Dr. Ramesh Glückler

Last week I attended the IBFRA 2026 Conference in Québec City, Canada. A great chance to meet with researchers interested in the ecology of the boreal biome from across 15 different countries! In a talk I introduced the compilation of long-term fire histories across the boreal zone I am currently leading, and a poster focused on recent publications on paleofire and fire-vegetation modelling in the Republic of Sakha, eastern Siberia. Besides the scientific input, networking, new cooperations, and food for thought, the conference enabled me to get up close and personal with the (hemi)boreal forests of eastern Canada (see photo below)!

In June, I joined the Training School "Quantitative Numerical Analyses and Data Stewardship Training" in Sofia, Bulgaria, together with many great colleagues from across Europe. Gavin Simpson introduced us to state-of-the-art quantitative methods for analyzing complex (paleo)ecological datasets, followed by a deep dive into data stewardship within the Neotoma Paleoecology Database. Thanks to the local organizing committee and the European COST Action "PalaeOpen" for this wonderful opportunity! 

Natália Hurajtová and I wrote a report on the recent PalaeOpen joint fire research & management workshop in Zaragoza, Spain. It was a great opportunity to learn from fire managers and policymakers where they could better benefit from paleofire data. Find the report, including details on next steps and impressions from the field trip, over on the PalaeOpen website!