EUFORGEN/FORGER Training Workshop | 5
EUFORGEN/FORGER Training Workshop on forest genetic resources Inventories and Databases
Zagreb, Croatia, 25-27 March 2014
Summary of the workshop
Opening of the workshop
Domagoj Križaj, Assistant Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, opened the meeting by welcoming the participants in Croatia. Davorin Kajba, EUFORGEN National Coordinator of Croatia from the Deptartment of Forest Genetics, Dendrology and Botany, Faculty of Forestry, University of Zagreb, welcomed the participants in Zagreb.
J. Koskela, EUFORGEN Coordinator, welcomed the participants on behalf of the EUFORGEN Secretariat, and presented the meeting agenda which was adopted without changes. J. Koskela and M. Bozzano were nominated as rapporteurs of the meeting.
All participants then introduced themselves.
EUFORGEN/FORGER updates and expected outputs of the Workshop
J. Koskela briefly revisited the objectives of EUFORGEN Phase IV (2010-2014) and explained the new modus operandi which is based on small working groups and workshops. The EUFORGEN Steering Committee decided to establish five working groups on the following topics:
1. Development of a pan-European genetic conservation strategy for forest trees and establishment of a core network of dynamic conservation units (2011-2012) (10 experts)
2. Development of a pan-European monitoring system for genetic conservation units of forest trees (2012) (9 experts)
3. Development of guidelines for the use and transfer of forest reproductive material in the context of climate change (2012) (8 experts)
4. Incorporation of FGR conservation and use into national forest programmes and other relevant policies and strategies (2013-2014) (13 experts)
5. FGR conservation and climate change (2013-2014) (12 experts)
The members of the working groups were selected from the pool of national experts nominated by the National Coordinators (1-3 experts for both Objectives 1 and 2).
During the current Phase, the Programme has also organised three workshops:
1. Workshop on FGR inventories and databases, Szombathely, Hungary, 8-10 May 2012
2. Workshop on FGR conservation and monitoring, Järvenpää, Finland, 18-20 Sep 2012
3. Workshop on forest reproductive material, Forest Gene Bank Kostrzyca, Poland, 1-3 Oct 2013
J. Koskela continued by presenting the expected outputs of the Workshop which are:
• Provide training on the EUFGIS Portal and its new features
• Discuss progress made in national FGR documentation efforts since the previous workshop in 2012
• Demonstrate the uses of EUFGIS
• Identify future needs for FGR inventories in Europe
• Gather ideas & inputs for further development of the EUFGIS Portal
• Share information on relevant new projects
• Provide recommendations for EUFORGEN and the FORGER project
Progress in national FGR documentation efforts
All participants gave an update on the status and trends of Genetic Conservation Units in their countries.
Important to note that, as a consequence of the EUFGIS project, in all counties there is a very homogeneous understanding on the approach for defining gene conservation units for forest species.
Revisiting the basis of the EUFGIS information system
J. Koskela gave a presentation to introduce the “Pan-European minimum requirements for dynamic conservation units of forest trees”. European countries have organized the conservation of forest genetic resources in various ways; however, nearly all countries use the same conservation approach: networks of forest stands or areas protecting tree populations which have adapted to specific environmental conditions or have distinct characteristics. Such stands, i.e. gene conservation units, are typically located in forests managed for multiple uses, protected areas or seed stands.
When joining the EUFGIS project, European countries agreed minimum requirements for the dynamic gene conservation units of forest trees. This was an important step to improve documentation efforts and management of these units and to make possible comparisons and analysis at European scale.
The minimum requirements are based on the concept of dynamic gene conservation which emphasizes the maintenance of evolutionary processes within tree populations to safeguard their potential for continuous adaptation. This means either managing tree populations at their natural sites within the environment to which they are adapted (in situ), or artificial, but dynamically evolving populations, elsewhere (ex situ). In the face of climate change, this approach is crucial for the long-term sustainability of forests and forestry in Europe.
