The final episode of Season 2 of Branching Out: The Forest Podcast, hosted by Jose Bolaños from IUFRO HQ, focused on IUFRO Scientific Division 9 – Forest Policy and Economics. The episode features Janette Bulkan from the University of British Columbia in Canada and Lukas Giessen from the Technical University Dresden in Germany, along with co-host Gerda Wolfrum from IUFRO HQ. Janette and Lukas coordinate Working Parties on Indigenous peoples and forest landscapes and A.I. methods in forest social sciences, respectively.

Tune in to Branching Out: the forest podcast! Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts, on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and don't forget to follow us! More at iufro.org!

Episode 9: Not About Trees

Forests as Lifelines After Shocks, the very first episode of this new show, dives into how communities bounce back when confronted with rising climate pressure and political uncertainty. The discussion moves beyond a narrow definition of ecosystem health to explore resilience as the measure of a system’s ability to cope with disturbance and change without 'collapsing'. 

The conversation centres on how the interconnected system of our communities, economies, and forests can absorb shocks, adapt, or even transform. This holistic approach aligns with IUFRO's 2025 study, Forests as Pillars of Social and Economic Resilience prepared as part of the Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative.

More at iufro.org

Forests as Lifelines After Shocks

This episode, hosted by Jose Bolaños from IUFRO HQ, focused on IUFRO Scientific Division 8 – Forest Environment. The episode, featuring Co-Coordinators Alexia Stokes (INRAE, France) and Chabi Djagoun (University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin), along with co-host Paz Constanza Zenteno Painemal (Conny), from IFSA and an intern at IUFRO HQ, delved into the crucial role forest science plays in confronting global environmental challenges. 

Tune in to Branching Out: the forest podcast! Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don't forget to follow us! More at iufro.org!

Episode 8: Holistic approach to forest environment

In Episode 7, host Jose Bolaños (IUFRO HQ) and co-host Raghav Sharma from the International Forestry Students’ Association (IFSA) spoke with Tod Ramsfield (Natural Resources Canada/University of Alberta) and Maartje Klapwijk (Swedish University of Agricultural Science), Co-Coordinators of Division 7, Forest Health. They explained that their Division focuses on the interactions between trees and harmful biotic impacts, which are broadly divided into forest pathology (diseases, often caused by fungi) and forest entomology (insects).

Tune in to Branching Out: the forest podcast! Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don't forget to follow us!

Episode 7: What is a Healthy Forest?

In this episode, we talk about the work of IUFRO’s Division 6: Social Aspects of Forests and Forestry. Hosted by Jose Bolaños, IUFRO HQ, and Ngozi Edum, IFSA, this episode features Purabi Bose, Co-Coordinator of Division 6.

For too long, the social dimension of forests and forestry was seen as a "soft skill", with people's participation often overlooked. This episode addresses that challenge, emphasizing that people's participation is crucial. You'll uncover how Division 6 serves as a key platform, fostering cooperation and interdisciplinary communication within the scientific community.

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Episode 6: From tree-only to participation 

In this episode of Branching Out, host Jose Bolaños is joined by Franka Brüchert and Roger Meder, Co-Coordinators of IUFRO Division 5 Forest Products, to explore how wood can define the 21st century. From traditional timber to cutting-edge innovations like beech wood textiles featured at Berlin Fashion Week, the conversation dives into the versatility, sustainability, and future potential of forest products. Discover how wood is reclaiming its place in architecture, fashion, and global markets—and why Division 5 is considered the heart of forestry.

Episode 5: A century of wood 

How can we manage forests for a future we can’t fully predict? In this episode of Branching Out: The Forest Podcast, we dive into the work of IUFRO Division 4—Forest Assessment, Modelling and Management. Co-coordinators Dr. Bianca Eskelson and Dr. Don Hodges share how data, simulation tools, and emerging technologies like AI are helping forest scientists and decision-makers explore alternative futures. From wildfire risk to green jobs, we explore the science behind forest planning in an uncertain world—and why local knowledge and collaboration remain essential. If you're curious about the future of forest science, this episode is for you.

Presented by Jose Bolaños (IUFRO HQ) and Nele Römer (IFSA).

Episode 4: Modelling the Future of Forests

Dante Bertocci (International Forestry Students’ Association, IFSA) joins Jose Bolaños (IUFRO HQ) to talk to one of Co-Coordinators of IUFRO Division 3: Forest Operations, Engineering, and Management.

René Zamora-Cristales (Oregon State University and World Resources Institute) explains that this Division focuses on how forestry activities are carried out - from seed collection and forest restoration to logging and resource management. He emphasizes that forest operations go far beyond timber harvesting, playing a key role in biodiversity conservation and forest landscape restoration.

He also highlights that meeting global restoration targets, such as 350 million ha of forest landscapes by 2030 goal set by the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, requires careful planning. Without proper operations and engineering, even well-intentioned restoration efforts can fall short.

We invite you to tune in to the Branching Out: the forest podcast. Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don't forget to follow and review!

More info at iufro.org [https://www.iufro.org/publications/iufro-podcasts/]

Episode 3: The how of forestry

Nilo Wijaya (IFSA), a forest policy student at the University of Gadjah Mada in Indonesia, joins Jose Bolaños (IUFRO HQ) to discuss IUFRO Division 2 Physiology and Genetics with Amanda de la Torre (Nothern Arizona University) and Santiago González-Martínez (INRAE), Division Co-coordinators.

Santiago shared his fascination with conifers, showcasing their remarkable adaptations to diverse environments, such as fire resistance of species in the Canary Islands, and Amanda reflected on her journey from studying Amazonian trees in Peru to exploring the genomic complexities of conifers like Douglas fir.

From Gymnosperms to the transformative power of genomics, this episode offers a whole spectrum of tools for our forests' survival. We invite you to tune in to the Branching Out: the forest podcast. Listen wherever you enjoy your podcasts, and don't forget to follow and review!

More info at iufro.org [https://www.iufro.org/publications/iufro-podcasts/]

Episode 2: Tree functions and the genes that drive them

The first episode of the podcast second season features Division 1, Silviculture, with its two new co-coordinators: Pil Sun Park from Seoul National University, Republic of Korea, and Teresa De Jesus Fidalgo Fonseca from the University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal. The guest host for this episode is Alexander Watson from the International Forestry Students' Association (IFSA) and a master's student in Tropical Silviculture and Forest Ecology at the Georg-August University of Göttingen in Germany.

The podcast begins with an introduction, brings out some personal experiences, participation in the Division's work, current scientific findings, and upcoming projects and conferences. Get to know the two coordinators better, discover what excites them, and learn about one moment that was most formative in their career. The two guests also debunk the misconception that silviculture is solely focused on increasing timber yield.

Read more at iufro.org

Episode 1: Care of the forests

Welcome to Branching out: the forest podcast, where we connect forests, science and people. We aim to break down complex forest related topics so you can discover the role of forests and trees for people and nature, and also inform you about what is going on in the world of forest research. This podcast is brought to you by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations, IUFRO.

DISCLAIMER

The views and opinions expressed in the podcast are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the official policy and position of IUFRO. Their appearance on the show does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.

Branching out

The IUFRO Campfire Chats are a spinoff of Branching out: the forest podcast. Each episode starts with a timely forest-related news item, then moves to a roundtable with three perspectives - an IUFRO scientist, a practitioner, and a policy expert - delving beyond the headlines to clarify complex issues.

IUFRO Campfire Chats

IUFRO is a non-profit scientific network that fosters global collaboration for people and research organizations working on forests.

IUFRO

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