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REsource INFrastructure for monitoring and adapting European Atlantic FORests under Changing climatE (REINFFORCE)
Start date: Jan 31, 2009, End date: Jan 30, 2013 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The theme of the forest adaptation to climate change is a priority for the entire forestry in the AA, since the material currently installed will have a direct impact on forest production in the next 15, 50 or 80 years, under the influence of a climate that will average 2 to 5 degrees warmer.The REINFFORCE project (Resource infrastructure for monitoring and adapting European Atlantic forests Under changing climate) aims to pool the research capacities of 11 research institutes in order to meet the challenge of the adaptation of Atlantic forests to climate change.This project's main objective is to establish a network of arboreta containing seedlings which have been selected according to their genetic origin along the Atlantic seaboard, in order to assess the adaptability of different tree varieties to a wide range of climatic and environmental conditions. A network of demonstration sites was implemented to monitor the efficiency of adaptive silviculture in the field. These two networks will be regularly monitored through a common protocol for at least 15 years. The collected data will be centralized in order to facilitate the exchange of analyses.The project's implementation is developed in three phases. In the preparatory phase, the sites for the two networks are selected, with the main criteria being the homogeneity of the plot and the representativeness of the site in terms of production. The tree species selection process involves both carrying out a literature review and consulting scientific experts.The second phase of the project consists of installing the arboreta and the demonstration sites. This phase is very exigent in terms of logistics because it involves producing and dispatching more than 120000 plants to more than 38 sites. The trials are installed in partnership with landowners and local actors to ensure their continuity beyond the end of the project.The third phase is the validation of the aforementioned protocol and the development of a common database where all the information collected within the network is stored online.The development of a common protocol for climate monitoring, health, phenological cycles and growth of forest species, duly documented, is a relevant contribution of REINFFORCE in terms of evaluation processes of the adaptation of forests to climate change. Interested parties benefit from two databases with information on the results of tests performed under the scope of the project: one with technical and ecological properties of the species and another with a forest inventory of the tests performed. Achievements: Good progress have been realized in the some of the components of the infrastructure on adaptation of forest trees to climate change in the Altantic European Area. For example the first steps of a long term trials of forest trees have been done, it is planning that during the year 2010, data collected from Portugal, Spain, France and United Kingdom will be access by an on-line application. Other works have focused in the selection of the species that will be part of a arboreta network with a total of 33 units along the European Atlantic Area, from Portugal to Scotland; a total of 35 species have been selected for this network. During the coming month December 2009 the final seed provenances for these 35 species will be decided.
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  • 65.1%   2 556 352,01
  • 2007 - 2013 Atlantic Area
  • Project on KEEP Platform
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