Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
Horizon Europe is the European Union (EU) funding programme for the period 2021 – 2027, which targets the sectors of research and innovation. The programme’s budget is around € 95.5 billion, of which € 5.4 billion is from NextGenerationEU to stimulate recovery and strengthen the EU’s resilience in the future, and € 4.5 billion is additional aid.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
Biodiversity-rich forest ecosystems, in particular at the species’ distribution edges, are at a high risk in light of a rapidly changing climate.
For tree species assisted migration and assisted gene flow is considered as a possibly solution in actively managed forests, the dependent forest communities (e.g., plants, fungi, insects, soil microorganisms etc.) might fail to follow the speed of habitat shifts what in turn may result in a loss of biodiversity. In addition, migration failure of mutualistic species (fungi, mycorrhiza) can jeopardize the success of tree migration.
Protected areas without the option for assisted migration, will particularly depend on the larger landscape context for community migration and adaptation, as many of them have not been designed to account for the long-term and large-scale dynamics.
Overall, this topic is focused on the conservation and protection of carbon-rich and biodiversity-rich forest ecosystems.
Detailed Call Description
Proposals will:
- Set up case studies in European forests or tropical forests; particularly targeting forests of high ecological value, such as primary and old-growth forests, Mediterranean forests, peat swamp forests or mangroves.
- Improve existing or develop new predictive models of biodiversity changes, advance the understanding of species connection with the forest habitat, and analyse to what extent species can survive in a changed and fragmented habitat with a view to establishing protected forest networks.
- Analyse directions of assisted tree migration to maximize dynamic gene conservation (as form of ex situ conservation)
- Assess the risk for biodiversity loss in protected areas and develop protection strategies that consider the larger landscape and regional context to allow for natural species and community migration.
- Develop approaches and guidelines for forest managers and conservationists in a context of forest ecosystem migration and map scenarios of potential forest ecosystem migration routes.
- Connect with relevant institutions at regional, national and EU-level as well as relevant stakeholders to regularly disseminate the research results.
- Improve monitoring techniques, including remote-sensing and field-data methods integrating technologies such as AI, IoT, robotics or blockchain, to better assess biodiversity and climate aspects of forests.
The project must implement the multi-actor approach and ensure an adequate involvement of the primary production sector and the wider forest-based value chain.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
100%
EU Contribution per project: €6.00 million
Thematic Categories
- Environment and Climate Change
- Research, Technological Development and Innovation
Eligibility for Participation
- Central Government
- International Organisations
- Large Enterprises
- NGOs
- Non Profit Organisations
- Other Beneficiaries
- Private Bodies
- Researchers/Research Centers/Institutions
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
JRC will contribute with dataset on forest tree species distribution and support the development of satellite monitoring of forest metrics.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Research and Innovation Foundation
29a Andrea Michalakopoulou, 1075 Nicosia,
P.B. 23422, 1683 Nicosia
Telephone: +357 22205000
Fax: +357 22205001
Email: support@research.org.cy
Website: https://www.research.org.cy/en/
Contact Persons:
Marcia Trillidou
Scientific Officer A’
Email: trillidou@research.org.cy
Dr. Mary Economou
Scientific Officer
Email: meconomou@research.org.cy
EU Contact Point
European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
https://ec.europa.eu/info/departments/research-and-innovation_en#contact