Forest ecosystems and their resilience to climate extremes across Europe

欧洲森林生态系统及其对极端气候的适应能力

• 批准号: EP/Y003810/1
• 负责人: Tommaso Jucker
• 金额: $ 203.16万
• 依托单位: University of Bristol
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=EP%2FY003810%2F1
• 关键词: Forest; ecosystems; their; resilience; climate

Over the past several decades European forest have played a major role in slowing the pace of climate change by sequestering vast amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it as wood. However, growing evidence suggests that this carbon sink is now weakening, with potentially disastrous consequences for international efforts to keep global warming within 2 degrees C. This recent dip in the strength of the forest carbon sink is thought to be linked, at least in part, to a rise in the frequency and intensity of hot dry summers in Europe - including the record-breaking heatwaves of 2003, 2010 and 2018-19. If Europe's forests are to continue being part of the solution for transitioning to a low-carbon future, we urgently need to understand how these ecosystems are impacted by and recover from periods of extreme water stress. The overarching goal of the FORTRESS project is to generate the first complete picture of how extreme heat and drought impact the ability of European forests to sequester and store carbon: from the growth and survival of individual tree seedlings, to population dynamics across entire landscapes. Using a unique combination of manipulative experiments, long-term retrospective analyses of tree ring records, real-time ecophysiological data from a pan-European wireless tree sensor network, cutting-edge remote sensing and machine learning, this project aims to: (i) reveal which European tree species are most resilient to climate extremes and why; (ii) uncover how climate constrains tree growth and water use at daily, seasonal, annual and multi-decadal time scales; and (iii) develop the next generation of early warning signals that predict a tree's risk of mortality from hydraulic failure using a range of data, including satellite imagery. In doing so, the FORTRESS project will radically transform our ability to manage, monitor and model Europe's forest ecosystems into the future.

在过去的几十年里，欧洲森林通过从大气中封存大量二氧化碳并将其储存为木材，在减缓气候变化的速度方面发挥了重要作用。然而，越来越多的证据表明，这种碳汇现在正在减弱，这可能会给国际社会努力将全球变暖控制在2摄氏度之内带来灾难性后果。最近森林碳汇强度的下降被认为至少部分与欧洲炎热干燥夏季的频率和强度增加有关，包括2003年、2010年和2018-19年创纪录的热浪。如果欧洲森林要继续成为向低碳未来过渡的解决方案的一部分，我们迫切需要了解这些生态系统如何受到极端缺水时期的影响并从中恢复。 FORTRESS 项目的首要目标是首次全面了解极端高温和干旱如何影响欧洲森林固碳和储存碳的能力：从单个树苗的生长和生存，到整个景观的种群动态。该项目以独特的方式结合了操作性实验、树木年轮记录的长期回顾性分析、来自泛欧无线树木传感器网络的实时生态生理数据、尖端遥感和机器学习，旨在：（i）揭示哪些欧洲树种对极端气候的适应能力最强以及原因； (ii) 揭示气候如何在每日、季节性、年度和数十年时间尺度上限制树木生长和用水； (iii) 开发下一代预警信号，利用包括卫星图像在内的一系列数据来预测树木因水力故障而死亡的风险。在此过程中，FOTRESS 项目将从根本上改变我们未来管理、监测和模拟欧洲森林生态系统的能力。