1. The 21st Session of the International Poplar Commission (IPC) was jointly hosted by the Governments of Canada and USA in Portland, Oregon, USA, from 24-28 September 2000 at the kind invitation of the Government of USA.
2. The Session was attended by delegates and advisers from 25 member countries of the Commission: Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea (Republic of), New Zealand, Romania, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Turkey, UK, USA and Yugoslavia. Observers attended from Brazil, Greece, Kenya, Nigeria, Singapore and Ukraine. A total of 258 delegates, advisers and observers participated.
3. The Session was opened by the Chairman of the retiring Executive Committee, Mr V. Steenackers.
4. Participants were welcomed by the guest of honour, the Mayor of Portland, Mr J. Pollard, by Dr Isebrands and Mr Richardson on behalf of the co-hosts and by Mr R. Hall and Mr John Doorenbos representing the Poplar Councils of the USA and Canada respectively.
5. Mr J.B. Ball, Secretary of the IPC, in welcoming participants on behalf of the Director-General of FAO, drew attention to the role of the IPC, a Statutory Body of FAO, in providing a neutral forum for the discussion of technical and policy issues related to poplars and willows; advice and technical support from a wide range of disciplines; and access to the network of 180 member countries of the Organization.
6. Mr Jim Richardson (Canada) and Dr Jud Isebrands (USA) were elected joint Chairmen.
7. The Provisional Agenda was adopted without amendment.
8. Delegates were advised that Finland, as a member of FAO, had applied to join the IPC under Article II (1) of the Convention governing the IPC. Finland had lodged its formal acceptance of the Convention with the Director-General of FAO and was accordingly now a member of the IPC.
9. The following keynote addresses were delivered in support of the theme:
10. Dr Jud Isebrands presented the synthesis of responses on the theme of the 21st Session, Poplar and Willow Culture: meeting the needs of society and the environment. The synthesis was based on 17 responses to a questionnaire that had been circulated to all member countries.
11. National Reports were received from the Poplar Commissions of 24 member countries, including Finland (see annex IV). The contents of the National Reports were synthesised in a separate report and were incorporated in the Keynote Address Future role of forest plantations in meeting people's needs for forest goods and services.
12. Inventory data of areas of poplars were available for most countries which reported, some with information about areas of natural-occurrence. Canada reported the largest natural area of poplars: approximately 17.8 million ha of mixed-stands, where poplar was the main component; the USA reported 8.75 million ha of aspen and cottonwood plus millions of hectares growing outside the surveyed area of forest. In China, natural stands, represented by 53 species, were estimated to be about 3 million ha (1996 1.34 million ha). China reported 6 million ha of poplar plantations. France reported (1998) 253 700 ha of poplar plantations (in 1993, 245 000 ha); Hungary: 156 700 ha (almost the same as in 1996), of which 47 400 ha were native stands and 109 300 ha were hybrid stands; Turkey: approximately 145 000 ha (1996 157 000 ha); Italy: 118 825 ha (of which 70 000 ha were situated in the Northern Italian plains); Romania: 113 556 ha (native poplars: 60 732 ha and cottonwood: 52 824 ha); Spain: 102 830 ha (1995); Belgium: 40 000 ha; India: approximately 40 000 ha (26 400 ha reported in 1996); USA 30 000 ha (20 000 ha in 1996); Bulgaria: 25 645 ha; Croatia: 19 535 ha (of which 5 366 ha were natural stands); Chile 15 000 ha, of which 7 000-8 000 are plantations, the rest rows.
13. Information on standing volume was given by some countries. Canada: 3.7 billion m³ in the mixed-stands, of which 1.6 billion m³ were in "poplar stands", where Populus sp were the main component and 2.1 billion m³ were in "non poplar stands", where species other than Populus formed most of the stands; USA 707 million m³; France: 23.8 million m³ (in 1993 27.3 million m³); Romania: 14.2 million m³ (7.56 million m³ of which were natural stands); Italy: 4 million m³; Belgium: the total standing in pure block plantation for Walloon Region was estimated as 1.84 million m³; Croatia: 2.3 million m³ (742 824 m³ of which were natural stands); Bulgaria: 1.1 million m³ (1999); Chile 900 000 m³.
