Afro-European Wood and Bark Anatomy Conference 2026
17 - 20 November 2026 | Johannesburg, South Africa
Updates
Dear Fellow Plant Enthusiasts!
Over forty years ago, the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) organised the first Afro-European Regional Wood Anatomy Meeting in Pretoria, South Africa. Fast forward through eleven annual rings, and in October 1996, the next Afro-European Wood Anatomy Symposium took place, this time in Kew, organised by the Linnean Society of London, the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), and IAWA. This tradition continued with a meeting in Montpellier in 2004, co-organised by IAWA and the International Academy of Wood Science (IAWS), and later with the Tropical Forest Ecology/IAWA meeting in Tervuren in 2015. Since then, no further Afro-European Wood Anatomy meetings have taken place.
Fortunately, this does not mean that research into plant anatomy on both continents has dried up — quite the opposite. It has flourished. There is now a clear need to showcase these developments and to remind our anatomical community of the treasure trove represented by African and European floras — and by the research teams working on them.
The study of vascular plant structure poses complex conceptual and methodological challenges. Meeting these challenges requires interdisciplinary collaboration, drawing insights from plant biology at every level, from the cellular to the ecosystem scale. Partnerships between plant anatomists in Africa, Europe, and across the globe offer exciting opportunities to push the boundaries of our understanding.
With this in mind, we are committed to reviving and sustaining the tradition of Afro-European meetings, facilitating the exchange of ideas and discoveries among researchers from different countries and career stages. One of our main goals is to engage students and early-career scientists with the international community of wood and bark anatomists. This is especially important today, as classical disciplines such as plant anatomy, morphology, and taxonomy are at risk of fading away unless we ensure the involvement of the next generation of researchers.
We warmly invite you to the Afro-European Wood and Bark Anatomy Conference (AfEWBA) in South Africa — a country of exceptional plant diversity, offering untapped opportunities for botanists. The conference will be hosted by the University of Johannesburg, a dynamic and rapidly growing institution that not only houses one of the country’s leading teams of structural botanists but is also a recognised leader in sustainable development. AfEWBA will explore wood and bark as well as other related topics, broadening the focus to include aspects that extend beyond the traditional scope of these fascinating plant tissues.
Join us for AfEWBA 2026, where we can all contribute to the shared pursuit of novel insights and advancements in this exciting field!
Chair of AfEWBA 2026
Prof. Alexei Oskolski
Botany and Plant Biotechnology Department
University of Johannesburg
Organizers
Chair
Alexei Oskolski
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Vice-Chair
Marion Bamford
University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
Secretary
Kamil E. Frankiewicz
University of Warsaw, Poland
&
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Program committee
Annah Moteetee
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Veronica De Micco
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Emmanuel Ebanyenle
CSIR - Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, Ghana
Volker Haag
Thünen Institute of Wood Research, Germany
Steven Jansen
Ulm University, Germany
Bongekile Zwane
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Khathutshelo Magwede
University of Venda, South Africa
Technical team
Ryan
Rattray
Funmilade
Akinlabi
Zandile
Ngono
Azwinndini
Matshinga
Shabeer
Davids
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Conference topics
We welcome all contributions that fit the broad theme of the conference — Origins, form and function of wood, bark and related tissues throughout the plant body — including, but not limited to:
- General, developmental, and functional anatomy of roots, shoots, and leaves
- Structure, function, and development of conductive tissues throughout the plant body
- Systematic, ecological, and evolutionary anatomy of wood and bark
- Taxonomic and palaeoecological insights from fossil woods
- Dendrochronology and tree-ring research
- Identification of woods and other plant remnants
- Ultrastructure, formation, and function of plant cell walls
Keynote speakers
Coming soon! Each speaker: 30 minutes
Awards
The Sherwin Carlquist Award, funded by the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA), will be presented at AfEWBA 2026. It recognises the best presentations given at IAWA meetings by students and by early-career scientists up to five years after PhD graduation.
Sherwin Carlquist (1930–2021) was a titan of wood anatomy. His work revolutionised the way the relationship between the structure and the function of wood is understood: he read vessel diameter, element length, vessel grouping and perforation plate type as a record of the climate and the habitat in which a plant lives, and he put numbers on that reading. Eight books — among them Ecological Strategies of Xylem Evolution (1975) and Comparative Wood Anatomy (1988, second edition 2001) — and more than three hundred papers remain a source of ideas for anyone working on wood today.
He was, and remains, as large a name in the study of island floras. He treated islands as laboratories of evolution and argued that their plants arrived by long-distance dispersal rather than over land bridges; Island Life (1965) showed that dispersal alone could account for the entire native flora of Hawaii. Anatomy led him to conclude that woody island plants — the Juan Fernández tree-daisies, the Hawaiian lobelioids, Echium of the Canary Islands and Madeira — descend from herbaceous ancestors rather than being ancient relicts, which molecular data later confirmed. The Linnean Society of London, which awarded him its Linnean Medal in 2002, called him a giant in both fields.
IAWA established this award in his honour in 2022. A year later the IAWA Journal devoted a double issue, Tributes to Sherwin Carlquist, to his legacy, in which researchers from across the world set his findings against current evidence.
The AfEWBA Scientific Committee will select three winners. Each receives a certificate bearing the IAWA logo and a monetary prize:
| Prize | |
|---|---|
| First | €1,200 |
| Second | €600 |
| Third | €600 |
The results will be announced at the awards dinner that closes the conference on 20 November 2026.
Post-conference trip
Extend your visit to South Africa by joining our five-day post-conference excursion to the spectacular Blyde River Canyon and the world-renowned Kruger National Park. The tour combines botanical exploration with unforgettable wildlife experiences in one of Africa’s most celebrated protected areas.
The tour is planned for a maximum of 28 participants. As late November marks the beginning of the peak tourist season in South Africa, accommodation and other arrangements must be confirmed well in advance. We therefore strongly encourage you to book your place by 31 August 2026 to secure your participation.
For full details of the itinerary, accommodation, meals, tour prices, and booking arrangements, please see the Post-conference trip information.
Plan your visit
Planning your visit to Johannesburg? We have put together some practical tips and useful information on accommodation, travel, transport, weather, and safety to help you prepare for your stay.
For everything you need to know before travelling, please see our Plan your visit page.
Important dates
- Deadline for expression of interest: 01 June 2026
- Deadline for early-bird payment of registration fee: 15 August 2026
- Deadline for abstract submission: 30 September 2026
- Deadline for all payments: 30 September 2026
- Scientific program: 17 – 20 November 2026
- Awards dinner: 20 November 2026
- Post-conference excursion to the Kruger National Park: 21 – 25 November 2026
The expression-of-interest phase has now closed. Final registration, abstract submission, and payments follow the deadlines below.
Abstract submission
Please prepare your abstract according to the guidelines and using the abstract template available below. Abstracts should be submitted by e-mail to afewba2026@uj.ac.za. The deadline for abstract submission is 30 September 2026.
Registration and payment
We welcome registration for talks (15 minutes, including questions) and posters.
| Early bird (by 15 Aug 2026) | Regular (by 30 Sep 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Student | R 2500 | R 2750 |
| Regular | R 5000 | R 5500 |
Cancellation and Payment Policy
The fee includes:
- Welcome reception on 17 Nov 2026
- Admission to the full scientific program
- Lunches, teas, and coffees throughout the conference
- Awards dinner on 20 Nov 2026
The fee does not include the post-conference trip to Blyde River Canyon and Kruger National Park.
Problems? Questions? Please send all communications to:
afewba2026@uj.ac.za