The units entered into the EUFGIS database have a designated status as gene conservation areas of forest trees at national level. The minimum requirements also specify a minimum size of a unit depending on tree species and conservation objectives. One or more tree species have been recognized as target tree species for each unit.
The management of the units aims to maintain and enhance the long-term evolutionary potential of tree populations. This means that management measures and silvicultural techniques are applied, as needed, to favour genetic processes within target tree populations. The monitoring of the units is carried out by visiting them regularly to observe that they still serve their purpose and that they have not been damaged or destroyed.
The minimum requirements are available on the EUFGIS project website http://portal.eufgis.org/fileadmin/templates/eufgis.org/documents/EUFGIS_Minimum_requirements.pdf.
Following this presentation, M. Bozzano gave an overview on the EUFGIS data standards. The data standards define the format, accuracy, quality and range of the information on the dynamic gene conservation units of forest trees that has been entered into the EUFGIS database by the national focal points. Climatic variables are automatically added to the units as these are entered in the system.
The complete list of EUFGIS data standards is also available on the projects’ website http://portal.eufgis.org/fileadmin/templates/eufgis.org/documents/EUFGIS_DataStandards.pdf.
Current status of EUFGIS and EUFGIS structure and data management
M. Bozzano then gave an overview of the data entered in the system, giving a demonstration of the EUFGIS portal (http://portal.eufgis.org) usability and different kind of search functions and the intranet (http://intranet.eufgis.org) highlighting the various tools available for the EUFGIS National Focal Points.
The live demonstrations were followed by in-depth analysis and discussions on the problems faced by the National Focal Points and suggestions for the further improvement of the portal, Intranet and Database. These are summarized in Annex 1.
Uses of the EUFGIS information system
S de Vries gave a presentation on the “Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees and its implementation”, the report of the working group on the pan-European genetic conservation strategy for forest trees. In the report, the working group defines the targeted level of genetic conservation based on the country borders and environmental zones, since each country is responsible for managing biological diversity and forest sustainability within its territory. In addition, it was assumed that tree populations growing within a given environmental zone are adapted to the prevailing local conditions. The working group therefore considered that by including one conservation unit per country and per environmental zone an adequate amount of adaptive diversity would be captured within the distribution range of each species. The working group developed its draft report based on the environmental zones of Europe as identified by Metzger et al. (2005) and then prepared the final report based on the new environmental stratification developed by Metzger et al. (2013). S. de Vries explained in detail the revised environmental zoning the working group had developed based on the new global environmental stratification and the new results of the gap analysis.
The working group also assessed the genetic conservation status of the pilot tree species based on the data available in the EUFGIS Portal and identified gaps in the conservation efforts. Gaps in adaptive genetic diversity were determined based on the so called “country x zone” areas, i.e. by dividing each country within the distribution range of a given species into environmental zones and then evaluating how many of the zones within the countries had conservation units. S. de Vries concluded by presenting the result for selected pilot species and recommendations of the working group to the EUFORGEN Steering Committee.
The EUFGIS Focal Points will be asked to support EUFORGEN National Coordinators in the revision of the core Network and in the identification of false gaps appearing for the pilot species in their country and communicate them to the Secretariat during the confirmation process for establishing the core networks of conservation units.
J. Koskela gave a presentation on the results of the climate change study initiated during the EUFGIS project. The study was published at “Vulnerability of dynamic genetic conservation units of forest trees in Europe to climate change” by Schueler et al in 2013.
The objectives of the study was to analyse the impact of climate change on the pan-European network of genetic conservation units of forest trees and identify vulnerable units. The vulnerability of individual conservation units and the whole network to climate change was quantified using climate favourability models and the estimated velocity of climate change. Compared to the overall climate niche of the analysed species populations at the warm and dry end of the species niche are underrepresented in the network; but, by 2100, target species in 33–65 % of conservation units, mostly located in southern Europe, will be at the limit or outside the species’ current climatic niche. Generally, the species-specific estimates of favourabilities showed low correlations to the velocity of climate change in individual units, indicating that both vulnerability measures should be considered for climate risk analysis. The variation in favourabilities among target species within the same conservation units is expected to increase with climate change and will likely require a prioritization among co-occurring species. The Authors of the paper concluded that there is a strong need to intensify monitoring efforts and to develop additional conservation measures for populations in the most vulnerable units and stress the importance of for continued transnational actions for genetic conservation of European forest trees, including the establishment of dynamic conservation populations outside the current species distribution ranges within European assisted migration schemes.
