May 24-27, 2027
University of Göttingen, Germany
IUFRO Division 4
Themes
- Innovations in Forest Measurement and Inventory
- Ecological Modelling under Climate and Land-Use Change
- Decision-Support Systems and Adaptive Management
- Socio-Ecological Integration and Livelihoods
- Emerging Technologies and Big Data in Forestry
- Designing European forests for 2100 climate scenarios
- Understanding Forest Resilience
Important Dates
October 1, 2026 – Abstract Submission Deadline
November 15, 2026 – Notification of Abstract Acceptance
March 1, 2027 – Registration Deadline
May 24, 2027 – Workshops and Conference Reception
Contacts
Venue/local coordinator: Bianca Eskelson (email: bianca.eskelson@ubc.ca)
Scientific committee: Bogdan Strimbu (email: bogdan.strimbu@oregonstate.edu)
Alte Mensa in downtown Gottingen, Germany
Historic assembly hall called “Alte Aula“, is a public monument and sight in Goettingen. Frontal view of main building of the famous research university.- The historic observatory in Göttingen is a public tourist attraction with a long history. Physicists, astronomers and famous researchers have worked here.
- Center of Göttingen Old Town. The market square with the landmark Gänseliesel fountain. Göttingen is one of the oldest university cities in Germany.
Coming soon!
May 24: Workshops and Registration
May 25-26: Scientific Program
May 27: Field Trip
Workshop 1: Multivariate Mixed-Effects Modelling
Workshop organizers:
Lauri Mehtätalo and Albert Ciceu
Date and Time:
May 24, 2027
12:30-17:30 (coffee break 14:30-15:00)
Workshop Capacity:
25 participants
What to bring?
A laptop with access to the software R.
This workshop provides a practical introduction to multivariate mixed-effects modelling, with a focus on applications in forest growth modelling. It combines a short theoretical lecture with a hands-on practical session, allowing participants to move from the basic concepts to their application using real forest data.
The lecture will introduce the main concepts of multivariate mixed-effects modelling. It will begin with a short review of linear and multivariate models, mixed-effects models, and random-effects calibration, before introducing the multivariate mixed-effects framework. The practical session will use R and forest data, allowing participants to work step by step through model fitting and calibration.
The workshop aims to connect theory with practice and give participants the knowledge and confidence to apply multivariate mixed-effects models to their own forest data and modelling problems. The workshop welcomes participants with a range of backgrounds and experience, from graduate students and early-career scientists to experienced professionals.
Lauri Mehtätalo is a Research Professor at the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), specialising in mathematical modelling for forest planning. His research focuses on mixed-effects models and their applications in forest biometrics, ecology, remote sensing, and forest growth modelling. He is the main author of the widely recognised reference on mixed-effects modelling in forest biometrics, Biometry for Forestry and Environmental Data: With Examples in R, which is used as the main reference in the workshop.
Albert Ciceu is a researcher at the Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW), working on forest growth and yield modelling, forest adaptation, and quantitative approaches to understanding and managing forest dynamics under changing environmental conditions.
Workshop registration opens with the conference registration.
Workshop 2: Time Series Analysis and Forest Biometrics
Workshop Organizers:
Manuela Hirschmugl and Svetlana Saarela
Date and Time:
May 24, 2027
12:30 – 17:30 (coffee break 14:30 – 15:00)
12:30-14:30 – Workshop 2a:
Using Crowd-sourced In-situ Observations and Sentinel-2 Time Series Data for Forest Disturbance Detection
15:00-17:30 – Workshop 2b:
SkogDA – Estimation of forest attribute parameters using data assimilation (DA) framework
Workshop Capacity:
25 participants
What to bring?
A laptop.
Details for Workshops 2a and 2b coming soon!
Workshop registration opens with the conference registration.
27 May 2027
Full-Day Excursion to Rhumspringe and the Harz Mountains
Harz Mountains. Photo: FoResLab
Natural forest at Rhumspringe. Photo: DIVERSA/Lea Schmidt
The “Royal Beech” at natural forest Rhumspringe. Photo: DIVERSA/ Peter Meyer
Join us for a full-day field trip to the Harz Mountains and Rhumspringe, offering an in-depth look at forest ecosystems and ongoing research. The excursion will showcase two distinct forest types and include visits to selected research plots from the DIVERSA and FoResLab projects. Along the way, participants will learn about disturbance dynamics in beech forests and the environmental history of the Harz region.
Travel will be by bus with several stops. Please note that parts of the excursion involve short hikes to reach the forest plots; participation is only possible for those able to complete these walks.
Lunch will be provided at the Mensa Clausthal, with meat, vegetarian, and vegan options available on site.
Maximum participants: 40
Departure time and duration: 9:00 a.m., approximately 8 hours
Departure Point: Bus stop “Tammanstraße”, 37077 Göttingen
Costs: 50 €
Half-Day Excursion to Göttinger Wald
FoResLab research plot at Göttingen forest. Photo: FoResLab
Climate tower at Göttingen forest. Photo: FoResLab/Alexander Knohl
On this half-day excursion, we will explore the Göttinger Wald and its research infrastructure. Participants will have the chance to climb the 45-meter climate tower, learn about a long-term monitoring site managed by the Nordwestdeutsche Forstliche Versuchsanstalt (NW-FVA), and gain insights into ongoing work within the DIVERSA and FoResLab projects.
Transportation will be arranged via small buses. Please note that parts of the excursion involve short hikes to reach the forest plots; participation is only possible for those able to complete these walks.
Lunch bags will be provided; participants should indicate their preference (meat, vegetarian, or vegan) when registering.
Maximum participants: 20
Departure time and duration: 9:00 a.m., approximately 4 hours
Departure point: Büsgenweg 1, 37077 Göttingen
Costs: 20 €
Further information:
DIVERSA Homepage: https://zkfn.de/diversa/
FoResLab Homepage: https://zkfn.de/foreslab/ and https://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/692247.html
NW-FVA: https://www.nw-fva.de/fileadmin/nwfva/common/pdf/Flyer_NW-FVA_en_web.pdf
Coming soon!
Division 4 Abstract Submission Instructions
You must provide a unique submission for each presentation.
Abstract Submission Deadline: October 1, 2026
Notification of Abstract Acceptance: November 15, 2026
Abstract Text is limited to 250 words (1,500 characters)
Abstracts can be submitted as part of proposed sessions. There is an opportunity to submit the session title and organizer’s name.
Three presentation formats are possible and can be selected in the abstract submission form:
- Standard Oral Presentation (20 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions)
- Short Oral Presentation (10 minutes for presentation and 5 minutes for questions)
- Poster Presentation
We will try to accommodate presentation preferences, but we may require shorter presentations or poster presentations to accommodate as many papers as possible.
If you have any issues submitting your abstract, please contact Don Hodges at dhodges2@utk.edu.
Coming soon!
Coming soon!
