| Project name |
Systemic solutions for upscaling of urgent ecosystem restoration |
| Acronym | SUPERB |
| Project coordinator | European Forest Institute (EFI) |
| Project partner | Czech University of Life Science, Prague – Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences |
| Investigator | prof. Ing. Róbert Marušák, PhD., prof. Ing. Miroslav Svoboda, Ph.D. |
| Total budget | 20 248 122,32 EUR |
| Budget of FFWS | 826 775,00 EUR |
| Implementation period | 1. 12. 2021 – 30. 11. 2025 |
| Name of programme | Horizon 2020 |
| More information: | Project website |
Forests and their biodiversity are currently under the big pressure. Except the continuously changing climatic conditions and dramatical increase of disturbances (such as drought, bark beetles, fires or storms), that significantly negatively affect forest stands, the inadequate forest management signalises a big threat. For example, one third of Europe's forests are monocultures that are known to be more prone to failure. In addition, according to the European Environment Agency's 2020 report, unsustainable forest management is one of the three most important factors negatively affecting European habitats and plant or animal species. To ensure well-functioning forests in a changing climate and to reverse the ecological degradation of Europe's forests, they need to be restored immediately and adapted to the new conditions.
The SUPERB project, led by the European Forestry Institute (EFI), aims to create a favourable environment for large-scale reforestation across Europe in cooperation with a wide range of actors such as ministries of agriculture and the environment, government agencies from more than 20 European countries, landowners' associations, certification authorities, grant providers, non-governmental organizations, etc.
The 12 large demonstration sites across Europe will present best practices in response to the key challenges of reforestation and adaptation, that can be transferred from demonstration sites to more than one million hectares of European forests over a period of 10-15 years. Within the project a network of stakeholders will also be set up to develop, exploit and increase the level of transformation approaches and specific reforestation practices. In addition, a central knowledge platform called the "Forest Ecosystem Restoration Gateway" will be set up for anyone interested in or working on reforestation to obtain concrete evidence-based reforestation guidelines, tools and manuals. Last but not least, an interactive online marketplace will be launched, where various actors (landowners, grant providers, etc.) can publish the demands or offers of sustainable reforestation events, look for sustainable financing options, etc.
In the framework of the project FFWS is in charge of two large demonstration areas. 1 area located in the Czech Republic under the leadership of prof. Marušák and 1 area in Romania under the leadership of prof. Svoboda.