New DIVERSE_GENE_WATCH report: How can we monitor the genetic future of Baltic forests?

Forests are changing. Climate stress, pests, pathogens, fragmentation and shifting environmental conditions are already affecting tree populations across Europe. But one of the most important questions often remains hidden: do forest trees still have the genetic diversity they need to adapt and survive in the long term?

A new DIVERSE_GENE_WATCH report, “Genetic monitoring guidelines to be tested,” explores how this question can be answered through Forest Genetic Monitoring. The report presents practical guidelines for testing Forest Genetic Monitoring across the Baltic Sea Region, with a focus on four keystone tree species: Quercus robur, Picea abies, Tilia cordata and Fraxinus excelsior.

What is inside the report?

The report gives an overview of why genetic diversity matters for forest resilience, how existing Gene Conservation Units can serve as monitoring sites, and how different methods can be combined. It introduces DNA-based genotyping, field-based phenotyping and remote sensing as complementary tools for assessing the adaptive potential of forest tree populations.

What happens next in the project?

As DIVERSE_GENE_WATCH enters its third period, the project is moving from developing guidelines to testing them in the forest. Project partners have started collecting samples in existing Gene Conservation Units across six partner countries: Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. These field activities will help test how the proposed Forest Genetic Monitoring design works under real conditions, across different countries, forest contexts and tree species.

The results from this testing phase will feed into the further development of DIVERSE_GENE_WATCH solutions and will be shared with forest stakeholders through upcoming project exchanges, stakeholder events and communication activities. In this way, the report opens the door to the next step: turning methodology into practical knowledge that can support forest conservation, genetic resource management and climate-resilient forests across the Baltic Sea Region.

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