TENNESSEE — In October, about 250 people from around the world traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., to attend the inaugural International Oak Symposium, hosted by The University of Tennessee School of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service. Around 40 of the attendees were USDA Forest Service employees.

Southern Research Station scientists Stacy Clark and Callie Schweitzer co-chaired the four-day conference that featured 75 oral presentations and 30 poster presentations. Topics included silviculture, ecology and forest health. Some talks focused on the economic markets of oak for whiskey and other industries.

During the first plenary talk, Tim Boland, executive director of Polly Hill Arboretum, explained that there are approximately 450 species of oak worldwide. With such a diversity of species in this genus, there are tremendous benefits to bringing researchers and land managers from around the world together to discuss the global threats to oaks from pests, diseases, land management changes and climate change.

Many professional attendees volunteered to serve as mentors, networking professionals and competition judges. “With 40 professionals and 80 early career professionals and students, attendees were interacting with each other in a more direct way. This type of engagement spurred innovation and facilitated exchanges of ideas that are resulting in new collaborations and research directions,” Clark said.

The proceedings for the symposium were published ahead of the meeting, allowing attendees to pick up hard-copies for reference at registration.

The symposium was supported by 36 sponsors, including NGOs, private industry, academic institutions and government agencies. From the momentum that this event began, a second International Oak Symposium is being considered for 2027.