A €4.7 million project funded under the Horizon Europe Innovative Training Network programme, aims to assess European forests' responses to global change.
FutureForests
A groundbreaking €4.7 million project, "FutureForests," funded under the Horizon Europe Innovative Training Network programme, aims to assess European forests' responses to global change. This initiative will build synergies among nine flagship manipulation experiments through a network of fifteen next-generation doctoral scientists, including those at the University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡.
European forests play a crucial role in mitigating climate change and achieving the ambitious goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the European Green Deal. However, these forests face significant threats from global change components such as increasing frequency and severity of climate extremes (e.g., droughts and heatwaves), forest disturbances (e.g., fires), and increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and pollutants deposition, particularly reactive nitrogen deposition. These factors are altering the capacity of forests to provide essential services, including climate regulation, biodiversity conservation, clean water, clean air, and human well-being.
FutureForests will connect flagship field manipulation facilities across Europe to train a cohort of next-generation scientists and lay the framework for global change attribution modelling of forest functions and services under global change scenarios
The project brings together manipulation facilities covering dominant forest types and regions in Europe, including dry Mediterranean, cool temperate, alpine temperate, and boreal forests. These facilities are run by ten academic beneficiaries in Europe, along with ten non-academic partners from industry, government, and non-government organisations.
Doctoral researchers will have the opportunity to assess the impacts of global change on forests in at least two international facilities as part of their doctoral research, with active input from host institutions and associated partners. It's a truly multi- and cross-disciplinary initiative
The FutureForests research programme addresses questions with direct implications for the EU Forest Strategy of 2030 under the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
FutureForests will promote innovation in forest ecology research to inform EU forests' adaptation strategies to global change and climate extremes. The next generation cohort of skilled scientists with novel science-to-policy outcomes will have a lasting impact on EU forests' resilience, environmental quality, and human well-being under a changing climate
BIFoR at the University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ is pleased to be coordinating this exciting EU-wide research and networking grant over the next four years. The FutureForests project represents a significant step forward in understanding and mitigating the impacts of global change on European forests, ensuring their continued provision of essential services and their resilience in the face of future challenges.
Professor of Biogeochemistry
Staff profile for Dr Sami Ullah, Senior Lecturer in Biogeochemistry and Physical Geography in the School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University Â鶹¾«Ñ¡.
Associate Professor in Plant Pathology
Dr Estrella Luna-Diez's work is aimed towards plant protection and biosecurity. Dr Luna-Diez studies the sophisticated immune system of plants in order to exploit their resistance capacity to a maximum.
