Feedback by ANA-MARIA UNGUREANU

Summary from EVOLTREE Summer School „Modelling Assisted Migration to adapt forests and ecosystem services to climate change”

30 July – 04 August 2023

by Ana-Maria Ungureanu

The summer school program started on July 31, 2023. However, on July 30, 2023, I had to check into the room at Traunkirchen Campus starting from 16:00.

On July 31st, the program started at 8:30, consisting of lectures on genetic variation in modeling tree species and forest vulnerabilities. Additionally, there were exercises and data preparation in R Studio, followed by group work to enhance comprehension and address knowledge gaps until 17:00.

On the second day of the summer school, we attended lectures covering the biology of forest trees. Following that, we engaged in exercises related to calibrating and clustering universal response functions. Afterward, we participated in group work focused on variable selection and model calibration.

On August 2nd (the 3rd day) of the summer school program, we had a visit to the Lieco containerized forest seedling production center in St. Martin. After that, we proceeded to a European larch seed orchard, where we planted seedlings of the Picea abies species. Additionally, we visited a pedunculate and sessile oak provenance trial. The day concluded with a social evening at a stunning chalet.

On the 4th day, we engaged in lectures delivered by Prof. Milan Lstiburek covering topics such as a primer on quantitative genetics and tree breeding, the evolution of the "Landscape Breeding" concept, and integrating assisted migration. These lectures were followed by exercises and group work to interpret final results and prepare for the final presentation, which took place on the last day of the summer school (August 4). On the last day, we had group presentations, closing remarks, feedback sessions, and received our presentation certificates.