NordGen Forest, the forest unit of the Nordic Genetic Resource Centre, organises annual conferences on regeneration, nursery production and forest genetics, bringing together forest owners and representatives from forestry, nurseries, management and research to share knowledge. This year’s conference, Tree species – Seeds – Resilient use, was co-organised with Nordic Forest Research(SNS) and held in Bergen, Norway, on 8–9 September. It offered an excellent opportunity to present and discuss OptFORESTS findings on how to expand forest tree planting in line with the goals of the European Green Deal, based on the wise use of forest genetic resources.

The Nordic region spans strong climatic gradients, from Denmark to the northern fringe of Norway, and from mild coastal areas in the west to the continental parts of Finland. Substantial warming is expected, especially in northern Scandinavia. Today, forest nurseries in most of the region concentrate production on Norway spruce and Scots pine, although the production and sale of broadleaves are expanding in the south. In the future, shifts in tree species and/or provenances are likely to become important across the entire region. In this context, the seven new common gardens established in three bioclimatic regions as part of OptFORESTS are important new research infrastructures for decades to come.

Participants discussed OptFORESTS’ efforts to address the many challenges of producing more seedlings from a wider range of species. This included guidance on how to identify, develop and use new, genetically diverse seed sources for species previously considered “minor” but likely to gain importance in future Nordic forests.

The co-creation and uptake of results from OptFORESTS and other projects can pave the way for climate-adapted forests, but long-term cooperation across countries between researchers, nurseries and forest businesses is essential. The highly successful NordGen conference contributed to this exchange.