Forests and wooded areas represent for the alpine regions an important element of the landscape and provide essential services for the welfare and economic development of local communities. The tree species currently inhabiting these areas are the resultant of secular processes of adaptation to local climate, the soil and the different types of forest management that have succeeded over time.
Current climate change scenarios for the Alps foresee an intensification of extreme events and in particular an increase in average rainfall events on the one hand but also an increased risk of drought due to the decrease in the number of days of precipitation and an increase in the length of dry periods during the summer seasons. These rapid changes cause significant impacts on the physiology, phenology and distribution of forest vegetation.
Some of these changes, such as the advance of phenological phases, the altitudinal shift of herbaceous species and elevation ranges of the forest, the greatest woody growths in the intermediate altitudinal areas are already in place.
Other effects, such as the potential risk of spread of pests, the effects of water stress or the replacement of competitive species in particular forest hardwood vs. conifer require greater depth of knowledge and predictive models.
Finally, the alpine forests face "new" stress factors such as anthropogenic pollutants, which often act in a cross-border and in areas distant from the sources of pollution. In this context the contribution of scientific research for a more and more oriented forest management to the mitigation and the adaptation to climate change effect must be able to provide adequate knowledge and innovative tools, taking into account the stability of ecosystems in terms of structural and health and the new socio-economic dynamics.
The workshop aims to identify key knowledge gaps on the issue and to identify the key stones topics on which establish a trans-alpine alliance for research and innovation in the field by strengthening the existing synergies and promoting the activation of new initiatives and joint research projects research.


Programme

Welcoming speech. Dr Roberto Viola, Director of the Research and Innovation Centre

Chairwoman: Dr. Floriana Marin (Research and Innovation Centre, FEM-Iasma)

Invited plenary talk. Paolo Cherubini (WSL, Birmesdorf): Gaps, priorities and future challenges in Alpine forest research today

Introductory talks

• Annapaola Rizzoli (FEM): Environmental research at FEM: from disciplinary integration to technological innovation
• Massimo Bianchi (CRA): Forest inventory and monitoring: links and perspectives
• Francesco Loreto (CNR): Eco-physiological responses of forests to stresses induced by climate change

Topics and tools in forest research

• Armin Hansel (University of Innsbruck-IONICON): Development of PTR technology and applications in environmental studies
• Damiano Gianelle (FEM): Carbon and nitrogen interactions in forest ecosystems: new research priorities
• Joerg-Peter Schnizler (Istituto di meteorologia FZK- Garmisch): Biomass production and environmental protection in the Alpine territory
• Georg Wohlfahrt (University of Innsbruck): The contribution of agricultural and forest areas to the emission of reactive gases influencing air chemistry
• Maria Giulia Cantiani (Università di Trento): Climate change and hydrological aspects in the protection of forests

General discussion

Summary and Action Plans. Roberto Viola (FEM), Giuseppe Scarascia Mugnozza (CRA), Francesco Loreto (CNR), Piermaria Corona (Centro Studi Alpino del Tesino).