The world’s forests are major stocks and sinks of carbon, play vital roles in livelihoods and economies, host enormous biodiversity and are important allies in the fight against climate change. These ecosystems are also changing as a consequence of global change, with large increases in tree mortality being observed in many regions. Yet, despite their importance, the challenges of monitoring these ecosystems across the different biomes mean that we currently lack a clear picture of how global forests are changing. This symposium brings together experts covering ecology, ecophysiology, carbon accounting, forestry and socio-ecological systems, using approaches including ground-based monitoring, remote sensing and modelling. We will address our current capacity to observe, and project the future of, the world’s forests, and give perspectives on how we can leverage, bring together and expand efforts to transform our understanding of those forests.

Some recordings of the talks and the biographies of speakers are now available.  

The majority of posters from the conference are now available.