Past Events
The most recent events are shown first. Readers may check links for more information.
The events include:
PWCC Annual General Meeting - July 10, 2023 - Vernon, BC
The PWCC's 2023 AGM was in-person & on-line at the Canadian Forest Genetics Association/Western Forest Genetics Association annual conference (July 10-13).
- The 2011-2022 Annual Meetings of the PWCC (Poplar and Willow Council of Canada), formerly the PCC (Poplar Council of Canada). PWCC Annual Meetings are sometimes held in conjunction with another Canadian conference.
- Past sessions of the IPC - the International Poplar Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The IPC mandate was expanded and it is now called the International Commission on Poplars and other Fast-growing Trees sustaining People and the Environment. Sessions of the IPC are held every 4 years.
- Past International Poplar Symposia (IPS). These research conferences are held every 4 years under the auspices of IUFRO - the INternational Union of Forest Research Organizations.
- Other Canadian or international conferences or events.
8th International Poplar Symposium (IPS VIII) (virtual)
October 4-6, 2022
Hosted by: The Institute of Lowland Forestry and Environment
Novi Sad, Serbia
NOTE: This symposium was held virtually.
2022 PWCC Annual Meeting (virtual)
September 1, 2022
The PWCC Annual General Meeting consisting of four student presentations followed by the members' business meeting.
The presentations were:
Raiany Dias de Andrade Silva (University of Alberta) - Genetic variation in mature aspen stands in West Central Alberta
Aroniaina Randriamananjara (Université de Québec Abitibi-Temiscamingue) - Plant diversity in mixed and pure hybrid poplar plantations
Jeriniaina Rabearison (Université de Québec Abitibi-Temiscamingue) - Increasing tree productivity in hybrid poplar plantations does not linearly translate into greater soil organic carbon sequestration
Léa Darquié (Université de Québec Abitibi-Temiscamingue) - Controlling aspen suckering in mixed stands using inverted diameter manual release
5th World Congress on Agroforestry- Transitioning to a Viable World
July 17-20, 2022
Hosted by Université Laval, Québec City, QC
This was successfully hosted as an in-person & virtual conference. Because of difficulties in making air travel arrangements and in obtaining visas, some registrants could not attend but gave their presentations via internet and were similarly able to attend presentations by others. An estimated 300 - 500 people attended in person, including PWCC members Raju Soolanayakanahally, Fardausi Akhter and John Kort.
This conference was the fifth in the series: 1) Orlando, USA (2004), 2) Nairobi, Kenya (2009); 3) New Delhi, India (2014); 4) Montpellier, France (2019). A special committee convened to consider proposals for the 6th World Congress on Agroforestry. It was announced that it would occur in Rwanda in 2025
As with past congresses, this conference included keynote and volunteer presentations dealing with many aspects of agroforestry practices throughout the world, including tropical, sub-tropical and temperate agroforestry species and practices.
The conference program and abstract5s of posters and presentations can be viewed on the conference website.
2022 Short Rotation Woody Crops International Conference
May 2-4, 2022
Hosted by: North Carolina State University, Asheville, North Carolina
The conference was a joint meeting of the:
Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group
IUFRO Working Party 2.08.04 (Physiology and Genetics of Poplars and Willows)
Go to the Conference Website for more information.
26th IPC Session (formerly International Poplar Commission - Now: International Commission on Poplars and other Fast-growing Trees sustaining People and the Environment) (virtual)
'The role of Salicaceae and other fast-growing trees in sustainable wood supplies and climate change mitigation'
5-8 October, 2021
The IPC Session included live interactions during the formal session of Members, as well as technical presentations and side events relevant to the IPC. Technical presentations
2021 PWCC Annual Meeting
The virtual AGM on Wednesday, August 25th included a presentation by Emily Murphy (see below), followed by the PWCC Business Meeting. Emily's presentation can be viewed here.
2021 North American Agroforestry Conference - virtual
June 28 - July 2, 2021
Theme - 'Scaling up Agroforestry for Carbon Drawdown'
Co-hosted by the Association For Temperate Agroforestry (AFTA) and the Savanna Institute.
