S4a

Boosting a clearer knowledge on forest carbon cycle along a wide spectrum of climate zones and a gradient of forest management intensitieS

Early Stage Researchers

The ETN Skill-For.Action consists on founding and training twelve Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) thematically focussing on understanding the carbon fluxes in managed forest systems. The ESRs network will be motivated and trained to deepen the knowledge on adapting forest management regimes in different climates in terms of carbon balance optimization. The main assumption is that an adaptive and integrated forest management can considerably contribute to a low carbon emitting society.

Look at the ESRs project

Training

The Network-wide training activities, supported by the academic and non-academic partners, are structured in order to prepare a new generation of ESRs able to innovate forest management in EU towards a carbon-smart forest management based on multidisciplinary expertise.

The non-academic participants of ETN Skill-For.Action are unique in terms of multi-disciplinarily and trans-sectoral representations. Their strong involvement is an efficient way to qualify ESRs in transforming research ideas into products and services.

Again, each ESRs will be also involved in more than one secondments to academic and non-academic partners. Also short missions will thus encourage cross-fertilization of exploring ideas and improve the skills of ESRs. All ESRs will be enrolled on PhD programme to boost a more robust scientific knowledge

ETN Skill-For.Action channel

Our ambitious

We will specifically address a “contamination of ideas” between the domains of forest growth (in the meaning of carbon sequestration) and forest operating efficiency (in the meaning of minimizing fuel consumption and carbon emission).

Our societal challenges will focus on 1) understand complex system dynamics of forests in relation to global change and human society; 2) develop decision support systems for multifunctional forest management; and 3) develop intelligent forest operation systems. We represent a unique opportunity to cope with the societal challenge priorities in line with the recommendation of the Forest-based sector by merging the basic sciences with applied sciences.

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Who we are

A group of 10 academic partners and 12 non-academic partners working together for a contamination of “ideas” between the domains of forest growth and forest operating efficiency

Project boards

Do you know that in several European countries the revenue coming from timber production is often less than the respective harvesting costs? 📉 This is mainly due to the difficult working conditions in which forest operations take place. An example is the mountain areas where the steep slope conditions, adverse weather conditions and close-to-nature forest management regime greatly reduce the harvesting productivity.🌲 🌳 Did you know that uneven-aged forestry can lead to more sustainable forest resource usage and continuous ecosystem service provision? By forming structurally diverse stands, we can achieve a higher level of forest stability, which is crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems. The research topic of the Earlier Stage Research Mihail Bacescu (@tesaf.unipd @unipd) of the ETN Skill-For.Action project is the evaluation and measurement of the fuel consumed by the machines that perform forest harvesting operation. The estimation of macchine efficiency in terms of CO2 emissions is a key element to understand how to reduce the negative impacts for ensuring a higher level of sustainability management of forest. Planning the ESRs secondments @stellenboschuni and @yorktimbers, a great opportunity to apply innovative methodology and tecnologie in forest plantations. Disturbances from biotic (insects, fungi, viruses and bacteria) and abiotic (wind, heavy-snow, drought, fire) have increased in Europe’s forests throughout the last decades. The 2023 training activity od the ETN SkillForAction has ended with this week. 📌 The ETN Skill-For.Action Project has reached its second annual hybrid meeting organized in Freising in Germany with the support of the School of Life Sciences of the Technical University of Munich. How to analyze raw forest machine data acquired by telemetry? And how to analyze machine efficiency in difficult terrain? Mihail Bacescu (UNIPD) and Filippo Guerra (FBZ) early stage researchers has been working in synergy at the University of Padova learning in the use of machine acquisition systems and data telemetry. 👀 Gaming? ... not really 🙂!

Contacts

Project coordinator: TESAF Department, Università degli Studi di Padova ITALY

E-mail: skillforaction.tesaf@unipd.it

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EU – Horizon 2020

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie

Grant Agreement 936355