# Current Problems of Forest Protection (25-27 October 2022, Katowice Poland)
## 1 Introduction  
From 25-27 October 2022, a conference entitled \"Current Problems of Forest Protection--2022\" was held at the Radisson Inn Hotel in Katowice, organized by the IBL Forest Protection Department and the Polish Forest Society in cooperation with the Regional Directorate of State Forests in Katowice and the Katowice Forest Inspectorate. The conference continued the long tradition of meetings on forest science and practice, where current issues of forest protection against insects, pathogenic fungi and animals were discussed. The meeting was attended by nearly 100 people, including representatives from:  
* The Department of Forest Protection of the General Directorate of State Forests (DGLP) and forest protection teams;
* Regional Directorates of State Forests (RDLP) and forest inspectorates;
* The Universities of Life Sciences in Poznan and Wroclaw, Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the University of Adam Mickiewicz in Poznan, and the Chemipan Experimental Department of the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences;
* Kampinowski National Park;
* Companies from the field of forest protection, including: Agrarius, Andrzej Barczyk FPHU TIM, Score sp. z o.o., Silvana Eco Solutions sp. z o.o. and SPOTTA from the United Kingdom. On the first day of the conference, the participants were introduced by Professor Krzysztof Sterenczak--Director of the Forest Research Institute and Jurand Irik--Deputy Director of the RDSF in Katowice, who presented the main issues of forest management and, especially, forest protection in Upper Silesia. The first lecture session started with a presentation by Aldona Perlinska, Head of the Forest Protection Department in the Forestry Directorate, who presented the main problems of forest protection at the national level. Special attention was paid to the weakening of pine and hardwood stands due to the worsening drought since 2015, and the resulting problems with secondary pests and pathogenic fungi. In addition, she pointed out the increasing likelihood of the appearance of new insect and fungal species in our country, which are typical of areas with higher air temperatures. Their appearance, as a result of climate warming, could be invasive in Poland, so continuous monitoring of the presence of these organisms is needed. The next papers of the first session dealt with the history of insect occurrence in the areas of the RDSF in Gdansk and Torun, as well as with the negative impact of soil moisture decline on the function of ectomycorrhizal fungi. In the second session, six presentations were given on the occurrence of new insect species and tree diseases in the country, which have gained economic importance due to climate change. The occurrence of semi-parasites on trees (_Loranthus europaeus_ Jacq. and _V. album_ ssp. _austriacum_) and their impact on host plant health were also discussed. The results of the entomological survey in the forests of the RDSF in Krosno were also presented. The third and fourth sessions were characterized by presentations on the possibilities of using both non-chemical and innovative chemical methods in modern forest protection against insects and fungal diseases. A system of detectors for monitoring the pine weevil in forest crops was presented. Other presentations dealt with the resistance of ash trees to fungal diseases and monitoring of selected elements of pine production in container nurseries, as well as their impact on the quality of planting material. The fourth session presented a model that allows for medium-term prediction of the onset of run moth _Lymantria monachu_ spread, as well as issues related to _Acantholyda posticalis_ monitoring. The conference concluded with papers summarized in the fifth session on the biology and ecology of various insect species.