EMPHASIS-GO: Bringing Emphasis to Operation: European Infrastructure for Multi-Scale Plant Phenomics and Simulation for Food Security in a Changing Climate

植物和作物生产是农业、粮食系统和生物经济应用的核心，这对于应对未来与人口增长、气候变化、农业用地稀缺、生物多样性丧失等有关的挑战至关重要。需要综合解决方案和新技术，以农业部门、农业和种子业的知识驱动创新为基础，改善植物和作物生产。其中，植物和作物在结构、功能、质量和与环境相互作用方面的表现分析(“表型”)是开发植物和作物遗传多样性的关键，这是提高植物生产力和在植物和作物育种中取得进展所必需的。这需要采取实质性和协调一致的行动来发展和增加表型鉴定基础设施的可用性。因此，欧洲研究基础设施战略论坛(ESFRI)已将“植物表型”确定为欧洲研究领域的优先事项，并将重点列在ESFRI路线图上，将初级植物和作物生产作为未来欧洲农业食品系统和生物经济转型的关键步骤。筹备阶段项目(重点--筹备，2017-2021年)为实施和随后的运作铺平了道路。它制定了一项业务计划，并设立了临时大会，作为主要决策机构，由来自政策和研究的高级别代表组成。Emphasis-GO将在筹备阶段成功工作的基础上，扩大与来自11个国家和地区的合作伙伴的成员关系，全力支持Emphasis并将Emphasis带入运营，通过i)开发和部署服务，ii)实施法律、财务和组织框架，以及iii)整合未来运营的业务计划，全面探索潜在的欧洲植物和作物表型鉴定。

Plant and crop production is central in agriculture, food systems, and in bio-economy applications, which is essential to address future challenges related to growing population, climate change, scarcity of agricultural land, loss of biodiversity, etc. Integrated solutions and new technologies are needed to improve plant and crop production, based on knowledge-driven innovation to the farming sector, agricultural and seed industries. Therein, the analysis of plant and crop performance with respect to structure, function, quality and interaction with the environment (“phenotyping”) is key for the exploitation of plant and crop genetic diversity required for the enhancement of plant productivity and progress in plant and crop breeding. This requires substantial and concerted action to develop and to increase the availability of phenotyping infrastructures. The European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) has thus identified “Plant Phenotyping” as a priority for the European research area and EMPHASIS has been listed on the ESFRI ROADMAP, addressing primary plant and crop production as the key step in future European agro-food-systems and bio-economy transformation. The Preparatory Phase project (EMPHASIS-PREP, 2017-2021) paved the way towards implementation and subsequent operation. It developed a business plan and established the Interim General Assembly, as main decision-making body, comprising high-level representation from policy and research. EMPHASIS-GO will build on the successful work in the Preparatory Phase, extend the membership with partners from eleven countries fully committed to support EMPHASIS and bring EMPHASIS into operation to fully explore the potential European plant and crop phenotyping by i) developing and deploying services, ii) implement the legal, financial and organisational framework and iii) consolidating the business plan for future operations.