CONIFIR Project

The main outline of the CONIFIR project.

CONIFIR Design

The project is structured in 5 Working Packages (WPs) where the two scientific partners (CNR and UNITN) coordinate different tasks and responsibilities according to their experience and the sub-unit allocation (CREA).

• WP1 - Genetic diversity of Douglas-fir stands and identification of their origin
  (Leader: Paolo Iovieno)
• WP2 - Sampling techniques evaluation for artificial stands
  (Leader: Maria Michela Dickson)
• WP3 - Assessing the adaptability and the competitive ability of Douglas-fir genotypes across contrasting environments
  (Leader: Maurizio Marchi)
• WP4 - Networking and dissemination
  (Leader: Gabriele Bucci)
• WP5 - Consortium coordination and project management
  (Leader: Maurizio Marchi)

Scientific Impacts

The project will realise a unique and unprecedented example of Douglas-fir valorization in Italy based on genetic investigations at different scales. Publications on international open-access scientific journals will increase the worldwide visibility of the project outcomes and will favour international collaborations. The collected information will be organised in a complete georeferenced genetic and structural dataset at both tree and stand levels. The national database of Douglas-fir stands will be a unique repository open to the scientific community of forest modellers.

Potential Applications

The CONIFIR project will help devise and plan future forest management and species’ valorization in Italy. The genetic information collected on the species across Italy will allow to identify the most suitable stands to be selected as seed sources. Some of the Italian Douglas-fir stands are currently included in the Regional Registers of Forest Basic Materials (e.g., Tuscany and Calabria), according to the EU Directive 1999/105/CE and the D. Lgs. 386/2003; however, the lack of any genetic information on such stands is the main shortcoming for their efficient and correct usage. CONIFIR will provide the necessary scientific background as well as operational protocols and best practices to optimise the seed collection for reforestation activities and maximise the genetic diversity in the next-generation trees reared in the nursery. Thanks to forecasted climate change scenarios, transfer models will be implemented for detecting the most useful seed sources. Deployment zones recommendations for a genetic-based silviculture and sustainable wood market will be provided for public and private landowners. Finally, the availability of a large genetic dataset of Douglas-fir in Italy will pave the way for the certification of timbers and wood products using marker-based genetic profiles.

Technological impacts

Technological development will accompany all the project activities, through the deployment and use of novel monitoring schemes and solutions, the creation of facility networks, and the implementation of data analysis and modelling tools for the valorization of Douglas-fir planted forests in Italy. The CONIFIR project will integrate recent advances in conventional breeding, molecular marker application, statistical simulations, climate modelling and precision-forestry data, to support future challenges and opportunities for Douglas-fir tree improvement in Italy in the context of climate change. The implementation of a large georeferenced dataset will also support breeding activities and genetic improvement for superior growth, form, and timber characteristics.

Socio-economic impact

The CONIFIR project will create new opportunities in terms of quality and profitability of forest management in Douglas fir stands. Sustainable management of forests will benefit from a better understanding of the relationship between tree growth and climate. National forest heritage of Douglas-fir might become an important resource for the forest products industry and timber market, as well as for strategies aimed at atmospheric CO2 sequestration and long-term fixation. The project results may also allow the establishment of a novel certification scheme based on genetic markers aimed to identify the geographic origin of marketable timber. This could attract capitals and investments in Douglas-fir cultivation which will impact on the competitiveness of local timber enterprises and could generate a spin-off effect on the territory.

Contribution to Horizon Europe Strategy

The CONIFIR project will contribute to the goals of the European Green Deal, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular the CONIFIR project contributes to EU missions committed to solve major societal challenges like Goal 3 - Good health and well-being and Goal 13 - Climate Action. The CONIFIR project will contribute to ensure the valorization of Douglas-fir forests within the pillar 2 “Global Challenges and European Competitiveness” and the clusters “Climate Energy and Mobility” and “Food, Bioeconomy, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment” of the Horizon Europe Strategy. A renewed interest around the species and on high-quality timber products will also be one of the side-products of the project. The issue of timber and wood products as an efficient way to stock CO2 in the long term must be an important goal for researchers.

Synergies with PNRR objective

The goals of the CONIFIR project fully match the scope of PNRR actions. Multi- and cross-disciplinary research actions will be developed with the aim of providing scientific support to the design of actionable environmental strategies. The project will have relevant synergies and collaborations with two National Centres (CN) included in the PNRR initiative, namely the CN for Biodiversity and the CN Agritech. Finally, efforts will be made to ensure the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR) of data and results generated by the project, which will be fully connected in the Research Infrastructures (RI) developed/improved in the frame of PNRR-RI (e.g., ITINERIS).

Future project development

Future developments could focus on technological aspects of timber production to support the lumber industry at large European scale. Douglas-fir has been considered in several FP7 or H2020 projects (e.g., TREES4FUTURE, B4EST) but the lack of supporting genetic data or extensive sampling networks were the main issue for Italy. The multidisciplinary approach of the CONIFIR project and the open-access policy of developed databases and publications will increase the visibility of Italy in the international research context.