Last September, the Nordic Borealization Network was well represented at the joint NSO-GfÖ conference, that was celebrated in Odense, Denmark. The conference gathered around 1,000 ecologists from across Europe.
During the conference, Mariana Verdonen and Tom Vorstenbosch chaired a thematic session titled Ecological transformations at the biome edge: borealization of tundra ecosystems. The session brought together eight presentations exploring borealization as an integrative framework for understanding ecological change at the tundra–boreal interface. The contributions presented evidence from across the circumpolar North, spanning vegetation dynamics, soil processes, biodiversity and functional change, carbon balance, and the societal implications of borealization. By drawing together examples across taxa, processes, and disciplines, the session aimed at advancing a more unified understanding of borealization in terrestrial ecosystems and stimulate discussion on its ecological and societal implications.
In addition, Maaike Bader, Johanna Toivonen and Isabel C. Barrio organized a lunchtime workshop titled Treeline shifts and borealization. At the conference there was a session on treeline and treeline shifts. While this topic is strongly connected with borealization, the terminology used is remarkably different. The workshop aimed at connecting communities that are working on these closely related topics in isolation, and to allow treeline and borealization researchers attending the NSO-GfÖ conference to meet and connect. Discussions during the workshop underscored the differences, but also the many similarities between the two research communities.
