Call for Abstracts

We are pleased to advise that the deadline for submitting abstracts for the 2025 Forestry Australia Conference has been extended by two weeks.
The new abstract deadline is Sunday 30 March.

Abstracts are being sought for presentations at the 2025 Forestry Australia Conference, to be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre in October 2025.

ABSTRACTS CLOSE: Sunday 30 March 2025.

Conference theme: Restoring forests and landscapes and securing Australia’s future

The 2025 Forestry Australia Conference will focus on Restoring forests and landscapes and securing Australia’s future. We are halfway through the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and the conference aims to bring together experts, researchers, forestry professionals, farmers, rangers and tree growing practitioners to explore how forest management and forest and landscape restoration can make a positive contribution to Australia’s future.

The conference aims to provide forest scientists, forestry professionals, tree growers and restoration practitioners with tools and best practice ideas to address critical challenges such as reducing carbon emissions, adapting to climate change and increased bushfire risk, engaging with changing social attitudes and values, empowering and involving Indigenous Australians, supporting regional development and local processing to meet national housing and forest product needs. The role of research, innovation in supporting evidence-based practice and decision making, and the use of emerging technologies, will be important topics.

Sessions will include oral presentations, structured and informal dialogues, posters, and workshops to showcase new research and practical tools, techniques, and approaches. We welcome proposals (abstracts) from across this spectrum for an oral presentation, poster presentation, session dialogue or workshop. Please engage with colleagues to help us develop an innovative and exciting program that can position the management of Australia’s trees and forests for an exciting and challenging future.

Abstracts must be submitted using the abstract portal, via the link below.

The Conference Program

The Conference Program Sub-Committee aims to develop a diverse, authentic, and engaging conference program that includes a blend of local and national issues to meet the needs of our stakeholders to bring together and energise the community of people studying, working in and interested in forests.

The program will facilitate structured and informal dialogue and will incorporate a day of field sessions to explore the conference themes.

Themes and Sub-Themes

The program will be built around the following themes and sub-themes:

1. Restoring forests and landscape

  • Traditional, cultural and indigenous forestry
  • Stakeholder, social and cultural values
  • Post fire recovery
  • Forest restoration in Asia/Pacific
  • Investment inc. carbon & biodiversity markets
  • Restoration for multiple values
  • Agriculture, private forests & trees on farms
  • Biodiversity & ecosystem services

2. The role of forests in securing Australia’s Future

  • Policy & policy impacts
  • Markets, business & housing
  • Social acceptance, stewardship & engagement
  • Recreation & tourism
  • Fire
  • Biosecurity
  • Timber and forest products
  • New partnerships & opportunities

3. Learning and innovating in the forest management sector

  • Innovation
  • Technology
  • Workforce, training & capacity building
  • Lessons from the past to inform the future
  • Decision making & risk
  • Silviculture
  • Forest health
  • Climate change

Presentation Formats

The conference will provide oral, workshop, whole session, short, poster and other types of presentations. All abstracts must be submitted electronically using the abstract submission form by the submission deadline.

Abstracts are being sought for:

  • Oral
  • Workshop
  • Whole session
  • Poster
  • Short (3-minute) student presentation*
  • Other

* Students are also welcome to present in other sessions.

 Oral Presentation

Oral presentations have the following characteristics:

  • 20-minute duration for each presentation (speaking for 15 minutes, a four-minute Q&A and introduction by the Chair)
  • Speakers to present in a session with up to five other presenters with similar themes and sub-themes

Workshop Presentation

Workshops will provide delegates the opportunity to learn new skills or familiarise themselves with a topic that they do not know well.  The workshops should be interactive, can be ‘hands on’, and may include demonstrations. At the request of the facilitator, the workshop space can be prepared in classroom or open round style. Workshop presentations have the following characteristics:

  • 60 to 240-minute duration
  • A facilitator, and two to three speakers (the details of all facilitators and speakers to be included in the abstract)
  • Opportunity for extensive discussion, interaction and practical outcomes

Whole Session Presentations

A whole session proposal is when the organiser defines the topic of the session, the format and invites all speakers/contributors in the session.  An abstract for a session should have details of:

  • The topic
  • Details of all facilitators, speakers & presenters in the session
  • Description of the session, including length of time, and proposed outcomes from the session
    • Format of the session i.e. Series of oral presentations; Panel discussions; Interviews; Quiz the speaker; Debates or hypotheticals; Coffee table or ‘campfire’ discussions and storytelling; Yarning circles; Group Dialogue (Multiple questions posed to groups of four to six to discuss) or a Solution Room – Around a specific topic the room provides peer-supported advice, discussion, and solutions to specific problems

Poster Presentation

A poster presentation is designed to allow the presenter to provide a graphic summary (text, graphics and photos) of their research/work outcomes. Posters will be located in the exhibition and catering area. Poster presentations have the following characteristics:

  • Posters will be accessible on two platforms: (1) on display at the conference, and; (2) on the conference website
  • Each poster will be presented on one side of a large poster board
  • As posters are designed to be interactive, it is expected that at least one author of the submitted poster will register and attend the conference to be available to discuss with fellow delegates during scheduled timeslots
  • There will be a prize for the best posters – determined by popular vote of the delegates

Short (Three-Minute) Research Presentation – Competition for Students

The challenge is to present your research in three minutes.  You may use one slide in your presentation.  Your abstract will be published in the conference proceedings.  There will be prizes for the best presentation determined by acclamation from the audience.

Other

The Program Sub-Committee are open to proposals for other styles of presentation to support learning and the exchange of ideas that is not mentioned in the Call for Abstracts.  If you would like to propose another style of presentation, please provide:

  • The topic
  • Details of all key people including facilitators and presenters
  • Description of the session and proposed outcomes from the session
  • The proposed format of the session

Australian Forestry Journal

Please note that authors may wish to write a paper for Australian Forestry based on the abstract submitted for the 2025 Conference.  The Program Sub-Committee may also approach authors, based on their abstract, requesting that they prepare a paper for publication.

Format of Abstracts:

Authors are asked to provide the following information when they submit their abstract:

  • Title: (up to 20 words)
  • Presentation type: (indicate) oral, workshop, whole session, poster, short or other
  • Authors
  • Authors affiliations
  • If more than one author, an indication of which authors will be speaking/presenting
  • Theme (from the list)
  • Sub-theme (from the list)
  • Keywords (up to 5 keywords)
  • Abstract (up to 250 words)
  • Interest in writing a paper for Australian Forestry or the New Zealand Journal of Forestry based on the abstract
  • Presenter’s Biography (up to 100 words)
  • Presenter phone
  • Presenter email
  • Presenter address

Please note:

It is the responsibility of the author to ensure abstract text does not contain any typos or grammatical errors. The 2025 Program Sub-Committee will not be responsible for any errors published.

If an abstract is accepted into the conference program, authors are required to register and pay to attend the Conference.

Questions:

If you have any questions in regards to the Call for Abstracts, please email Naomi at naomi@eventsphere.com.au

We look forward to receiving your submissions, and welcoming you to the 2025 Forestry Australia Conference!