BRAIN.be BESPO 'Forbio Climate' (EVINBO)

Climate is changing faster than ever, and on average it is getting warmer. Tree populations can adapt to this by natural selection, but this takes several generations. Today's young trees will face climate change during their lives. They can also adapt through rapid epigenetic mechanisms to a changing growth environment. Very little however is known about the importance and extent of this. There are indications that temperature during seed ripening affects the phenological response of seedlings. This is studied through controlled hybrids and provenance tests.