Forests Webinar | Emerging Principles of Tree Biology

Trees, Tree Biology, Forests

Webinar Information

Forests Webinar

Emerging Principles of Tree Biology

The ability of trees to adapt acutely and chronically to changing environmental conditions is essential to the sustainability of natural ecosystems globally and managed ecosystems locally, as well as the services they provide. However, many tree species in forests and orchards around the world are being decimated by exotic pests, diseases and climate change. The ability to respond effectively to these forest health issues is limited by our current level of understanding of the unique biology of trees as long-lived woody perennial plants.

The webinar speakers will introduce a Forests Special Issue and associated seminar series dedicated to identifying key, emerging principles of tree biology that urgently need to be addressed through a concerted, integrated, cross-disciplinary effort of geneticists, ecologists, physiologists, pathologists, entomologists, silviculturists, and data modelers employing powerful research tools from ecological genomics, phenomics, metabolomics, imaging, remote sensing, data sciences, and geospatial modeling.

Chair: Prof. John E. Carlson

Date: 03 December 2020

Time: 06:00 pm (CET) | 12:00 pm (EST)

The following experts will present and speak:

Prof. Dr. John E. Carlson, Pennsylvania State University, USA

John Carlson is Professor of Molecular Genetics in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management and the Department of Plant Science at Pennsylvania State University. He is also Director of the Schatz Center for Tree Molecular Genetics at Penn State and Mercator Fellow at Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany. Dr. Carlson’s research in molecular genetics with forest trees spans over 30 years, including conservation genetics, genomics, biotechnology, and gene expression studies. Carlson has authored 155 peer-reviewed articles and 3 patents, and he has contributed 15 book chapters and over 130 invited presentations. His has been honored with appointments and visiting professorships at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the Northeastern Forestry University in Harbin China, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Peking University, Chonnam National University in South Korea, and the University of Göttingen. He has also served as science advisor to the Philippine Genome Center, the Forest Health Research and Education Center at the University of Kentucky, The American Chestnut Foundation, Genome Canada Projects, the National Academy of Sciences, and others

Prof. Dr. Sally Mackenzie, Pennsylvania State University, USA

Sally Mackenzie is the Lloyd and Dottie Huck Chair for Functional Genomics, Director of the Plant Institute at Penn State, and Professor in the Departments of Biology and Plant Science at The Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Mackenzie is an elected fellow of AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) and the American Society of Plant Biologists, a former president of ASPB (American Society of Plant Biologists), a co-author of the Plant Science Research Decadal Vision Report, and co-Founder of EpiCrop Technologies Inc. Her research encompasses organelle biology and plant epigenetics, memory and phenotypic plasticity, and introduction of epigenetic variation for enhanced plant resilience.

Prof. Dr. Albert G. Abbott, University of Kentucky, USA

Albert Abbott is the Head of the Biological Sciences Research Team in the Forest Health Research and Education Center at the University of Kentucky, Emeritus Professor of Genetics and former Robert and Lois Coker Endowed Chair in Molecular Genetics at Clemson University. Dr. Abbott’s research has spanned across the kingdoms of life focused on understanding the structure and function of cellular information and its manifestation in trait biology. Over the past 30 years, his work has contributed to the growing knowledge of fruit and forest tree genetics and genomics, focusing on traits that impact sustainability of our tree resources in the context of a rapidly changing climate and the uncontrolled spread of invasive pests and pathogens.

Program

The webinar will start at 06:00 pm (CET) and last maximum 2 hours.

Presentation

Time in CET

Prof. Dr. John Carlson

Introduction

06:00 pm CET

Prof. Dr. Albert G. Abbott

Traits of Importance to Adaptation and Productivity in Trees and Why The Study of Ecologically Important Traits in Trees Is Urgently Needed

06:15 pm CET

Prof. Dr. Sally Mackenzie

The Time is Right for Novel Basic Research Approaches with Trees to Address Major Emerging Challenges in Terrestrial Ecosystem Resilience

06:45 pm CET

Q&A

07:15 pm CET

Webinar Content

The first Forests webinar, entitled "Emerging Principles of Tree Biology", was held on Thursday 3 December 2020. Chaired by Prof. Dr. John E. Carlson, the webinar saw two experts in the field, Prof. Dr. Albert Abbott and Prof. Dr. Sally Mackenzie, present their research.

After an introduction given by the chair, Prof. Dr. Albert Abbott presented his research on “Traits of Importance to Adaptation and Productivity in Trees and Why The Study of Ecologically Important Traits in Trees Is Urgently Needed”. Prof. Dr. Sally Mackenzie followed with a presentation on “The Time is Right for Novel Basic Research Approaches with Trees to Address Major Emerging Challenges in Terrestrial Ecosystem Resilience”. At the end of the webinar, Prof. Dr. John E. Carlson moderated a Q&A that answered all questions submitted by live online audience.

The webinar was offered via Zoom, and registration was required for attendance. The full recording can be found below. To stay updated on upcoming Forests webinars organized by MDPI, be sure to sign up for our newsletter by clicking on “Subscribe” at the top of the page.

Relevant Special Issues

Relevant Special Issues in Forests

Emerging Principles of Tree Biology in the Omics Era
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. John E. Carlson, Prof. Dr. Albert G. Abbott & Dr. Kimberly Bohn
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2021