M. Bozzano gave an overview of a recently added feature of the EUFGIS portal (http://portal.eufgis.org/search/#search_gd2) which allows to identify the closest sampled populations present in the (GD)2 database against the EUFGIS units. The (GD)2 database (Georeferenced Database of Genetic Diversity) contains genetic and georeferenced passport data of different genetic units (populations, single trees) that are traditionally analysed in genetic surveys conducted in natural populations. It is possible to perform searches on all species present in both databases, displaying all data available or only the closest units, based on fix radiuses.
The workshop participants discussed the new features and made recommendation for the further development of the portal.
M. Bozzano gave a presentation on the Preparation of the State of Europe’s Forests 2015 report, for which EUFORGEN was asked to coordinate the collection of data on Indicator 4.6 (genetic resources) of the pan-European criteria and indicators (C&I) for sustainable forest management. The report is being prepared for the next Ministerial Conference to be held in Madrid, Spain in November 2015.
M. Bozzano first revisited the three categories of data which are collected for Indicator 4.6, i.e. area managed for conservation and utilization of forest tree genetic resources (in situ and ex situ gene conservation) and area managed for seed production. He then continued by presenting the results of the previous data collection process based on the State of Europe’s Forests 2011 report.
The EUFORGEN Secretariat will send each National Coordinator an Excel file which they should then fill in with the requested data based on the situation in their country in 2014. The Secretariat will also contact its focal points in non-member countries and also invite them to contribute to the process. M. Bozzano pointed out that a new feature was added to the EUFGIS Intranet that will allow the EUFGIS Focal Points to obtain summarised data on the in situ data from the EUFGIS database directly. The EUFGIS Intranet is available at the following address: http://intranet.eufgis.org.
Closure of the meeting
J. Koskela thanked all participants for their inputs to the discussions, the hosting country for organizing the meeting. With no other business, he then closed the meeting.
Annex 1. Workshop Recommendations | 7
Annex 1 Workshop Recommendations
Recommendations on the EUFGIS Portal
· Species distribution maps (plain and classified according to Metzger 2013) should be visualized when plotting the EUFGIS Units of the given species.
· A video tutorial explaining how to use the portal should be made available on the website
· Data on climatic variables are not always accurate and therefore should not be publically displayed.
· Add the possibility to see the map of the unit in a separate windows without sidebars as full screen
· The unit’s environmental classification (based on Metzger 2013) should be displayed on the portal, giving proper reference
Recommendations on the EUFGIS Intranet
· Units’ environmental classification should be assigned and made visible in the Intranet as soon as a new unit is entered in the system
· The selection of the core network units (ie based on the “Pan-European strategy for genetic conservation of forest trees and its implementation”) should be made visible in the Intranet
· Replacement of the unit and/or suggestion for additional unit should be possible from the Intranet
· Make possible to store additional information on the unit when available (like published material) and allow the possibility to add links if the unit was subject of any study or research
· Add possibility to add pictures of the unit
· Add a field to record extreme event that have affected the unit
· Add a field to state why the unit was removed from the database
· Add the possibility to enter Polygon coordinates of the unit and derivate the climatic variables from the polygon
· Update the user manual as appropriate
· Explore the possibility of creating a link with more accurate climatic and soil databases when available
Recommendations to the EUFORGEN Steering Committee
· In case of a horizon 2020 project it is perceived crucial to use EUFGIS database for storing data on monitoring (or by proper linking EUFGIS to a new external database)
· Data should be made downloadable from the portal (ie ‘data sharing agreement’ to be finalized and signed)
· Resources for a EUFGIS Focal Points meeting every 2 years should be allocated