Welcome to the 20th IBFRA (The International Boreal Forest Research Association) Conference, in Helsinki Finland 28-31 August 2023! The conference can also be followed remotely. The registration to the conference is now open!

The bi-annual conference will bring together researchers, companies, policymakers, and members from civil society to discuss the future of boreal forests. The main theme of the 2023 conference is climate resilient and sustainable forest management.

The sub-themes of the conference are

1) Understanding linkages between ecosystem processes and management

  • Environmental impacts (water, climate etc.) of forest management
  • Soil processes
  • Drivers of the GHG fluxes in forest and peatland ecosystems
  • Provision of ecosystem services (incl. non-wood products of forests), competition for carbon offsets
  • Management of urban ecosystems

2)  Decision support tools and solutions for sustainable forestry

  • Decision support for different scales from land owners to business/industry and policy makers
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Risks of climate change driven disturbances (e.g. forest wild fires) and adaptation to them

3) Gameful forest interaction

  • Playful Augmentation of Forest Environments through Games
  • Climate change engagement through game-based approaches
  • Meaningful immersive nature experiences towards harmony with self and nature

4) From data acquisition to knowledge creation

  • Data utilization in forestry application
  • 3D point cloud data processing
  • GHG flux measurements (incl. EC and chamber measurements of gases and isotope analyses)

5) Science-policy interphase

The conference week will feature keynote speeches, parallel sessions on the sub-themes, networking opportunities and trainings. Friday 1 September is reserved for excursions, side events and project meetings.

Schedule leading to the conference:

More information can be found from the conference’s website.

Save the date and stay tuned for more information!*

Main organisers:

The International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA)
Formed in 1991, IBFRA promotes and co-ordinates research to increase the understanding of the role of the circumpolar boreal forest in the global environment and the effects of environmental change upon that role.

Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)
Luke is a research organisation that builds sustainable future and well-being from renewable natural resources.

Novel soil management practices – key for sustainable bioeconomy and climate change mitigation (SOMPA) is a project financed by the Strategic Research Council of the Academy of Finland and coordinated by Luke.

UNITE is a competence center and one of the Academy of Finland Finnish Flagship Programmes. The name UNITE stands for “Forest-Human-Machine Interplay”. UNITE is coordinated by the University of Eastern Finland.

Tyrsky Consulting
Tyrsky provides expert services on climate and sustainability questions. Tyrsky’s personnel are motivated to build a better and more sustainable world together with its clients. Our highly qualified experts solve challenges related to climate, energy, natural resources and societal change flexibly and in a customer-oriented manner.

The members of the IBFRA2023 Scientific Organizing Committee include Raisa Mäkipää (Luke, chair), Kati Berninger (Tyrsky), Martin Forsius (Finnish Environment Institute SYKE), Hilppa Gregow (Finnish Meteorological Institute), Lauri Hetemäki (University of Helsinki), Teppo Hujala (University of Eastern Finland UEF), Annika Kangas (Luke), Jyrki Kangas (UEF), Kaisa Korhonen-Kurki (SYKE), Mikko Kurttila (Luke), Matti Maltamo (UEF), Mikko Mönkkönen (University of Jyväskylä), Heli Peltola (UEF), Mikko Peltoniemi (Luke), Jukka Pumpanen (UEF), Aapo Rautiainen (FMI), Anne Toppinen (UH) ,and members of the IBFRA Steering Group.

*Due to the unlawful invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the 20th IBFRA Conference will not be open to participation in, or attendance by, anyone who currently works for a Russian Institution.