14. Exports and imports of poplar wood had relevance mainly in Europe. The countries that had most imports were: Italy, mainly from France (50%) and Hungary (30%); Belgium; France; Finland, mainly from the Baltic states and Russia; Croatia. The main exporting countries were: Belgium to France, Italy, the Netherlands; Morocco and Egypt; France: mainly to Italy; Croatia mainly logs to Italy; Romania; and Spain to France. Several of these countries import and re-export poplar wood, either as roundwood or in semi-processed form.
15. Regarding willows, few countries reported inventory data. Romania: 43 030 ha, of which 18 557 were native stands; Croatia: 10 778 ha, of which 6 634 ha were natural stands. Romania reported 3,8 million m³ (of which 1.15 million m³ were in natural stands) of willow standing volume; and Croatia reported 1.05 million m³ (742 824 m³ in natural stands). Although limited information was supplied on the cultivation and use of willows, several countries showed a great interest in willows, mainly for bio-energy and new industrial uses (e.g. Chile reported the export of canework furniture made from Salix viminalis). The need to protect willow genetic resources by in-situ and ex- situ means, was reported by various countries.
16. Environmental issues and public concern strongly affected policies and practices in both poplar and willow culture in many countries in North America and Europe.
17. Some changes in national policies and legislation, mainly concerning new regulations for forest reproductive material, the registration of new clones, natural forest protective projects, financial incentives and measures to preserve the quality of the environment were reported. The application and development of a new regulation will mean that poplar cultivation will be financially supported in the European Union until 2006.
18. In East Europe the forestry sector, as with other economic activities, has continued to adapt to free market conditions. Some countries, as Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, regulated the restitution of agricultural and forest lands to their former owners.
19. Research in various topics was carried out by most countries. In general, interest in genetic engineering and marker-aided selection programmes increased. Poplar genetic maps were available or in an advanced stage of development in some countries.
20. Most European countries reported their participation in the EUFORGEN Programme for the conservation of native stands of Populus nigra, with valuable progress made.
21. Interest in the use of poplar and willow for energy was strongly maintained in countries such as Sweden (mainly willows), Yugoslavia, Croatia and the United Kingdom (where an energy crop scheme for poplar and willow planting has been carried out).
22. Several National Commissions carried out activities such as: meetings, technical presentations, preparation of web sites, study tours, etc. Canada, which continued to be one of the most active, has actively developed the potential of electronic communication and dissemination of information. On occasions, National Commissions have had important roles in official discussions of strategies for poplar and willow cultivation. In general, good communication and co-operation in joint activities related to the exchange of information and materials were observed, particularly between countries of the same geographical region.
23. An application for the registration of six new cultivars of Populus was received from India and all the clones proposed were included in the Register: `Kamal', `Akbar', `Shiv', `Raj', `Jagdish', and `Baldev'.
24. An application for the registration of six new cultivars of Populus was received from Italy; all the clones proposed were included in the Register: `Brenta', `Lambro', `Mella', `Soligo', `Taro' and `Timavo'.
25. An updated version of the International Register of Populus L. cultivars was produced in May 2000 for the 21st Session of the International Poplar Commission (Portland OR, USA). It will be made available to the National Poplar Commissions of Member countries.
26. The Register now holds information on 330 cultivars. The current version of the Register is available at the IPC Web site http://www.agro.ucl.ac.be/efor/ipc/
27. Other documents produced included a new version of the "Registration form and summary description" (along with guidelines for its preparation) which was made available on the Web. For the moment, only the English version was available.
28. A synthesis of the "Rules of nomenclature of Populus L. cultivars" was also prepared (and made available on the Web) that collects the main directives contained in the latest edition of the "International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants" and "International Code of Botanical Nomenclature".
29. It was noted that even in its current version, the Register was not complete and a considerable effort would have to be made in the near future for its improvement. The difficulties derived from the need to incorporate cultivars whose origin dates back to the early decades of the twentieth century and to check the reliability of available information.
