The project area and the forest monitoring plots of LIFEGENMON.
Part of the research carried out within the GenTree project is addressing the challenging task of forest genetic monitoring for a large number of tree species across Europe. A similar objective is guiding the scientists within the LIFEGENMON project, an EU environmental fund implementation project.
The expected outputs of LIFEGENMON include the preparation of i) guidelines for forest genetic monitoring, ii) a manual and a decision support system for decision makers on establishing the forest genetic monitoring system, and iii) preparation of documents for possible future legislative developments, which all support better forest management.
Genetic monitoring as seen by LIFEGENMON shall lead to methods and tools for optimising the management of forest genetic resources (FGR) also in conservation units, one of the goals of GenTree. LIFEGENMON has a smaller geographic focus than GenTree and covers a transect spanning from Bavaria to Mt. Olympus in Greece. Actual experimental monitoring plots were established and studied in three European countries (Germany, Slovenia, Greece), while in the other parts of the transect, several monitoring parameters and policy prospects are being evaluated based on published data and opinions of experts. LIFEGENMON, a six-year project, will make two assessments in the same plots: one has already been done and the other is due in 2019/2020.
GenTree can offer to test the method that is being developed by LIFEGENMON over a much broader pan-European scale and envision what may facilitate, slow down or impede the implementation of genetic monitoring at political and management levels.
To facilitate exchange of knowledge and information between the projects, some of the GenTree partners were invited to attend the LIFEGENMON 3rd Advisory board meeting in Ljubljana at the Slovenian Forestry Institute in Sep 2016.
As a result of the discussions that took place in Ljubljana, it was agreed that the two projects would pool their resources and organize a stakeholders’ event together showcasing what their outcomes imply for forest management, with particular focus on genetic resources management.
More information about the meeting at the LIFEGENMON website
