IEG-40: Genetics & Breeding of Southern Forest Trees
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
IEG-40: Genetics & Breeding of Southern Forest Trees
Duration: 10/01/1985 to 09/30/1990
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
The southern U.S. is the most active region in the country in forest genetics in terms of the number of forest genetics researchers, number and scope of tree improvement programs and in terms of need due to the scope of commercial regeneration. There is no meeting format other than IEG-40 to deal with forest genetics topics in an in depth manner. The Southern Forest Tree Improvement Conference (SFTIC) is an excellent meeting that has had outstanding support for many years. However, it meets only every other year which is not often enough for some rapidly developing topics. Furthermore, specific topics are not dealt with in depth as is done in IEG-40 meetings. IEG-40 is an excellent and needed supplement to SFTIC.
Objectives
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To promote the advancement of discoveries in the area of forest genetics in the southern region.
Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
IEG-40 meets biannually in a workshop or conference format dealing with a forest genetics topic of current interest in the professional community. Noted specialists on the topic are invited to make presentations to a group of attendees usually on the order of 50 to 100 people. Attendance is open but only invited papers are given. Besides the papers, there are sometimes break out groups that discuss key topics and bring the results of their discussions to the group at large for further discussion. Invited speakers are sometimes asked to sit on a panel and receive questions from participants.
The meeting organizer chooses the method of publication of the proceedings. In 1998, the workshop was titled: ?Wood and Wood Fibers: Properties and Genetic Improvement.? Technical session topic areas included the following: Forest Industry Research and Development Needs, Wood and Fiber Chemistry and Physics, Measurement Technologies, Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, and Genetic Variation, Selection, and Breeding. Oral and poster presentation sessions, informal discussion groups, and a technical tour (of IPST Labs) encouraged productive interactions among attendees from industrial, academic, and government sectors. In 1996, abstracts on the topic of gene mapping, gene transfer and marker assisted selection were put on an Internet web site. In 1994, papers on the topic of genetic diversity were published in a special edition of the Canadian Journal of Forest Research (Volume 27, Number 3). In other years papers were published in a federal or state research bulletin.
Organization/Governance
IEG-40 will continue to meet in alternate years to provide the opportunity for forest geneticists and tree improvement lay persons to exchange information on research topics of current interest. A technical chair will be nominated biannually who will work with a meeting coordinator who is usually a specialist in the area of the topic of the next meeting. The meeting organizing committee and the technical chair will determine the appropriateness of whether or not to publish the proceedings and where to publish them.