Training Forest Enterprise Masaryk Forest Křtiny, Chateau Zámek Křtiny, Czech Republic
European Forests are under huge pressure. For one, because higher demands are being put on forests for e.g. provisioning of raw materials for the bio-economy and to sequester more and more CO2. At the same time, forests in Europe are more and more stressed due to disturbances caused by changes in climatic conditions. For instance, spruce forests in central Europe suffer heavily from bark beetle attacks and mortalities of up to 20 million m3/y are already reported for some countries. In other parts of Europe extreme droughts affect forest productivity and put the forests at increased risk of wildfires. To counter these disturbances, and to secure the provisioning of ecosystem services, forest management strategies need to be climate-smart, i.e., robust and resilient against future changes in climatic conditions, while balancing climate mitigation, adaptation, productivity and other ecosystem services.
In this course, we aim to shed light on the current management strategies of European forests, and how to adjust these to become climate-smart. There is much variation in forest management across Europe, at least in part based on differences in ecology, economics, social perceptions, ethics and morality towards forests and the resources and services they provide. At the same time, lessons may be learned from what is done in one region for future management of forests in another region. We plan to address ecological aspects (how does the silvicultural system influence the risk of natural disturbances), production aspects (growth rates and volumes, carbon relations), economical aspects (effects of the silvicultural system on the value of the resources that can be harvested from the system), ecosystem service provisioning, socio-political aspects (public perceptions), and ethical/moral aspects (how to value forests from different perspectives, holistic approaches). Finally, we place the different strategies of forest management in perspective to the observed and expected changes in climate across Europe, while ultimately proposing adaptive changes herein to become climate-smart.
The idea of this course is to again bring PhD candidates and postdocs from various countries and cultural backgrounds, and working in different scientific disciplines but related to European forests, together in a professional on-site training course. The course will be organised at the Training Forest Enterprise Masaryk Forest Křtiny of Mendel University Brno. This venue is perfect for this course, as it sits in a location that is surrounded by forests that are managed in a varied way, so as to provide excellent learning experiences for the forestry students of the University of Brno. As multidisciplinary teams, we will introduce the course participants to the various topics related to climate-smart forestry, and we will let them see with their own eyes how differences in forest management strategies make the forests more or less resilient to (climate) change. In addition, we will bring them into contact with various stakeholders, and allow them to collect necessary data that can help them to ultimately present scenarios for future forest management across diverse regions of Europe.
To enable the participants to really develop their skills in multidisciplinary research, and to ensure that they are coming up with robust and innovative solutions that can be extrapolated to other areas across Europe or the world, we will bring in a team of expert scientists from all over Europe. These will be people with expertise in forest ecology, but also experts from industry, economics, sociology, and policy. We will also organise excursions and interactions to and with local stakeholders.
The course is planned to run for 10 days in September 2021. For now, we have decided that this course will indeed take place as scheduled, but of course we keep a sharp eye on the Covid-19 developments in Europe. If we still need to postpone the course due to the Covid-19 restrictions, we will of course reimburse the full participation fees paid by the participants that are registered at that point. So, registration is risk-free and you will always be offered to option to cancel your participation free of charge until 1 August 2021.
The course starts on Sunday 12 September in the afternoon with a word of welcome, followed by introductory poster pitches of the participants, and an opening lecture about the general theme and aims of the course. Throughout the course, there will be lectures in the mornings on specific topics by experts of the partner institutes and from outside. Lectures will cover all interdisciplinary aspects related to forests and forest management in Europe. These can relate to ecological aspects, but also to social and sustainability aspects, as well as economics, industrial innovation and governance. In the afternoons, participants will work in small teams on a specific group work assignment. This will allow participants to link their theoretical knowledge with real-life challenges, aimed at finding solutions for the issues of our times! The idea is that the experts will be present for most or all of the course to interact with the participants and to provide input for the group assignment. In the evenings, there may be some leisure lectures by invited speakers or local stakeholders. On Sunday, there will be no official programme, and people can explore the region a bit more. Then, on Tuesday in week 2, the group projects are finalised. On the last morning, the course is concluded by presentations of the group work, followed by a general wrap-up of the course and evaluation of the course aims. Finally, after a goodbye lunch, all can make their way home.
During the course, several excursions and field visits are planned to various stakeholders, and into the local area, to allow for interaction and exchange of ideas with the stakeholders, and to illustrate the challenges that are at hand.
A detailed programme is currently being developed and will be announced soon.
Target Group | The course is aimed at PhD candidates, postdocs and other academics |
Group Size | Min. 15 / Max. 30 participants |
Course duration | 10 days |
Language of instruction | English |
Frequency of recurrence | Once every two years |
Number of credits | 3 ECTS |
Prior knowledge | No specific prior knowledge required |
Location | Training Forest Enterprise Masaryk Forest Křtiny, Chateau Zámek Křtiny, Czech Republic |
The idea is that participants themselves make their way either to the course venue or to the airport of Vienna in Austria. The current plan is to transport participants from Vienna airport by means of mini busses. The mini busses will depart from Vienna at a later determined time on Sunday 12 September. However, prior to booking your travels, please verify transportation options with the logistical coordinator, Dr Lennart Suselbeek (lennart.suselbeek@wur.nl), and please do not book anything until we have formally informed you that this course is going to take place as planned (due to the uncertainty around the Covid-19 restrictions). Note that for PhD candidates of the Graduate School PE&RC, a travel subsidy of max. € 250,- per person is available for covering the costs associated with travelling to and from the course venue. To apply for this subsidy, the applicant needs to submit a personal motivation letter of max. 500 words with proven support by the PhD supervisor to the secretariat of the Graduate School PE&RC (office.pe@wur.nl). The deadline for applying for a travel subsidy is Monday 5 July 2021.
EARLY-BIRD FEE 2 | REGULAR FEE 2 | |
PhD candidates of PE&RC 4, of Wageningen University and of any of the other ELLS Partner Universities 3, 5 | € 350,- | € 400,- |
a) All other PhD candidates b) Postdocs and staff of PE&RC, of Wageningen University and of any of the other ELLS Partner Universities |
€ 700,- | € 750,- |
All others | € 1.050,- | € 1.100,- |
1 The course fee includes accommodation, all meals, course materials, coffee/tea, and water. It does not include beverages in the bar
2 The Early-Bird Fee applies to anyone who REGISTERS ON OR BEFORE 18 JULY 2021
3 To check whether your university is part of the ELLS network, please click here or contact the course coordinator.
4 A travel subsidy of max. € 250,- per person is available for PhD candidates of the Graduate School PE&RC. To apply for this subsidy, the applicant needs to submit a personal motivation letter of max. 500 words with proven support by the PhD supervisor to office.pe@wur.nl. The deadline for applying for a travel subsidy is Monday 5 July 2021.
5 Students of the University of Hohenheim that are accepted for this summer school, can apply for a travel stipend. For more information, click here. The deadline for applying for a travel stipend is Wednesday 30 June 2021.
Note:
Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us and do not assume that by NOT paying the participation fee, your registration is automatically cancelled.
Dr Lennart Suselbeek (Graduate School PE&RC)
Phone: +31 317 485426
Email: lennart.suselbeek@wur.nl
To register, please enter your details below and click "Register".