Call For Papers
Arboricultural Association Amenity Conference 2022
The Arboricultural Association Amenity Conference 2022 will be held on 4th – 7th September 2022 at Loughborough University. It is our intention to hold a predominantly in-person event.
For too long, urban and amenity trees were often viewed as existing in isolation – each an individual tree, perceived and managed as an individual unit. Over time we have come to appreciate that this is not the case. Trees are not only key elements of wider ecosystems, but can constitute ecosystems in their own right. Once, when asked the question what is a tree?, we might have replied with a dictionary definition – a tall plant with a wooden trunk and branches, or a woody perennial plant with an elongate main stem. We might have quoted Justice Cranston and responded that a tree is anything that would ordinarily be regarded as a tree. A tree is an assemblage of cells, arranged as roots, stem, fruit. We know that it can be far more complicated than this, and that a simple answer is not easily given. We must consider tree ecology. What impact does our increasing understanding of how trees function have on our understanding of what a tree actually is? To what extent must fungi be considered part of a tree, when we cannot always tell where the roots end and the mycorrhiza begin? What about the soil and the microbes? The endophytes and epiphytes? What about all of the flora, fauna and funga which coexist with trees? What about us?
The Arboricultural Association Amenity Conference 2022 will seek to explore and discuss, if not to answer, the question – What is a tree?
We invite submission of papers on the central theme of WHAT IS A TREE?, with particular emphasis on the following topics:
- Trees as ecosystems.
- Changes to professional practice.
- Tree ecology.
- Habitat and biodiversity.
- Fungi and mycorrhiza.
- People and trees.
Arboricultural Association members, non-members, arboricultural and urban forestry professionals, professionals from other disciplines, activists, friends and colleagues from across the globe are invited to submit abstracts under one or more of these topic headings to be considered for a presentation at conference. Any idea submitted as an abstract on the theme of What is a tree? will be considered. Most presentations will be 30 minutes in length but longer or shorter talks, workshops or demonstrations will also be considered; please specify this in your proposal. We also welcome the submission of poster presentations for display at the conference.
Please note that Conference 2022 will also feature a number of presentations from speakers who were originally invited to present at Conference 2020 on the theme of Trees and Society.
Proposals should be sent to john@trees.org.uk and must include the following information:
- Name
- Job title and organisation
- Brief speaker biography (100 words maximum)
- Title of presentation
- Abstract (summary of content, maximum 300 words)
- Proposed presentation type (PowerPoint presentation, workshop, poster etc.)
The deadline for submission of abstracts is 5pm on Monday, 7th February 2022. All abstracts will be reviewed by the Scientific Committee and we will aim to inform all potential participants in the first week of March 2022.