The conference theme focused on agroforestry for carbon drawdown. According to the conference website "The potential is enormous. One acre of alley cropping can sequester nearly a ton of carbon in woody biomass alone ... even just a modest adoption of agroforestry is head and shoulders above other agricultural land-use changes in its potential for carbon sequestration."
Information including list of speakers
2021 Forest Genetics Student and PostDoc Symposium (Virtual Conference)
May 19-20, 2021
Co-hosted by the
Western Forest Genetics Association and the
Canadian Forest Genetics Association
The conference's Keynote Speaker was Dr. Nathalie Isabel. Over 80 submissions were received from across North America and overseas and were formatted as oral and poster sessions. Prizes were awarded to the best student submissions.
Dr. Isabel's and many of the student, post-doc and other presentations are available at Vimeo.
2020 PWCC Annual Meeting and Webinar
via Zoom technology
August 16, 2020
Twelve people participated in the annual business meeting, making it one of the best-attended such meetings in recent years. Reports for the past year were received and adopted and the financial report and 2020-21 budget were accepted. The possibility of expanding the mandate and role of the Council to include other fast-growing species was discussed. This was intended to reflect the expansion of the role of the International Poplar Commission (now the International Commission on Poplars and Other Fast-growing Trees Sustaining People and the Environment but still referred to as IPC). Those present felt the name of the Council should not be changed but that an expanded mandate might be reflected elsewhere in the website. Given the uncertain prospects around the pandemic, the best option for a meeting in 2021 was felt to be a small field-oriented workshop meeting. David Derbowka offered to host such a gathering in the Okanagan Valley of BC.
Immediately preceding the annual business meeting, a well-attended webinar was presented. Dr. Raed Elferjani, Université TÉLUQ spoke on 'The Quebec Network for Reforestation and Intensive Silviculture (Réseau Reboisement Ligniculture Québec) (QNRIS)', explaining the organization and activities of network. It is a 'reincarnation' of the former Ligniculture Québec network. At the close of his presentation Dr. Elferjani offered the prospect of a possible joint QNRIS-PWCC event at the Montreal Botanic Garden in 2022. Dr. Katharina Braeutigam, University of Toronto gave a presentation entitled 'On sex determination in poplars - the discovery of the master switch' dealing with some interesting recent research in poplar genomics.
2019 PWCC Annual Meeting and Canadian Forest Genetics Association Conference
Manoir du Lac Delage, Quebec
August 19-23, 2019
Note: The conference proceedings and those of other CFGA conferences are available as pdf files at CFGA Conference Proceedings
More than 110 participants gathered in the serenely beautiful natural setting of the Manoir du Lac Delage to share their scientific information and thoughts on the topic of 'Where do we want to be in 2049?' The program, which featured 44 oral presentations and 23 poster presentations with a strong level of discussion and exchange was organized by Nathalie Isabel and Patrick Lenz of the Canadian Forest Service. (Nathalie is a Director at large of the PWCC.) On the final day of the conference week, a field tour was offered to the Grandes-Piles Forest Nursery and experimental plantations of the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs.
The annual meeting of the Poplar and Willow Council of Canada/Conseil canadien des peupliers et des saules was held in conjunction with the conference. Reports for the past year were received and adopted and the financial report and 2019-20 budget were accepted. A decision was made to pursue a proposal to hold the annual meeting in 2020 in the context of a workshop in the Interior of British Columbia featuring research and field sites on Septoria on poplars in that area. At the conference banquet, the Gold Poplar Leaf Award of the Council was presented to Pierre Périnet in recognition of his contributions to the PWCC over many years as a member, meeting organizer and latterly as Chair of the Genetics and Breeding Working Group, as well as his leadership of the hybrid poplar program of the Québec Ministère.