30. Future activities planned included:
31. Concurrent and joint meetings were held of all the Working Parties with the following themes. The papers presented are in Annex III.A.
Concurrent meetings:
Joint meetings:
32. An informal session of the Working Party discussed its function. It was agreed that the Working Party on Poplar Diseases should be regarded as the source for expert information on pest management in plantations and forests, and on forest health in general. It was proposed that there should be a merger with the Working Party on Insects reflected in a name change to: "Working Party on Insects and Disease" but this was subsequently not agreed by the other Working Party.
33. In formal session the following activities were agreed for the period 2000-2004:
34. The following were elected as officers of the Working Party on Poplar Diseases for the period 2000-2004:
Mike Ostry (USA), Chair.
Marijke Steenackers
(Belgium), Vice-Chair.
George Newcombe (USA), Technical Secretary.
35. Thirty four people attended the session of scientific presentations at which 5 oral communications were presented. 5 posters were also presented in the visual poster session. 2 invited papers were presented in the joint session on Breeding, Diseases and Insects. 10 persons from 8 different countries (Argentina, Canada, China, France, New Zealand, Sweden and U.S.A.) attended the business session.
36. The recommendations from the 20th Session concerning the usefulness of, and the interest in, the publication "The damaging insects of poplars" were endorsed and the periodic updating of this electronic work was proposed.
37. The amalgamation of the groups "Insect pests" and the "Diseases" Working Parties was discussed, but was not accepted by the majority of the participants. The title "Working Party on Insects and other animal pests" seemed more appropriate for the immediate future. It was felt that the scientific disciplines of entomology and plant pathology were sufficiently different to justify the separate existence of the two working parties. However, all participants agreed that close collaboration between the two working parties, and the Poplar and Willow Breeding Working Party, was valuable and should continue. Joint sessions of Working Parties were seen to be a good way of showing how collaboration worked in practice. All the participants agreed on the timing of the meeting once every 4 years.
38. The following were elected as officers of the Working Party on Poplar Insect Pests for the period 2000-2004:
Sylvie Augustin (France), Chair
John Charles (New Zealand), Co-chair.
39. The Working Party held three technical meetings attended by the participants from 16 countries. During these meetings 15 scientific/technical papers were presented and discussed, ranging from fundamental properties to processing and utilization, as well as pulping and economics of poplar wood. Six poster/visual presentations were also made.
40. Participants discussed certain priorities for research both within and outside the working party. These included the following topics:
41. During the business meeting, participants agreed to the nomination and election of the following individual as the new executive of the working party:
André Leclerq (Belgium), Chair
Paul Cooper (Canada),
Vice-Chair
David Kretschmann (USA), Vice-Chair
Ilona Peszler (Hungary),
Technical Secretary
John Balatinecz (Canada) would serve as past-Chair to
assist the new team during the transition.
42. Participants emphasized the useful role of IPC in fostering international interdisciplinary cooperation.
43. The members of the Working Party approved a proposal to change the name of the group to "Working Party on Genetics, Conservation and Improvement", for consideration by the next Session of the IPC. The new definition seemed better adapted to the broader scope that the Working Party has adopted over the years; breeding is still a very important subject, vital for the economic and social development of many areas of the world, but other activities have gained a central role as well. The preservation of biodiversity, the maintenance of genetically dynamic riparian ecosystems, the study of gene flows between cultivated and spontaneous poplars and willows, the development of entirely new technologies for genetic improvement based on non-sexual gene transfer, the progress in molecular genetics, indicate that breeding alone does not give a fair description of the interests of the Working Party.
44. Members of the Working Party Terms of reference made proposals regarding membership and participation in the work and activities, the convening of formal and informal meetings, the officials and the functions, of the Working Party. It was proposed that the subject areas should include all matters that relate, directly or indirectly, to the exploration, conservation and use of genetic resources of poplars and willows. More specifically: i) Conservation of natural genetic resources and ecosystems; ii) Genetic improvement by different means: a) Conventional breeding. b) Application of molecular genetics tools and techniques. c) Recombinant DNA technologies.
