Linking genetic variability with ecological responses to environmental changes: forest trees as model systems

Coordinator: Dr. Santiago Gonzalez-Martinez

Participating countries: ES, FR, DE, SE

link to presentation

Forests cover approximately 25% of Europe, roughly 117 million ha, and are important reservoirs of genetic diversity, playing a decisive role in climate change mitigation. In this project, we will use latest-generation technology to study genetic variation of ecologically relevant genes and their effects in natural forests. At the same time, we will elucidate differences in morphological and functional traits in trees growing under different environmental conditions in model European forest systems. To better generalize our findings and ensure practical applications, we have selected widespread and contrasted groups of forest trees (Mediterranean pines, temperate oaks, fir and spruce) and major environmental drivers (forest fires, drought, low temperatures, etc.). Permanent experimental plots (including 5-6 replicates by ecological gradient) will be installed in model forest systems in Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Sweden, providing field stations for long-term ecological and genetic research in a variety of biomes widely represented in Europe. Finally, we will develop or adapt integrative models to simulate the evolutionary dynamics of tree populations across a few generations under different realistic climatic scenarios in order to investigate the different responses of species and functional types to future environmental changes.

The risks involved with underestimating diversity

Impacts of global change on European forests are expected to be acute, resulting in notable changes in species range, ecosystem functioning and in the interactions among species. Forest trees and their associated organisms can disappear, disperse to other places or adapt locally to the ongoing climatic change over a reduced number of generations. To adapt in such a short period of time, trees would need to rely more on standing genetic variation and recombination than on new mutations. If enough genetic variation exists, the process of adaptation to new environmental conditions could be rapid in trees, mitigating at least partially the impacts of climate change. Under-estimating the potential for rapid adaptation could lead to unnecessary if not damageable recommendations, for example the use of non-native provenances or species for restoration plantations. Overestimating this process would be equally problematic, if no mitigating measures are taken and tree populations decline massively and prove unable to regenerate. Tree adaptation to the new environmental conditions triggered by climate change should also have profound consequences on forest ecosystems as a whole, given the pivotal role of trees in the functioning of ecosystems.

Desired outcome of this project

With this project, we would like to contribute to the current international initiatives to assess biodiversity at all levels of organization by identifying potential candidate genes of ecological significance in keystone tree species. We expect to provide the scientific community, especially evolutionary biologists and ecologists, with a deeper understanding of the importance of tree genetic diversity (at candidate genes and quantitative traits) for the sustainability of forest ecosystems and how this variation i) is structured in nature and ii) will respond to environmental change. From a practical point of view, we would like to provide forest managers, nature conservationists and policy makers with indicators and/or guidelines to manage forest ecosystems and resources that are under pressure from global change and with effective tools for adaptive diversity monitoring using high-throughput genotyping techniques. In addition, we expect to contribute to the choice of appropriate ‘minimum requirements’ to select forest ecosystems and stands that will be recognized and managed as conservation units at the European scale, a current concern of EUFORGEN, the European Program for Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources.


Photo: Mont Ventoux, France (INRA Avignon)