INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISED BY THE FAO, THE REUFIS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF SOPRON

Introduced/invasive species (plants, fungi, insects and vertebrates) have a significant impact on European forests. Many of them caused the complete elimination of a tree species (e.g. Dutch elm disease), while others caused significant tree mortality (e.g. chestnut blight). In the last two decades, many insect species linked to felled or weakened trees have also appeared in this group. The detection and monitoring of these species is a complicated and particularly challenging task. For facilitating it, the FAO, the Forest Invasive Species Network for Europe and Central Asia (REUFIS) and the University of Sopron organised a conference where the latest results of detecting and monitoring of invasive species linked to wood materials were presented. 20 participants from 11 countries joined the conference, but thanks to the hybrid mode, experts from other countries were also involved the conference held between 27 and 30 June 2022. During the three-day conference, the foreign specialists participated in a webinar, field trips, and laboratory work as well.