Some conifers resist bark beetles in a changing climate
SAS ecologists received millions of euros for a project financed by Slovakia´s Recovery and Resilience Plan. The two-year project will address the issue of the resistance of conifers to bark beetle attacks. In the context of global change, the frequency and severity of insect damage to forest ecosystems have intensified.
"The research we are doing will be technologically and skill-intensive. First, we need to consolidate and expand the team. By acquiring modern infrastructure, we will establish a new laboratory for dendroecological research, and existing laboratories will be modernized and equipped. The expanded research team should apply for additional funds from European projects, which will be requested by excellent researchers," says coordinator Rastislav Jakuš from the Institute of Forest Ecology SAS.
The main project objective is to investigate the mechanisms of Norway spruce's resistance to beetle attacks using various methods associated with genetics, chemistry, or remote sensing. Special emphasis will be placed on the physiological reactions of trees to heat and drought. The results of experiments in greenhouses will be verified on adult spruce populations in natural vegetation, and the scientists will identify signs of resistance down to the gene level. They will investigate the differences between primarily infested, secondarily infested and resistant trees. In the future, the research results can be used in tree selection programs to increase the resilience of forests.
"Researchers at the institute have been working on this issue for a long time, but until now there has been no opportunity to build such a complex project that would supplement and compile the existing knowledge and results in this area. Therefore, we are very happy that we were successful with our request and we have a chance to comprehensively cover the given issue," said Miroslav Blaženec from the research team, a researcher at the Forest Ecology SAS.
The name of the project is: Building a research team and infrastructure to study the mechanism of resistance of conifers to bark beetles in a changing climate: from the level of genes to trees, the acronym FORSOMICS. The budget is approximately EUR 3 million. The researchers applied for it within the Large Projects for Excellent Researchers call. The project started in July 2024 and is expected to end in June 2026.
Foto: Nataliya Korolyova a Rastislav Jakuš, ÚEL SAV, v. v. i.