On May 24, I attended the meeting “Future Arctic”, held at Forêt Montmorency of the Université Laval in Quebec, Canada, to gather the information of the research strategy of each country and to construct the framework of international collaborations mainly with Canada.
It was an international conference on bryophytes and lichens in Arctic, aiming at: (1) Synthesizing the current understanding of Arctic cryptogamic research; (2) Emphasis on the interplay between biogeochemical process, microbial ecophysiology and biodiversity of cryptogams; (3) Encouraging multidisciplinary collaboration among Arctic researchers; and (4) Highlighting the future research initiatives.
Among 51 participants from 10 countries, 18 students were included and had lively discussions. The society of bryophytes and lichen in Quebec was well organized and quite active. It would be easy to find the counterpart on each field, but on the other hand, we have to build up our distinctive feature in biodiversity research in Canadian Arctic.
Satoshi Imura (NIPR / A member of Theme 6)
Group photo of Future Arctic meeting
