Speaker
Description
In recent years, widespread forest diebacks across Belgium have raised concerns about the vulnerability of forests to recurrent droughts. These events threaten not only biodiversity and ecosystem services but also the capacity of forests to function as stable carbon sinks - a cornerstone of Belgium’s climate-neutral transition. To mitigate these risks, it is crucial to understand the mechanisms that determine how different tree species respond to changing climatic conditions, in order to adapt forest management strategies and limit drought-induced damage.
The TreePulser project addresses this challenge by combining continuous growth monitoring, environmental measurements, and physiological assessments across ten temperate tree species in southern Belgium. Three hundred trees were equipped with high-precision growth sensors that record daily changes in stem diameter, providing detailed insight into growth and water stress dynamics. These records are complemented by environmental measurements of air and soil moisture conditions, temperature, stand structure, and local meteorological data to evaluate how exogenous factors influence tree performance. Furthermore, field observations further explore how endogenous factors related to species-specific water regulation strategies govern their ability to deal with drought stress.
By linking growth patterns with physiological and environmental variables, TreePulser identifies how and why species differ in their responses to drought and other climatic drivers. The project contributes to a deeper understanding of forest functioning under changing conditions, providing a scientific foundation for improving forest resilience in Belgium’s transition toward climate neutrality.
| If your abstract is not accepted for an oral presentation, would you be interested in presenting it as a poster instead? | Yes |
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| If accepted by the Scientific Board, I agree to have my presentation/poster and abstract published on the Belgian Climate Centre websites and social media. | Yes |
