International and interdisciplinary symposium : "Forests in transitions. Concepts, methods, assessments and prospective", Tours (France), June 18-19 (and 20), 2024
On the program: 3 conferences, nearly 60 oral presentations in 8 sessions, scientific posters (which were also the subject of flash presentations), as well as socio-poetic readings, a photographic exhibition and a field trip.
Nearly 100 people of 11 nationalities registered: thank you all for the quality of the presentations and the richness of the discussions.
You can see the detailed program in two versions, interactive or downloadable (see left-hand menu).
A book of abstracts is also available: see "program" tab > "program and abstracts to download"
What's next: thanks to the support of MSH Val de Loire, the presentations have been recorded and will be rebroadcast on the CITERES channel U from September 2024. Subscribers will be informed.
As agreements are received from authors, presentation materials are becoming available on the Plantaclim project website, here.
A publication is also planned.
Sustainable symposium: the program and abstracts will not be printed, but can be consulted online (and updated regularly). You will also have eco-cups at your disposal, to keep and use for the duration of the symposium, to avoid disposable cups. Badges will be collected at the end of the symposium. Thank you for your understanding.
Presentation
The symposium will address a highly topical issue: forests, in all their diversity (planted or spontaneous; urban or rural ; temperate, tropical, boreal...). They appear to be in "crisis" at a time of climate change (fires, diebacks, etc.), and their management is raising concerns (some criticize clear-cutting and the "industrialization" of forests, which is symbolized by monospecific plantations, etc.).
The subject will be approached from the angle of transitions, taking into account the polysemy of the concept: transition of the forests themselves; concept of forest transition (deforestation then progression of the forests); ecological, environmental, energy transitions... The purpose is to question the changes underway as a result of climate change, in connection with or in response to it, within the framework of mitigation and/or adaptation strategies. But other evolutionary factors need to be taken into account: the "greening" of society, other pressures arising from the Anthropocene, especially since the Great Acceleration, belonging to global change (erosion of biodiversity, proliferation of invasive species, etc.).
The purpose will be to measure the changes underway, in order to imagine the forests of tomorrow, and to identify the threats as well as the opportunities, both for stakeholders and for biodiversity. The analysis of change over the long term will be a useful tool, insofar as it aims to better understand current forest dynamics and draw lessons from the past.
The symposium will provide an opportunity to present the research carried out in the Centre-Val de Loire region, as part of the Plantaclim project funded by the Region, and to put it into perspective. The symposium is intended to be international and interdisciplinary, bringing together researchers from different disciplines (life and earth sciences as well as human and social sciences), working in different fields.
The approach will be conceptual and methodological: we expect a reflection on the concept of transition, in connection with other related concepts (ecosystem services, sustainable development), and a confrontation of different methodologies mobilized, with particular expectations in terms of interdisciplinarity. The first axis therefore focuses on concepts and methods. The second axis concerns assessments and analysis of the characteristics, ecosystem services and trends of forests. The third axis focuses on prospective, questioning - from both environmental and societal points of view - the changes to come and the actions being taken to anticipate them, notably climate change (ONF's "îlots d'avenir" ie patches of future forests or forest plantations studied in the framework of Plantaclim project...).