The goal of B4EST is to increase forest survival, health, resilience and productivity under climate change and natural disturbances, while maintaining genetic diversity and key ecological functions, and fostering a competitive EU bio-based economy. B4EST will provide forest tree breeders, forest managers and owners, and policy makers with: 1) better scientific knowledge on adaptation profiles and sustainable productivity, and added value of raw materials in important European tree species for forestry, 2) new and flexible adaptive tree breeding strategies, 3) tree genotypes of highly adaptive and economical value, 4) decision-support tools for the choice and use of Forest Reproductive Material (FRM) while balancing production, resilience and genetic diversity, including case studies developed with industrial partners, 5) integrative performance models to guide FRM deployment at stand and landscape level, 6) economic analyses of risks/benefits/costs, and 6) policy recommendations. B4EST will capitalise on the resources developed by past and current EU projects to produce -together with tree breeders, forest managers and owners, and the industry- operational solutions to better adapt forests to climate change and reinforce the competitiveness of the EU forest-based sector. To cover the geographical, economic and societal needs of forestry in the EU, B4EST will work with 8 (six native, two non-native) conifers and broadleaves with advanced breeding programmes (Norway spruce, Scots pine, maritime pine, poplars, Douglas-fir, eucalypts) or that are case studies of pest-threatened forests (ash) or valuable non-wood products (stone pine). Our approach will result in a high degree of data and knowledge integration, involving multiple and new target traits and their trade-offs; genomic information; temporal and spatial assessments in a wide range of environments; stakeholder demands; and forest owner and manager risk perception and acceptability of new breeding strategies.

The proposed project “Readiness of ICOS for Necessities of integrated Global Observations” (RINGO) aims to further development of ICOS RI and ICOS ERIC and foster its sustainability. The challenges are to further develop the readiness of ICOS RI along five principal objectives: 1. Scientific readiness. To support the further consolidation of the observational networks and enhance their quality. This objective is mainly science-guided and will increase the readiness of ICOS RI to be the European pillar in a global observation system on greenhouse gases. 2. Geographical readiness. To enhance ICOS membership and sustainability by supporting interested countries to build a national consortium, to promote ICOS towards the national stakeholders, to receive consultancy e.g. on possibilities to use EU structural fund to build the infrastructure for ICOS observations and also to receive training to improve the readiness of the scientists to work inside ICOS. 3. Technological readiness. To further develop and standardize technologies for greenhouse gas observations necessary to foster new knowledge demands and to account for and contribute to technological advances. 4. Data readiness. To improve data streams towards different user groups, adapting to the developing and dynamic (web) standards. 5. Political and administrative readiness. To deepen the global cooperation of observational infrastructures and with that the common societal impact. Impact is expected on the further development and sustainability of ICOS via scientific, technical and managerial progress and by deepening the integration into global observation and data integration systems.