TolerantTree Workshop: Assisted migration - a tool to meet the threat from climate change in the Nordic countries

Our forests are facing disturbances that are increasing in severity, scale, and frequency due to climate change, thus leading to rapidly advancing tree mortality and canopy loss. Climate is changing at a fast pace and some tree species and populations will not easily  adapt to these fast changes. Owing to the rapid rate of climate change, it is unlikely that some tree species and populations will be able to migrate to more favorable conditions on their own in time and are they therefore threatened by extinction.

There is therefore a high certainty that important forest genetic material will be lost if actions are not made fast to save those populations, thereby enhancing resilience of future forests. One of the strategies that could be used to lower this risk is Assisted migration. Assisted migration is moving seeds or plant material from the area of origin to a new area where conditions are likely to be more favorable in the future.

Assisted migration can be:

1. within species range,
2. just outside species range, or
3. longer distance far from species range.

Enhancing resilience of Europe‘s forests will be the main topic of the upcoming ForestEurope´s ministerial meeting in Bonn, Germany this October.

Aim of the workshop

Create a discussion venue where scientists have a chance to share and extend their knowledge on matters relating to assisted migration at the Nordic level and discuss suitable ways to practice it in. We invite the participants to give presentations on their work and results related to the assisted migration.

Registration

We have a limitied number of spots and the deadline is March 20th, 2024.