Become a member
Membership of IUFRO is open to any institution concerned with the promotion, support or conduct of research related to forests, trees and forest products.
OBJECTIVES
IUFRO Working Party 1.01.08 Ecology and Silviculture of Spruce deals with all aspects of silvicultural practices for forest types which include spruce species (Picea spp), ranging from pure, even-aged plantation forests to more diverse, natural or near-natural forests with spruce as a more-or-less significant component.
WP 1.01.08 was founded during the IUFRO World Congress in Brisbane, Australia during 2005 as a continuation of a previous working party which focused on a European series of thinning experiments in Norway spruce. In 2009 the subject was changed from Norway spruce to include all spruce species. Future activities will include a large range of silvicultural issues as well as a broader geographical coverage. This unit has focused on conferences, with a goal of a three-year interval between conferences. The following topics have been raised:
- 2009 in Sweden – Spruce in the context of global change
- 2012 in Scotland – Spruce management with focus on ecosystem services
- 2015 in Canada – Spruce in mixed forests
- 2017 in Germany – a session at the IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress
HISTORY
At the IUFRO World Congress in 1961 in Vienna, G. Hellinga, Wageningen, addressed the silvicultural issues arising from increasing difficulties in marketing small-diameter trees. Subsequently, several IUFRO units focused their attention on this issue and numerous reports were presented in 1967 at the World Congress in Munich. Following a proposal by J. Pardé, Nancy, Working Party 1.05.05 was established at this congress. P. Abetz, Freiburg im Br. was appointed the first leader of the working party.
The objective of the working party was to develop an experimental research program on thinning in even-aged Norway spruce stands and to establish and coordinate throughout Europe field experiments according to this program. The research program was well received by forest research institutions in those parts of Europe where Norway spruce is of major economic importance, and scientists were fascinated by the task of implementing the program.
