ISPP Subject Matter Committee: Forest Pathology

 

Chair Address, Phone/Mobile, Email	Irene Barnes Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa. Email: irene.barnes@up.ac.za
SMC / Working group website:	There is no specific website for this SMC although the SMC is very closely linked with the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), which maintains a website: https://www.iufro.org/divisions/70000-forest-health/70200-pathology/
Objectives/Focus issues of the SMC	The SMC focuses on specific types of forest disease that affect tree roots, stems and leaves, as well as overarching issues such as invasive species, breeding for resistance, plantation diseases, and the social dimensions of forest health.
About the SMC	The Forest Pathology SMC leverages the activities of International Union of Forest Research Organizations Research Group 7.02 - forest pathology. The activities of the research group are inclusive of all forest pathologists globally and all aspects of tree health are studied through the Working Party structure. Each working party is directed by a leadership team that organizes working party meetings and identifies emerging areas within their focus area. Multiple in person and online meetings have occurred over the course of the 2018-2023 period.
Coming events (next workshops/meetings)	2025: The IUFRO working group 07.02.03 Vascular Wilt Diseases will hold their 3rd meeting in Greece in October 2025: The 5th International Congress on Biological Invasions will take place in Perth, Western Australia in October 2028: The 13th ICPP will be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, Queensland, Australia, 19 - 25th August.
Past events	2018: First IUFRO WP 7.02.13 meeting "Improving forest health in commercial plantations", Punta del Este, Uruguay, 21 - 23 March 2018. 2019: Joint meeting of IUFRO Working Parties "Shoot, foliage, and stem diseases" and "Wilt diseases", Florence, Italy, 6 - 10 May 2019. 2019: IUFRO World Congress, Curitiba, Brazil, 29 September - 5 October 2019 2019: 9th meeting of IUFRO Working Party 7.02.09 "Phytophthora in forests and natural ecosystems", La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy, 17 - 25 October 2019. 2020: In person meetings cancelled. 2021: 5 part tree health webinar series: Webinar 1: Tree health resistance to diseases and pests - Interaction with and facilitation by the microbiome: here Webinar 2: Forest health in southern hemisphere commercial plantations: here Webinar 3: Molecular tools for the advancement of research on vascular wilt pathogens: here Webinar 4: Collaborative approaches to global tree health challenges: here Webinar 5: Updating information on forest diseases and insect pests in the tropics: here 2022: 10th Meeting of IUFRO Working Party 7.02.09 "Phytophthora in forests and natural ecosystems", Berkeley, CA, USA, 19 - 25 June 2022. 2022: Foliar, shoot, stem and rust diseases of trees -Forest diseases during global crises, Durham, USA, 26 June - 1 July 2022 2022: IUFRO All Division 7 meeting, Lisbon, Portugal, 6 - 9 September 2022 2022: 7th IUFRO International workshop on the genetics of tree-parasite interaction in forestry understanding forest tree-antagonistic interactions in a changing world. Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain, 12 - 17 September 2022. 2023: ICPP: At least 5 sessions chaired by members of the SMC. 2023: Joint meeting of IUFRO Working Parties 7.02.12 and 7.02.03 "Novel and classical strategies to manage forest health in plantations", Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, 17 - 20 September 2023 2024: IUFRO World Congress. 23-29 June. Stockholm, Sweden, https://iufro2024.com/ 2024: 11th Meeting of the IUFRO Working Party 7.02.09: Phytophthora in Forests and Natural Ecosystems
Committee Activities	Committee members have actively participated in the Global Plant Health assessment, led by Serge Savary. Specifically, the sections on urban trees, oaks, softwood trees and eucalypts were all developed and written by active SMC members. The ICPP 2023 meeting has been well advertised through the forest pathology research group and we expect that a strong contingent of forest pathologists will present their research findings during the congress. A pre-conference field tour has been organized by Dr. Pascal Frey during which many forest pathologists in attendance will be able to network as well as observe current forest health issues in France.
Reports	2018-2023: SMC report to ISPP 2018-2023 Forest Pathology 2008-2013: SMC report to ISPP 2008-2013 Forest Pathology
CURRENT Committee Members	Membership is open to any forest pathologist from any country.
Publications	Special issue: "Viruses in Forest and Urban Trees and Shrubs" Forests, 2022. Members of the SMC contributed directly to the recent Global Plant Health Assessment led by Serge Savary, specifically in the sections on urban trees, oaks, softwood trees and Eucalypts, https://sites.google.com/view/global-plant-health-assessment/home
Additional Comments, if any:	A high level of activity was retained throughout the 5 year period, although meetings were affected by COVID-19 and ensuing travel restrictions. This caused meetings to shift online and multiple webinars were conducted in 2021. These webinars have been retained on YouTube and are available for all. Forest Microbiology book series: Fred O Asiegbu and Andriy Kovalchuk have brought out a Forest Microbiology book series. Many forest pathologists have contributed chapters to these books. The idea is that it can be used as a text book for teaching purposes. New Book: Forest Entomology and Pathology: The first Volume: "Entomology" of the book "Forest Entomology and Pathology" edited by Jeremy D. Allison, Timothy D. Paine, Bernard Slippers, Michael J. Wingfield has been released in 2023. This book is freely available for download on the internet. Bernard Slippers and Mike Wingfield are editors for Volume 2: "Pathology".