About IBFRA

The International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA) is a network that promotes international cooperation on boreal forest research and management. Since its founding in 1991, IBFRA has served as a platform for collaboration among scientists, governments, and organizations committed to understanding and sustaining the world’s boreal regions. IBFRA conferences provide opportunities to share research, strengthen partnerships, and inform policy for the stewardship of northern forests.

IBFRA Conference 2026

Each IBFRA conference focuses on issues of global concern such as global change, biodiversity, climate change, disturbances and the global carbon cycle, as well as on issues requiring increased coordination within the boreal community such as classification, inventory and monitoring.

The 2026 theme “Living with disturbance: Resilience in boreal forests“ highlighted that boreal forests are dynamic ecosystems shaped by natural and human disturbances. As the pace and intensity of change accelerate under a shifting climate, understanding how these forests - and the people and communities who depend on them - adapt and persist has never been more critical.

Past conferences have included: USA (1992, 1997, 2004, 2021), Norway (1993, 1998), Sweden (1993, 2006) Canada (1994, 2000, 2013), Finland (1995, 2015, 2023), Russia (1996, 2002, 2011), China (2008), and Austria (2018).

2026 Organizing Committee

  • ALEXIS ACHIM

    Université Laval
    Conference Host

  • VINCENT ROY

    Natural Resources Canada
    IBFRA Steering Committee Liaison

  • NELSON THIFFAULT

    Natural Resources Canada
    Scientific Committee Coordinator

  • NICHOLAS COOPS

    University of British Columbia
    UBC Liaison/Coordinator

  • AMY WOTHERSPOON

    University of British Columbia
    Event Coordinator

  • CATHERINE CHAGNON

    Université Laval
    Event Coordinator

  • EMMANUELLE BABY-BOUCHARD

    Université Laval
    Event Coordinator

2026 Scientific Committee

  • Alex Appiah Mensah

    Department of Forest Resource Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

  • Annie Claude Bélisle

    Professeure sous octroi, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

  • Arun Bose

    Scientific Staff Member, Forest and Soil Ecology, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL

  • Cédric Albert

    Assistant Professor, Université de Moncton

  • Claire Singer

    PhD candidate, Applied Sciences, Saint Mary's University

  • Clémentine Pernot

    Direction de la recherche forestière (DRF), ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts du Quéebec

  • Darren J.H. Sleep

    Chief Scientist, Forest Ecology and Conservation, Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC)

  • Dmitry Schepaschenko

    Principal Research Scholar, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Austria

  • Ellen Whitman

    Forest Fire Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service

  • Erika Olofsson

    Associate professor, Linnaeus University

  • Fidele Bognounou

    Biologist, RNCAN

  • François Hébert

    Research scientist, Direction de la recherche forestière, ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts du Québec

  • Isabel C Barrio

    Professir, Agricultural University of Iceland

  • Jean-Daniel Sylvain

    Chercheur scientifique, Ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts

  • Jérôme Laganière

    Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre

  • Joanne White

    Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service

  • Junior A. Tremblay

    Research Scientist - Environment and Climate Change Canada

  • Karin Hjelm

    Associate professor Senior researcher, Skogforsk (The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden)

  • Kaysandra Waldron

    Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada

  • Kevin Solarik

    Director, Canadian Forest Sustainability, NCASI

  • Loïc D'Orangeville

    Associate Professor, Université Laval

  • Martin-Hugues St-Laurent

    Professor, Université du Québec à Rimouski

  • Maxence Martin

    Professor in Applied Forest Ecology, Institut de Recherche sur les Forêts, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

  • Olivier Villemaire-Côté

    Assistant professor, Université Laval

  • Rafaella Mayrinck

    Assistant Professor, University of New Brunswick

  • Raquel Alfaro Sanchez

    Research Scientist, Climate Change and Forest Ecology, Northern Forestry Centre, Canadian Forest Service

  • Roberto Silvestro

    Professor, Université de Québec à Chicoutimi

  • Sanghyun Kim

    CEO & Co-founder, MiON Forest Inc.

  • Seung-Il Lee

    Assistant Professor of Forest Entomology, Lakehead University

  • Stephen J. Mayor

    Research Scientist in Terrestrial Systems Ecology, Ontario Forest Research Institute, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources

  • Tuomas Aakala

    Professor, University of Eastern Finland

  • Valentina Buttò

    Professor, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue

  • Txomin Hermosilla

    Research Scientist, Canadian Forest Service

  • Victor Danneyrolles

    Research Professor, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

  • Yan Boulanger

    Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada