Sponsored by International Union of Soil Science (IUSS), International Union of Forestry Research Organizations (IUFRO), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Griffith University (GU), National Natural Science Foundation of China (NNSFC) and Shenyang Municipal Science and Technology Bureau (SMSTB), organized by Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Seventh International Symposium on Forest Soils was held on September 17-20, 2013 in Shenyang, China. More than 200  participants  from USA, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan and China mainland attended the conference. More than 60 oral presentations were given on the symposium and poster presentations were shared during the conference.

Forest soils fulfill multiple functions in single forest ecosystems and in landscapes with different ecosystems. The evolution of environmental conditions in a changing climate, adaptations of local forest management practices to sustain productivity and maintain environmental services (water quality, biodiversity and carbon sequestration) and the legacy of former land-use, all the factors above influence soil morphology and function.

The major objective of this symposium is to facilitate the development of international links, scientific exchanges and strategic alliances in forest soils and ecosystem processes, leading to fully realised, collaborative research programmes that address key research questions on the effects of local management / disturbance and climate change on forest ecosystem productivity, biodiversity and functions. The themes of this symposium will examine: (1) innovative techniques used to monitor and simulate / model the effects of local management and climate change; (2) advances and novel approaches in research technologies; and (3) application and monitoring of these developments at local, national and global levels. Most importantly, this symposium will promote the development of effective networks and strategies within the research community: linking ecosystem processes and management to forest biodiversity and functions, particularly in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation at both local and global scales.