Knowledge Centre – NordGen Forest

Nordic forests provide wood and bioenergy, protection against wind and erosion, biodiversity and is a carbon dioxide sink. The trees planted today will grow for decades to come but climate change can hit our forests hard, and we must deal with the emergence of new pests and diseases that haven’t existed in the Nordic region before. Within the forest industry there is a need for strong, resilient forests in the future and an important key to this resilience is genetic diversity. Since different trees carry different genes, chances are that some of them can resist the new threats. For example, the ashdieback disease is today threatening the Nordic ashes. But by identifying particular trees that carry resistance genes, the species could be saved. NordGen Forest is working to exchange knowledge about these kind of issues in the Nordic forest community. 

For NordGen Forest, the year 2022 was again a year filled with fruitful meetings on site in the Nordic countries. For example, a successful forest conference was arranged in Swedish Lund, and the NordGen Forest Working Group on Genetic Resources met for a couple of inspiring days in Iceland, more information about these events will follow below.

The first NordGen Forest event in 2022 was a thematic day organized on 24 March in Danish Silkeborg. About 50 persons joined the day of presentations and excursions in the area. Four lecturers where invited to give presentations in connection with the theme climate change and how to choose the right plant material for the forest of the future. A second thematic day was organized on 1 December in Finnish Tampere where nine lecturers gave presentations.

The NordGen Forest 50 years anniversary conference (originally to be held on site in 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19) was arranged on 27-28 September 2022 in Lund, Sweden. About 70 persons participated in the conference that was titled "Scoping our forests for the future”. During the first day, 14 lecturers gave presentations covering topics on forest’s adaptability to climate change as well as opportunities and bottlenecks in forest seedling production and planting. Presentations by young researchers were also given special attention in poster session. The second day was devoted to forest excursions in the region. The conference participants were able to visit the estate Dragesholm and Skogforsk’s research station Ekebo. Both the thematic days and the conference had digital participants in additions to people on site.

All meetings in the NordGen Forest Regeneration Council and in the NordGen Forest Working Group on Genetic Resources were arranged as planned. In August, the Working Group gathered in Iceland for seminars and excursions organized by the Icelandic Forest Service (IFS).

A total of 10 applications (6 male, 3 female and 1 NA) were received by the deadline on 15 February 2022. Seven of them were granted. The grants (in total NOK 118.000 due to unused assets from 2021) were given to travels and field work, supporting activities in several Nordic countries. In 2022, field work was also performed on Greenland with support from the scholarship. 

NordGen Forest addresses conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources, by being a forum for researchers, practitioners and managers working on forest genetic resources, seeds, planting stock and regeneration. We facilitate flow of scientific information and knowhow between these groups.

NordGen Forest consists of two bodies: The NordGen Forest Regeneration Council, which meets twice a year and the NordGen Forest Working Group on Genetic Resources, which meets once a year. The main activities arranged by NordGen Forest are our conferences and thematic days. In cooperation with Nordic Forest Research (SNS), NordGen Forest also grants scholarships to enhance knowledge and competences in the area of seed, plants and forest regeneration.

NordGen Forest is focusing on knowledge exchange about conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources, forest seed and plant production and regeneration of forests. By disseminating knowledge and experience between the various actors and to the public, we aim to support better plant production and better regeneration methods of forest, as well as conservation of forest genetic resources. We conduct various types of projects and information activities.