45. The following activities were suggested for the period 2000-2004:
46. The following officials of the Working Party were elected by acclamation for the period 2000-2004:
Teresa Cerrillo (Argentina), Chair
Lindsay Fung (New
Zealand) and Sasa Orlovic (Yugoslavia), Vice-Chairs
47. The working party on biomass production systems for poplars and willows held two technical sessions, attracting more than 40 and 80 people respectively, from at least 20 countries. Fourteen papers were presented while other papers were presented in joint sessions and in poster sessions. It was felt that there had been keen interest in the activities of the working party and participants had paid attention to both poplars and willows.
48. The scope and the name of the Working Party were discussed. There was general consensus regarding the scope which should continue to stress that production systems not only produce biomass, but also provide a large number of environmental services. The scope should continue to encompass social, technical, economic and ecological aspects of production systems, whether designed to provide biomass or other products and services to society.
49. Given the importance of environmental functions to be addressed in the Working Party, and given the general public perception of the word `production', it was proposed to extend the name to PRODUCTION SYSTEMS AND ENVIRONMENTAL APPLICATIONS FOR POPLARS AND WILLOWS.
50. With regard to the frequency of meetings, it was suggested to maintain good coordination with the meetings at the IPS (International Poplar Symposium) to ensure regular meetings every second year.
51. It was felt that the IPC would benefit from a wider exposure of its activities. Technically this might be achieved by obtaining more links to the IPC web-site, which also should be used more intensively by the working parties, for instance by creating on open discussion forum on the web with an open mailbox system. In connection to this, the already existing address list of experts on polar and willow should be updated and given a wider exposure.
52. The following officials of the Working Party were elected for the period 2000-2004;
Theo Verwijst (Sweden),
Chair
Sara Hurst (New Zealand), Tim Volk and Don Johnsson (USA), Technical Secretaries
53. Delegates reviewed the recommendations formulated by the subsidiary bodies and, after discussion, adopted the following recommendations:
Nomenclature and Registration
54. The International Register of Populus L. Cultivars was a fundamental instrument for the exchange of correct information at both scientific and commercial level. The appointment that the IPC received from the International Society for Horticultural Sciences as International Registration Authority for the genus Populus is extended on the whole World and not limited to its Member countries. This responsibility towards a wider and to a large extent unknown audience must be fully perceived by the Executive Committee.
55. The recommendations from the Working Party on Nomenclature and Registration were as follows:
Poplar and Willow Protection
a) Diseases
56. The following recommendations were made by the Working Party on Poplar Diseases to the Executive Committee:
b) Insect Pests
57. The Working Party on Poplar Insect Pests made the following recommendations:
Logging and Utilization
58. The following priorities were recommended by the Working Party on Logging and Utilization for research both within and outside the working party:
Breeding and Selection
59. The following recommendations were made by the Working Party on Breeding and Selection:
Biomass Production Systems
60. The recommendations from the Working Party on Production Systems for Poplars and Willows were as follows:
61. Sixteen candidates were proposed by thirteen member countries for election to the Executive Committee for the Executive Committee for the period 2000-2004. An election was held by secret ballot involving twenty country delegates authorised to represent their respective governments (Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Korea (Republic of), New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA.
62. The following were elected to the Executive Committee for the period 2000-2004: S. Bisoffi (Italy), J. Isebrands (USA), M. Steenackers (Belgium), G. Miller (Canada), A. Sanhueza (Chile), Weilun Yin (China), H.J. Muhs (Germany), I. Bach (Hungary), M. Bulfin (Ireland), L. Fung (New Zealand), A. Padró (Spain), T. Verwijst (Sweden). The collection and counting of the votes was scrutinised by J. Balatinecz (Canada) and I. Peszlen (USA).
63. Delegates were advised that no formal invitations had been received but an informal invitation had been received from Chile and Argentina to jointly host the 22nd Session of the IPC in 2004. FAO was requested to approach Chile, Argentina and other countries, and on the basis of their responses, to decide the venue of the next Session.
64. The session was closed by the co-chairs, with grateful thanks to the hosts for organising a most successful meeting.
