Smart Fοrests – Managing carbon and water amid climate change

The researcher of Forest Research Institute (FRI) of the Hellenic Agricultural Organization (ELGO) Dimitra, Dr. Mariangela Fotelli, talked to the journalist Nikos Pitsiakidis during the TV program PERIMETROS of ERT3 about the research project PineOptim - Management of Mediterranean Pine forests for Optimizing carbon and water balance under climate change, implemented at the Sani Environmental Observatory.

One of the very few Eddy covariance tower in forest ecosystems in Greece operates at this natural Aleppo pine forest and records the CO2 and water fluxes between the forest and the atmosphere. Many other sensors have been also established, which record trees’ growth and various micrometeorological parameters.

All these sensors provide real-time data to monitor the long-term responses of pine forests to climate change and support optimum forest management to enhance climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The research team of FRI also comprises the researchers Dr. Gavriil Spyroglou and Dr. Nikos Markos, as well as the post doc researcher Dr. Natasa Kiorapostolou and the PhD student Giorgos Xanthopoulos.

The PineOptim project is carried out in cooperation with the Democritus University of Thrace and the University of Aegean, within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan Greece 2.0, funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU (Implementation body: HFRI).

Duration: February 1, 2024 - August 31, 2025)

Project Budget: 400,000.00 € (125,000.00 € for FRI)

For more information, contact Dr. Mariangela Fotelli (fotelli@elgo.gr) or visit the project’s website (https://pineoptim.fmenr.duth.gr/wp-content/index-en.html).