Summary
This is a HYBRID event - Online participants, please join us 4.30 – 5.30 for the talks via Zoom.
Multiple changes in the climate and expectations for land use and society have led to a need to consider tree species and resilience.
Two short but thought provoking talks on woodland and forest management that also explore the connection to wider sustainability priorities beyond the forest gate.
Description
Woodlands have a host of roles and offer many ecosystem services. But as the prospect of a changing climate opens discussion about choice of future species, how do we balance these roles, and how do we rank ecological resilience with timber supply resilience, or even future-proof our industry? Meanwhile, society grapples with resource efficiency and seeks more benefits, including greenhouse gas emissions reduction and carbon storage through forest products.
The topic offers a chance for reflection on priorities, and on the status quo.
Talk titles:
Woodlands now for the future – is species choice the only variable? - Dr Morwenna Spear
Can temperate forests meet targets for climate change mitigation and increasing global wood demand – while maintaining biodiversity at the landscape scale? - Prof John Healey
Morwenna Spear trained in forestry with a strong interest in wood properties and products. This set her on a career in research, supporting the timber and bio-based materials industries at a time of enormous growth in interest in bio-based and renewable product. She is a Research Fellow at the BioComposites Centre, contributing wood science to the University taught courses, and engaging with companies across the wood products chain.
John Healey is Professor of Forest Sciences at Bangor University. He started his career researching tropical forests, which remain a major focus, however he has increasingly turned his attention to woodlands and agroforestry in UK. A priority has been to develop the scientific evidence base to underpin sustainable forest management and policy, with a major emphasis on the challenge of simultaneously addressing the global climate and biodiversity crises, while sustaining wood production and the range of other ecosystem services essential for human wellbeing. John teaches at BSc and MSc level across a wide range of subjects including silviculture and forest ecology, health, restoration and policy. He has supervised 28 PhDs through to completion. Outside the University, John plays advisory roles for Defra, Forestry Commission, Natural Resources Wales, and Rainforest Builder, is a board member of Woodknowledge Wales, and contributes advice to Confor.
