FORGENIUS

Improving access to FORest GENetic resources Information and services for end-USers

Creaf leader

The European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN), founded in 1994, is a continent-wide network of in situ Forest GenRes collections (http://portal.eufgis.org/), called Genetic Conservation Units (GCUs). The goal of FORGENIUS is to increase the quantity and quality of data in the GCU information system using multiple descriptors from genomics, phenotyping, remote sensing and predictive models, and to make data and analytical tools available in operationally-useful and harmonized standards as a service for users in the fields of conservation, breeding and forest management.

FORGENIUS will characterise the entire GCU collection and set standards for other in situ (Forest) GenRes programmes, in the EU and beyond.

Project actions

To do this, FORGENIUS will:

assess genetic, phenotypic, and environmental diversity, as well as resilience of GCUs under climate change;
provide scientific evidence to support management decisions that promote the resilience and adaptability of GCUs;
characterise GCUs and their GenRes to identify high quality germplasm for use in breeding and forest plantations;
create innovative data accessibility and modelling services for users within and outside the Forest GenRes conservation communities.