Phenotyping for adaptation (PhenoAdapt)

Current rates of global change outpace the ability of species to adapt. The introduction of non-native tree species potentially better adapted to future warmer and drier conditions (i.e., assisted migration), is among the forest management practices that have the potential to increase forest resilience. The WSL, in collaboration with partners in Germany and Austria, established trials of five non-native tree species from warmer climates (Turkey fir, Lebanon cedar, Oriental beech, Silver lime and Western hemlock), to test their suitability under a wide range of environmental conditions.

The goal of the PhenoAdapt project is to contribute to the successful evaluation of these species trials by going beyond mere assessments of growth and survival and investigate mechanistic traits, such as phenological plasticity, frost and drought stress-resistance. Among our phenotyping tools are scalable drone-based remote sensing acquisitions, alleviating the challenges of time-consuming field assessments.