Tree Seeds 2008 – Trees, Seeds and a Changing climate

Vitellaria paradoxa

Invitation

On behalf of the organising committee, we are delighted to invite you to the biennial meeting of the International Union of Forestry Research Organisations’ Seed Physiology Working group entitled, ‘Trees, Seeds and a Changing Climate’. This meeting will be held on 22 – 25 September 2008 at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew’s, Millennium Seed Bank Project, Sussex and the conference centre of the University of Sussex.

Forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, and with them are lost a wide range of goods and services, such as carbon capture, fuelwood, medicines, biodiversity, timber, water catchment, food security and cultural values. In addition, trees support ecological niches for other species. Many tree species also have high use value as food (mainly oilseeds and nuts). However, in general the seeds of trees are under-researched. Moreover, seed quality at harvest is linked to environmental conditions, making seeds valuable 'sensors' of climate change.

The impact of climate change on tree seed quality, tree distribution, pathogens and conservation was a major concern at the last meeting held in Canada (2006). Consequently, the purpose of this meeting is to showcase recent advances in tree seed biology, in particular those aspects of relevance to understanding, predicting and coping with climate change impacts.

We look forward to seeing you in Sussex in September 2008.

Conference Organisers

Prof. Hugh W. Pritchard & Dr. Matthew I. Daws
Seed Conservation Department,
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew,
Wakehurst Place, Ardingly,
West Sussex, RH17 6TN
United Kingdom
Email: treeseeds2008@kew.org
Phone: +44(0)1444 894156
Fax: +44(0)1444 894110