Illustrated News item on the conference and AGM
Woody Crops 2018 - International Short Rotation Woody Crops Conference
Rhinelander, WI, USA
July 23-26, 2018
This conference, organized by the Northern Research Station of the US Forest Service, was a joint meeting of the Poplar and Willow Council of Canada, Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group of the USA, IUFRO Working Party 2.08.04 (Physiology and Genetics of Poplar and Willow), IUFRO Working Party 1.03.00 (Short Rotation Forestry), International Energy Agency Bioenergy Agreement Task 43 (Biomass Feedstocks for Energy Markets) and the International Poplar Commission Environmental and Ecosystems Services Working Party. Close to 50 people from 14 States of the USA, 3 Provinces of Canada and 5 other countries participated in two days of technical presentations (29 oral and 8 posters). Abstracts of accepted presentations (including posters) have been published in the conference Proceedings in a special issue of the online open access journal Forests. The special issue also contains peer-reviewed papers related to conference presentations and other related topics. Many participants also took part in a 2-day pre-conference field tour in northern Minnesota and/or a 3-day post-conference field tour in eastern Wisconsin.
Illustrated News Item on the conference
Conference Proceedings (includes abstracts of all oral and poster presentations)
Special issue of Forests journal with conference-related papers
2017 PWCC Annual Meeting and 11th North American Forest Ecology Workshop
'Sustaining forests: from restoration to conservation'
Edmonton, AB
June 19-22, 2017
The workshop, a biennial conference of forest ecologists, scientists, forest land managers and academics, was hosted by the University of Alberta. More than 200 people participated in 3 days of technical presentations and a full day of field visits. Many of the 170 oral presentations and 33 posters concerned the ecology and management of poplars, including aspen. Conference organizers plan to publish some of the papers in the peer-reviewed journal Forest Ecology and Management. The Poplar and Willow Council of Canada held its annual business meeting during the conference.
News item on workshop and PWCC AGM
Guide for field tour to Al-Pac
Abstracts of presentations: nafew.org/2017-agenda/
25th IPC (International Poplar Commission) Session
'Poplars and other fast-growing trees - renewable resources for future green economies'
Berlin, Germany
September 13-16, 2016
This major international event of the International Poplar Commission (IPC), a statutory subsidiary body of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, was hosted by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. It included 4 days of plenary and concurrent technical presentations and posters, as well as 3 consecutive one-day pre-conference field tours and 2 different 4-day post-conference field tours. The Session was attended by more than 200 participants from 37 countries, including 7 from Canada. Barb Thomas, past chair of the Poplar and Willow Council of Canada was re-elected to the IPC Executive Committee for a 4-year term.
News item on IPC Session - Photo Gallery
Article by Cees van Oosten on Post-Conference tour to Sweden
FAO site for IPC Session: www.fao.org/forestry/ipc2016/en/
2016 PWCC Annual Meeting
Regina, Saskatchewan
July 19-20, 2016
A small but interesting event was organized and hosted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in Regina in conjunction with the annual business meeting of the PWCC. Twelve participants from six Canadian Provinces took part in the two-day gathering which had the general theme of 'Exploiting poplar and willow genetics for environmental applications.' On the first day, there were a total of eight oral and poster technical presentations ranging from reflections on poplar breeding at Indian Head to exploiting the genetic resources for Populus trichocarpa and P. balsamifera. On the second day participants traveled to Indian Head for a series of field visits on the Indian Head Research Farm of AAFC and nearby area.
Short illustrated news item on the meeting. Complete illustrated article. Technical presentations (PDF format). Photo gallery.
2015 PWCC Annual Meeting (Organizational name change from Poplar Council of Canada to Poplar and Willow Council of Canada)
Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, Quebec
September 15-18, 2015
Hosted and organized by the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) at UQAT's Lac-Duparquet Forest Research Station, this small-scale but very successful event brought together 17 participants from 4 different countries for 3 days of technical presentations and field tours in the boreal forest of northwest Quebec. The focus was on poplar and willow management in natural settings, and site reclamation with poplar and willow, with 10 oral presentations, visits to several hybrid poplar plantation trials and to revegetation trials of gold mine waste rock piles and tailing pond berms. Participants included the two 2015 winners of the PWCC/UBC Student Travel Awards who presented papers on their work.
