockerhoff
Summary: Invasions of non-native insects and pathogens damaging trees in forests and urban areas are a growing concern. The increase in international trade and the associated unintentional transport of insects and pathogens is the main cause of this. In this session, we will assemble presentations on the various trade pathways that facilitate such invasions, the impacts on urban trees and forest ecosystems, and the suite of mitigation measures that has been or is being developed to reduce current and future threats.
Session: Biological control of forest pests: Challenges and opportunities
Organizers: Lukas Seehausen, Brett Hurley, Marc Kenis, Simone Prospero and Manuela Branco
Summary: Biological control approaches are among the most environmentally-friendly strategies to tackle forest pests and diseases. However, uncertainties on its efficacy and some risks poses challenges to researchers and practitioners. Concerning classical biological control, that is the introduction of a non-native organism to control a non-native pest/pathogen, an increase in awareness of environmental risks potentially posed by biological control agents, implies research on methods and policies that guarantee efficacy and safety. Conservation biological control is highly appealing in view of environmental issues, but research is still lacking to understand how habitat management and ecosystem changes may increase its efficacy. For pathogens, biological control is still rarely used. Still a myriad of biotic interactions exerting pressure on pathogens (e.g., top-down regulators, competitors and amensalists, endophytes, mycorrhizae) can be explored to mitigate emerging forest diseases. In this session, researchers with interest on biological control will present novel concepts and innovations, bringing biological control to the spotlight as an environmentally sound tool.
Session: Forest Health in southern hemisphere commercial plantations
Organizers: Stuart Fraser, Rodrigo Ahumada, Angus Carnegie and Carlos A. Perez
Summary: IUFRO Working Party 7.02.13 "Forest Health in Southern Hemisphere Commercial Plantations" is one of the newest Working Parties in Division 7. We aim to improve the management of forest health issues through increased international contact and collaboration. This session will focus on forest health of common southern hemisphere plantation species, such as eucalypts, pines and acacias. We welcome talks on similar plantation systems in the northern hemisphere. Subjects of interest include the status of plantation pests and diseases, pest population dynamics and disease epidemiology, monitoring and surveillance, management options, and diagnostics. We will also discuss opportunities and initiatives that could increase international collaboration within the research community.
Session: Myrtle rust: biology, impacts and management opportunities
Organizers: Stuart Fraser and Jane Stewart
Summary: This session will cover the latest developments and future directions of research on myrtle rust (caused by the pathogen Austropuccinia psidii). We encourage presentations of new ideas or that highlight gaps in our understanding. Discussions will follow talks on ecology, economics, genomics, host range, life cycle and identification of genotypes. Now that A. psidii is a widespread pathogen, the aim of this meeting is to further consolidate our community, identify knowledge gaps and provide research goals that we can meet together.
Session: Embracing the beauty of uncertainty and dealing with it in predictive models for forest pests and pathogens
Organizers: Caterina Villari, Kamal Gandhi and Cristian Montes
Summary: Managing forest resources requires precise information about all potential biotic and abiotic agents affecting a stand over its life. This task requires scientists capable of integrating pest biology, tree ecophysiology, and spatial statistics to produce predictive models that map potential risks over time. One of the most significant challenges of this work is evaluating uncertainty associated with each prediction due to the sparse nature of the data used to build such models. Cutting-edge machine learning approaches, such as Random Forest, and Gradient Boosting Machines, are starting to occur in the ecology realm, complementing well-documented statistical methods such as hierarchical Bayesian models, path analysis, and generalized additive models. This merging of techniques has opened new avenues for forest health specialists to develop decision tools of practical application. In this session, we propose to highlight recent approaches in this field and to show recent developments to merge the predictive models with traditional geostatistics.
Session: A look to the future of the behavioural and chemical ecology of forest insects
Organizers: Jeremy Allison, Sigrid Netherer, Andres Gonzalez and Quentin Guignard
Summary: This session will contain presentations on the cutting edge of forest insect chemical ecology. Six of these will be selected from the best student presentations in a webinar series organized by IUFRO Working Party 7.03.16 "Behavioral and Chemical Ecology of Forest Insects". The presentations will cover a range of studies conducted on different continents.
Session: Basic and applied ecology of tree reproductive structure insects and pathogens in the context of global change
Organizers: Thomas Boivin, Marie-Anne Auger-Rozenberg and Olle Rosenberg
Summary: Insects and pathogens exploiting tree reproductive structures (buds, flowers, fruits, cones or seeds) have a wide range of ecological and economical impacts on forest tree populations and seed orchards worldwide. Such insect and pathogen groups are particularly prone to biological invasions, and the potential for climate change and global trade to affect the interactions of both invasive and native populations with host trees are a source of increasing concern to entomologists, pathologists and foresters. This session will aim at gathering experimental and theoretical contributions to basic and applied ecological issues associated with tree reproductive structures and insects and pathogens. The 2019 IUFRO Curitiba congress provided the first ever opportunity to connect both insect and pathogen scientific communities addressing tree reproductive structure issues. We expect this new session at the 2022 Lisbon Congress to build on this and strengthen crucial interdisciplinary links on this topic.
