Accurate information about how climate change impacts European forests is essential. On 1 November 2022 started the ForestWard Observatory to Secure Resilience of European Forests, FORWARDS Horizon EUROPE project, Funded under Food, Bioeconomy Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment.The FORWARDS project will prototype the ForestWard Observatory to provide timely and detailed information on European forest resilience. It will generate evidence-based knowledge to guide management using the principles of climate-smart forestry (CSF), ecosystem restoration and biodiversity preservation (CSF & Restoration). FORWARDS will connect forest information obtained from the ground and remote sensing by integrating the concept of Monitoring Supersites and innovative methods to characterise cause-effect relationships of forest disturbances. It will develop tools for European-wide spatially explicit projections on forests and regionalised CSF & Restoration trajectories to assess synergies and restoration activities.
The geoLab will be involved in all the tasks of the FORWARDS project to prototype for the ForestWard Observatory (a) timely and detailed information on European forests’ vulnerability to climate change impacts, (b) science-based knowledge to guide management using the principles of climate-smart forestry, ecosystem restoration, and biodiversity preservation (CSF & Restoration), and (c) stakeholder engagement and public participation in decision-making processes.
In the project, coordinated by SVERIGES LANTBRUKSUNIVERSITET (SW), are involved EUROPEAN FOREST INSTITUTE (FI), UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE (IT), UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DEL MOLISE (IT), JOHANN HEINRICH VON THUENEN-INSTITUT, BUNDESFORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FUER LAENDLICHE RAEUME, WALD UND FISCHEREI (D), HELMHOLTZ ZENTRUM POTSDAM DEUTSCHES GEOFORSCHUNGSZENTRUM GFZ (D), WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY (NL), STICHTING WAGENINGEN RESEARCH (NL), LATVIJAS VALSTS MEZZINATNES INSTITUTS SILAVA (LV), FONDAZIONE ICONS (IT), LUONNONVARAKESKUS (FI), UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN (A), ESSRG NONPROFIT KFT (HU), LUNDS UNIVERSITET (SW), PROSPEX INSTITUTE (BE), EIGEN VERMOGEN VAN HET INSTITUUT VOOR NATUUR- EN BOSONDERZOEK (BE), EIDGENOSSISCHE FORSCHUNGSANSTALT WSL (CH), FORESTRY COMMISSION RESEARCH AGENCY (UK), BANGOR UNIVERSITY (UK)
Discover more at https://forwards-project.eu/