#foresee

Human responsibility is undeniable for causing climate change faster than ever before, drying up and droughts, which most tree species cannot counteract through spontaneous selection processes. In the same proactive manner, we must help the regeneration of forests with forward-looking, smart solutions and active responsibility, based on the one hand, controlled propagating material that is appropriate in terms of origin, and on the other hand, the human-assisted transport of propagating material, which can bridge a time span of up to 50 years. The aim of the project is therefore to produce container-grown, covered-root forest seedlings from controlled and scientifically identified seed sources from the South, which are more climate-resistant and better adapted to climate change, and then to plant them in scientifically defined trial areas. Vérteserdő Zrt has seed-growing stands that have already adapted well to the changed climate, and intends to use the propagating material collected from these stands to help the young stands of turkey oak and beech in difficulty by replacing them on an area of 337 hectares, while at the same time reducing the spread of invasive alien species. During the planting, individual regeneration and adoption trials will be conducted on seedlings to determine the best group of tree species/subspecies, seedling size and planting technology to maximise regeneration. The results will be presented to Hungarian and Slovakian forest seedling producers, users (foresters) and students of vocational schools in the framework of the project’s educational activities, preferably in as many phases as possible (seed treatment, seedling production, nursery and planting, regeneration, adaptation, etc.), thus contributing to raising environmental awareness on habitats and biodiversity. The results of the project will be published in the Hungarian and Slovak press.