Short illustrated news item on the meeting. Complete illustrated article. Photo gallery. On UQAT website: Abstracts and presentations.
6th International Poplar Symposium - IPS VI
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia
July 20-23, 2014.
(Post-symposium field tours July 24-28.)
The Symposium included three days of oral and poster presentations, followed by a full day of field visits to poplar plantations and natural ecosystems in the Lower Fraser Valley. An additional three-day field tour to the Okanagan Valley in the south-central interior of British Columbia added the possibility of visits to poplar plantations irrigated by landfill leachate or municipal wastewater, as well as aspen-based industry, conifer tree improvement trials and operations, and a nut tree farm.
Available on the Poplar and Willow Council website: presentations, news item, photo gallery
Short Rotation Woody Crops Operations Working Group meeting
Seattle, Washington, USA
July 17-19, 2014
The meeting included a day and a half of techical sessions on the theme of "Woody Crops: Production alternatives for multiple uses", as well as a half day to visit a demonstration site of poplars for biofuels near Seattle. A 2-day pre-conference tour provided an opportunity to visit GreenWood Resources plantings in the Boardman, Oregon area.
For information about the meeting, including abstracts of presentations: www.woodycrops.org/UpcomingMeetings/
International Poplar Commission (IPC) Working Party 6 'Environmental Applications' Workshop
Gisborne, New Zealand
March 10-12, 2014
The workshop was hosted by Plant and Food Research and the New Zealand Poplar and Willow Research Trust. It included a full day of technical presentations on the theme of 'Erosion control: the role of poplars and willows in holding slopes' followed by two days of field visits illustrating the use of poplars and willows to control soil erosion in the pastoral hill country of the northeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Three members of the Poplar and Willow Council participated in the workshop.
Illustrated article in Poplar Council newsletter.
2013 PCC Annual Meeting and 13th Biennial North American Agroforestry Conference (NAAC)
Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
June 19-21, 2013. (Pre-conference tour June 18, starting in Fredericton, New Brunswick)
The conference included a day and a half of invited and volunteer oral and poster presentations, as well as a full day of field visits on sites across Prince Edward Island. An optional pre-conference tour also showed agroforestry trials and activities in New Brunswick. The Poplar Council of Canada held its annual meeting in conjunction with the conference.
Photo gallery, illustrated article in Poplar Council newsletter.
24th IPC (International Poplar Commission) Session
"Improving Lives with Poplars and Willows"
Dehradun, India
29 October - 2 November 2012
This major international event of the International Poplar Commission (IPC), a statutory technical body of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations was hosted by the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education and the Forest Research Institute. It included 4 days of plenary and concurrent technical presentations and posters, as well as a 2-day pre-conference field tour and a 4-day post-conference field tour. The Session was attended by more than 200 participants from 22 countries, including 6 from Canada.
News item on IPC Session : Photo gallery
FAO site for IPC Session: www.fao.org/forestry/ipc2012/en
2012 PCC Annual Meeting and Genetics Workshop
Ste-Foy, Quebec
21-23 August 2012
Organized by the Genetics Working Group of the Poplar Council and the Direction de la récherche forestière, Ministère des Réssources naturelles et de la Faune du Québec, this event included a 1-day workshop meeting in Ste-Foy focused on genetics and breeding (followed by the Poplar Council of Canada Annual Business Meeting of members) and 2 days of field tours to the Rimouski and Saguenay areas. The workshop was attended by 21 people, of whom about 15 also participated in the field tour.
Workshop report : Workshop presentations: Photo gallery
2011 PCC Annual Meeting and Conference
'Poplars and Willows on the Prairies: Traditional Practices meet Innovative Applications'
Edmonton, Alberta
18-22 September, 2011
Post-conference field tour to Fort McMurray Oil Sands
23-24 September, 2011
A joint event of the Poplar Council of Canada, International Poplar Commission 'Environmental Applications' Working Party (WP6) and the Poplar Council of the United States. The program included technical presentations, discussion and several days of field visits.
Conference presentations (including posters) - available in PDF format.
View photos from field tours in our Photo Gallery.
