Climate change is one of the greatest threats to the health and functioning of forest ecosystems, significantly jeopardizing their ecological and economic functions and services. It is believed that climate change and other global changes will greatly impact Europe’s forest ecosystems. Climatic conditions are considered critical for the health of trees, as they determine water availability in terms of its absorption and transport within trees. Water scarcity results in inadequate plant nutrition and subsequent loss of vitality. Tree vitality can be defined as the ability of a tree to assimilate, survive stress, and successfully respond to changes in environmental conditions. Despite numerous studies on various tree vitality parameters, the reasons for changes in the condition of various tree species remain unclear. The use of tree vitality indicators is fundamental in modern ecophysiological research, as it helps us understand the complex interactions between trees and various stressors and better assess the level of damage to trees and forest ecosystems.
The primary goal of this project is to investigate the impact of altered climatic conditions on various tree vitality indicators (crown defoliation, nutritional status, photosynthetic activity, radial growth, and the composition of carbon and oxygen isotopes in wood) and to enhance the expertise, resources, and technical equipment of the Ecophysiology Laboratory as a newly established research unit within the Division for Forest Ecology at the Croatian Forest Research Institute.

Goals:

1. Establishment of the research unit “Ecophysiological Laboratory”
2. Research of various indicators of the vitality of forest trees
3. Application and development of various methods for measuring the response of forest trees to environmental stress caused by climate change
4. Development of research personnel in terms of new tools and technologies of scientific research in the field of ecophysiology