The scientists of Latvian State Forest Research Institute 'Silava' Andris Seipulis, Oskars Krišāns and Jānis Donis participated in the international scientific conference Wind and Trees 2026, held in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, from September 15 to 18.
The Conference is the flagship triennial event of International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IURFO) Research Group 8.03.06 Impact of Wind on Forests, bringing together scientists to discuss the effects of wind on forest ecosystems. Key topics include airflow over forest stands, the mechanical responses of trees to wind loads, adaptive growth responses, and forest management and harvesting strategies to mitigate wind damage.
LSFRI 'Silava' presented five contributions, introducing the international scientific community to current research on tree mechanical stability, the influence of forest stand structure on wind damage, and tree responses to mechanical injury.
Oskars Krišāns presented two contributions based on data obtained through the postdoctoral research project A solution for reducing wind damage risk in uneven-aged management of Scots pine stands in the Eastern Baltic region:
- Assessment of comparability of static tree-pulling test approaches,
- Explaining scatter in wind-tree scaling through dynamic modulation of collective response.
Andris Seipulis presented two contributions based on research conducted under the doctoral research grant program LBTU doctoral student support and development initiative:
- Detecting delayed physiological responses to mechanical damage in Norway spruce using multispectral imaging and electrical resistivity tomography,
- Influence of forest stand structure and composition on wind damage under contrasting wind regimes in hemiboreal forests.
Jānis Donis presented the contribution "Wind damage probability in the stands managed by the continuous cover forestry management approach in hemiboreal forests in Latvia".
One of the most significant outcomes of Latvia's participation was the decision to hold the next conference "Wind and Trees" in Latvia in 2029. This decision reflects the active international collaboration of LSFRI 'Silava' scientists in tree wind-resistance research, as well as the Institute's recent research achievements.