Session: New and emerging vascular wilt diseases caused by the Ophiostomatoid fungi
Organizers: Irene Barnes and Mike Wingfield
Summary: Vascular wilt diseases caused by the Ophiostomatoid fungi have caused some of the most devastating of all tree diseases. Most notable of these are the Dutch Elm disease fungi Ophiostoma ulmi and O. novo-ulmi and various species of Ceratocystis such as Ceratocystis platani, which causes a serious wilt disease of Platanus in Europe. In recent years, numerous other examples of this group of pathogens have emerged to cause serious tree diseases in various parts of the world, and this appears to be a growing trend. Examples include Laurel wilt caused by Raffaelea lauricola and Ceratocystis wilt of ‘ōhi‘a caused by Ceratocystis lukuohia. Other pathogens are causing serious constraints to plantation forestry, as is found with Ceratocystis manginecans causing the massive destruction of Acacia mangium in South East Asia. The aim of the session will be to showcase the broad diversity of research taking place globally on vascular wilt diseases caused by the Ophiostomatoid fungi and their insect associates. Topics for presentation and discussion will, for example, include the most recent research on the identification, ecology, epidemiology and population genetics of these pathogens. They will also include consideration of the numerous powerful new techniques that are being applied to facilitate the management of a category of tree pathogens, clearly growing in global relevance.
Session: Pitch canker of pines: Emerging frontiers
Organizers: Brenda Wingfield and Emma Steenkamp
Summary: Pitch canker caused by the fungal pathogen Fusarium circinatum is one of the most serious diseases damaging Pinus spp. in various parts of the world. The disease occurs in both plantation as well as naturally occurring forests where the pathogen has been accidentally introduced. A significant community of researchers in various parts of the world are working actively on the disease, considering many aspects of its biology and management. These studies cut across many disciplines including for example pathology, entomology, tree genetics. New and emerging technologies are increasingly being applied to better understand the pathogen and the diseases it causes. Importantly, the proposed session will bring together researchers working on pitch canker, providing an opportunity to share and debate the current frontiers of research on the topic. And the topic is sufficiently broad that it will be of interest to others attending the meeting.
Session: Precision pest management in plantation forestry
Organizers: Bernard Slippers, Brett Hurley and Jeremy Allison
Summary: We define Precision Pest Management as an approach that considers the variation and diversity in pest systems. This includes both inherent (genetic and phenotypic) variation and variation in the expression of these systems in a landscape, due to variation in both abiotic and biotic interactions. This approach has been made possible due to developments in technology and information systems such as the explosion in available tools for molecular and chemical data collection, analysis and sharing; and environmental and image data coupled to powerful, integrative analytical tools such as artificial intelligence. In this session we will explore how PPM approaches can be harnessed to deal with the scale and complexity of pest management in the future.
Session: Current status of viruses and phytoplasma of forest and urban trees
Organizers: Carmen Buettner and Risto Jalkanen
Summary: There are not many studies on plant viruses and phytoplasma of forest trees. But many diverse deciduous trees of any age do get infected by viruses or Phytoplasma which may cause degeneration and loss of vitality. Over many years continuing surveys of forested areas, public green spaces and of young seedlings in nurseries confirm the dispersal of viruses and phytoplasma in many plants with pathogen-associated symptoms. They induce alterations in a tree's metabolism and alter plants' predisposition. Investigations over the last years have filled some knowledge gaps and increased our awareness of infection of trees with known and in particular with novel viruses. There is an urgent need for reliable methods for virus detection and identification in forest and urban trees and knowledge of the transmission to find out about their distribution and impact on tree health. This session shall bring scientists together to exchange their knowledge of viruses of woody plants which shall contribute to a comprehensive understanding of novel viruses including thoses plant viruses bringing benefits to their hosts or mycoviruses.
Session: Worldwide trends in tree mortality: The roles of climate change, insects and pathogens and their interaction
Organizers: Henrik Hartmann, Eckehard Brockerhoff, Nadine Ruehr, Maartje Klapwijk, Aster Gebrekirstos, Tod Ramsfield, Adriane Esquivel Muelbert and Bernhard Schuldt
Summary: Reports of tree mortality and forest decline are increasing in many parts of the world, yet there is no universal consensus about the ultimate causes and the consistency of global patterns and trends of tree mortality, nor on potential trajectories of future forest conditions. The combination of increasing invasions and climate change-related extreme events is putting forests under pressure worldwide. In this interdisciplinary session organised jointly by the IUFRO Task Force on Monitoring Global Tree Mortality and the IUFRO Division 7 we aim to facilitate exchange among a diverse community of people working on the impacts of extreme stress events on forests, forest entomology and pathology and tree mortality attribution. Research that may include forest health monitoring, experimental studies, ground-based observations or remote sensing approaches from the tree to the regional and continental level will be considered. We particularly welcome contributions that consider coherent assessments of tree mortality and its attribution across existing data sets and associated monitoring methods.
