Call for abstracts
The call for abstracts is now closed with over 340 submissions received!
Authors will be notified of acceptance during the week of March 16.
Those with accepted oral presentations must confirm their participation before April 15th otherwise their presentation time may be passed on to someone else.
Since its founding in 1991, IBFRA has fostered global collaboration among scientists, policymakers, Indigenous communities, and industry leaders dedicated to the stewardship of the world’s boreal forests. The 21st IBFRA Conference continues this tradition in 2026 and will serve as a vital platform for sharing cutting-edge research, strengthening partnerships, and informing sustainable forest management across the circumboreal region. Past conferences have taken place in countries across the boreal zone—including the USA, Canada, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, China, and Austria—reflecting the truly international nature of this network.
Abstracts are welcome across all areas of boreal forest research, including, but not limited to,:
Disturbance Regimes in Transition across the Boreal
Fire in the Boreal: Risk, Resilience, and Recovery
Forests and Carbon: From Source to Sink
Permafrost, Peatlands, and the Changing Boreal
Adapting Boreal Forest Management to a Changing Climate
Monitoring the Boreal: Remote Sensing, Data, and Modeling
Biodiversity, Connectivity, and Landscape Resilience
Knowledge Co-production and Indigenous Stewardship in Boreal Communities
Boreal Forests and the Bioeconomy
Society, Policy, and the Boreal Forest Interface
Accepted abstracts will be grouped into thematic sessions aligned with the conference’s plenary subthemes.
Important things to note when submitting your abstract:
Abstracts for both oral and poster presentations are to be limited to 300 words. You will submit your abstract text divided into the following sections:
Context (50 words max)
Aims (50 words max)
Methods (50 words max)
Results & key outcomes (100 words max)
Implications (50 words max)
A graphical abstract or figure (optional)
Keywords (max of 5)
Abstracts will be reviewed by a minimum of two members of our Scientific Committee in a double-blind review process. Authors will be notified of acceptance by mid March 2026 and will have until April 15, 2026 to register for the event to confirm their presentation slot.
Student poster competition (cash prizes!)
IBFRA 2026 is excited to collaborate with the Journal of Forest Business Research who is offering three cash prizes of USD$150 for the top student posters. Winners will also have the opportunity to submit an article for publication with no processing or publishing fees. All other IBFRA participants who submit a paper will a 25% discount for first-time submissions as specified here.
About the Journal of Forest Business Research (JFBR):
The JFBR is an international peer-reviewed open-access journal devoted to the science of sustainable business within the forest sector. JFBR publishes original research and reviews about forests managed as an investment with a focus on forest investment, finance and business, forest-related industries and wood market dynamics, forest silviculture and management, and forest economics and policy.
Submission deadlines: 1 March & 1 September
JFBR publishes two issues annually, with corresponding issues are released at the end of June and December, respectively. However, all accepted papers are published continuously online. IBFRA attendees are encouraged to visit the journal’s submission portal here and consider submitting manuscripts either before or after the conference.
Call for workshop proposals
IBFRA 2026 invites participants to submit proposals for workshops that foster hands-on learning, knowledge exchange, and collaboration around boreal forest research. Workshops may focus on emerging methods, tools, data synthesis, interdisciplinary approaches, or practical applications related to boreal forests, disturbance, and resilience under a changing climate.
Submit your proposal via the Call for Abstract link and under ‘presentation type', select ‘workshop’. Limited space available; proposals will be evaluated by the IBFRA 2026 Conference Scientific Committee.
Workshops will take place on Monday, August 24, 2026. Participants will be able to register for workshops during the registration process (to open at a later date) with a cost of $50 per workshop.
Special Collection in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research
Submission opens: 1 September 2026
Submission deadline: 1 September 2027
This Special Collection in the Canadian Journal of Forest Research will highlight research presented at IBFRA 2026 to showcase advances in understanding disturbance processes, resilience mechanisms, and adaptive responses in boreal forest systems. IBFRA 2026 participants whose work is accepted for presentation at the conference, either as a poster or an oral presentation, will be invited to submit their work.
This collection welcomes reviews, methods papers, data papers, perspectives, notes, and regular research articles that advance knowledge of boreal forest dynamics in the context of disturbance and climate change. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, topics such as disturbance regimes and recovery processes, climate–disturbance interactions, carbon and biogeochemical cycling, biodiversity and landscape resilience, adaptive forest management, Indigenous knowledge and stewardship, monitoring and modeling approaches, and the social and policy dimensions of living with disturbance in boreal forests.