Recently, Beijing Forestry University hosted the Forest Ecosystems Spring Workshop 2025, with a focus on "Sustainable Management and Biodiversity Conservation in Tropical Forests."

Co-organized by BFU's College of Forestry and School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Forestry and other partner institutions, the workshop was initiated by Forest Ecosystems, an international academic journal hosted by BFU, with support from the university's Social Services and Integrated Research Office.

The workshop saw participation from Zhang Zhiqiang, the Vice President of BFU, who delivered the opening address. The presentation session was co-chaired by Dr. Osbert Jianxin Sun at BFU, Dr. John Kershaw from the University of New Brunswick (Canada), and Dr. Richard Condit from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (USA). Twelve distinguished experts—from China, the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea and Australia—shared insights on topics ranging from the structural and functional maintenance of tropical forests to carbon and water cycling and ecological restoration pathways. The event was also livestreamed via Research Cloud and KouShare, drawing more than 30,400 online viewers.

In his remarks, Zhang noted that forest ecosystems underpin a community for all life on Earth, and called for collaborative efforts across the global scientific community to address global challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

He emphasized that BFU, as a leading force in China's ecological civilization efforts, has remained in alignment with national strategies. By leveraging high-level academic journals such as Forest Ecosystems, it continues to promote multilateral academic exchanges, actively engage in global ecological management, and contribute to China's transition to green and low-carbon economy.

This workshop marks a pivotal step in enhancing the journal's alignment with BFU's core academic disciplines and advancing the university's "Double First-Class" initiative. Following the conference, participating experts will conduct field investigations and fixed-point monitoring at BFU's experimental sites to facilitate hands-on collaborative research.

Written by Li Hui
Translated by Wang Yannan
Edited by Song He
Reviewed by Yu Yangyang