Responses of European Forests to Global Change: Building synergies among flagship manipulation experiments through a network of next generation scientists

ForesForests are at the forefront of our efforts to mitigate climate change and achieve ambitious goals within the European Green Deal. However, forests are particularly threatened by global change factors such as increasing frequency and severity of climate extremes (e.g., soil drought, heat, high evaporative demand), fires as well as increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide and nitrogen pollutants deposition. The severity, frequency, duration, and spatial extent of these global change factors is predicted to increase in future. Understanding forest responses to global change require field-sale manipulation experiments and in Europe a diversity of flagship facilities simulating global change scenarios exists. FUTUREFOREST aims to train 15 next generation scientists in assessing the impacts of global change on European forests utilising this unique network of European flagship field facilities covering the dominant forest types and regions (dry, temperate and boreal). The proposed doctoral programme embeds these facilities for addressing emerging research questions and engages 10 beneficiaries and 10 associated partners for delivering an interdisciplinary, integrated and transferable career skills programmed. Individual projects focus on assessing responses of tree processes, soil processes, biodiversity and vulnerability to pest and diseases as well modelling of forest responses to climate extremes and fire risk reduction, thus connecting 20 diverse partners with students. FutureForests combines excellent trainings, diverse supervisions and international mobility for impactful research to benefit society and the economy and to inform forest policies under the EU Green Deal and international climate mitigation efforts (Paris Climate Agreement). FutureForests is timely and connects key facilities for the first time under a doctoral programme to provide next generation scientists with skills and knowledge “most wanted” in academic and non-academic employability sectors.