Session: Can pathogen behaviour within a native range inform management decisions following pathogen introduction into novel environments?
Organizers: Tod Ramsfield, Michelle Cleary, Beccy Ganley and Julio Javier Diez Casero
Summary: International trade and the globalized economy has resulted in the movement of forest pathogens from source populations into novel environments. Within these novel environments pathogen behaviour is often changed. Within the native range these organisms may be controlled by factors such as competition and co-evolved host defense systems, while in the introduced range these controls may be absent or circumvented and different host species encountered, resulting in increased damage. Through a series of case-study examples, this session will examine changes in pathogen behaviour as facilitated (for example) by phenotypic plasticity or the mating system and reproductive biology that may result in increased virulence and damage following introduction. Examination of these case studies can provide information that may prove useful for the protection of forests from exotic pathogens that have become established outside of their native range.
Session: Research progress on ash dieback and emerald ash borer
Organizers: Eckehard Brockerhoff, Martin Gossner, Valentin Queloz and Alberto Santini
Summary: Ash species (Fraxinus spp.) in Europe and North America are threatened by ash dieback (caused by the fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus) and emerald ash borer (the buprestid beetle Agrilus planipennis). Both H. fraxineus and A. planipennis are native to north-east Asia where they are benign associates of native north-east Asian Fraxinus species. Since their appearance in the last about 20 years in Europe and North America, considerable research has investigated the causes of their impacts on European and North American ash species, the potential for tolerance or resistance, control options including biological control, and various other aspects. In this session, presentations on progress in these areas will be given along with an outlook for the future of ash in Europe and North America.
Session: Use of RNA strategies for the control of forest pests and diseases
Organizers: Jonatan Niño Sanchez, Irene Bocos, Cristina Zamora-Ballesteros, Huma Amin, Julio Diez
Summary: The search for environmentally-friendly products for plant disease management is a priority worldwide, and environmental RNA interference (RNAi) offers a promising solution. RNAi is a gene regulatory system, conserved in eukaryotic organisms, that silences the expression of certain transcripts via double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) processing. Environmental RNAi is a phenomenon by which dsRNAs can be taken up from the environment and induce systemic gene silencing in target organisms. On the other hand, mycoviruses or fungal viruses are widespread in all major taxa of fungi. They have mostly dsRNA (double-stranded RNA) genomes, but an increasing number of positive or negative ssRNA (single-stranded RNA) and ssDNA (single-stranded DNA) viruses have been isolated and characterized in recent years. The session will deal with those two environmental-friendly methodologies for forest disease management.
Session: Forest pathologist and entomologists unite! Results of innovative collaborations that improve our understanding and management of forest pest invasions.
Organizers: Jon Sweeney, Jeremy Allison, Jean Berubé, NRCan, Canadian Forest Service, Fredericton NB, Sault Ste. Marie ON, and Ste. Foy QC, respectively
Summary: This theme is inspired by the Jactel et al. (2020) paper “Pathologists and entomologists must join forces against forest pest and pathogen invasions”, that advocates such collaborations will improve our efforts to understand and manage invasive forest pests. Hervé Jactel will open the session with on the benefits of these collaborations and ways they may be facilitated. Jean Berubé will present a talk that shows how the fluids normally discarded from traps used for surveillance of invasive bark and woodboring insects can be used to survey for invasive forest fungal pathogens. Other topics will include recent research on ecology and management of specific damaging invasive forest insects and pathogens, such as ambrosia beetles and their associated fungi (e.g., polyphagous shot hole borer, Wilhelm de Beer), Sirex woodwasp and new insights on fungal symbionts, Bernard Skippers),new findings on Nitidulid vectors of oak wilt disease in North America (Sharon Reed), etc.
Session: Impacts of global change on forest defoliating insects.
Organizers: Andrea Battisti, Deepa Pureswaran, Manuela Branco
Summary: This symposium will address the impacts of climate change and international trade and travel on disturbance by native and non-native forest defoliators. Recent decades have seen species range shifts, phenological shifts, movement on to new and secondary host species, establishment of invasive pests in new habitats and changes in disturbance regimes caused by defoliators. As we face a climate crisis, speakers will address these challenges in different geographic regions and the measures taken to mitigate the impacts of defoliating pests.
Session: Role of plant symbiotic organisms on plant resistance to insects and pathogens
Organizers: Nadir Erbilgin and Luis Sampedro
Summary: Plants are associated with many symbiotic organisms. The session will focus on the role of plant symbiotic organisms such as endophytes and mycorrhizal fungi on plant resistance against insect pests and pathogens. In this session, speakers will demonstrate examples of mutually beneficial (mutualistic) interactions between plants and microorganisms.Major emphasis will be laid on the protection role of these microbial symbionts, mediating plant-pest interactions. Thus, our aims are: to provide an overview of recent advances in plant protection by symbiotic microorganisms, demonstrate the ecological implications of this protection, and suggest some descriptive and experimental approaches required to analyse such symbioses further.
Session: Bark and ambrosia beetles
Moderators: Ecki Brockerhoff and Peter Biedermann
