SUSTAINPINE
SUSTAINPINE : Genomic tools in maritime PINE for enhanced biomass production and SUSTAINable forest management
Funded by the EU
Website: http://www.scbi.uma.es/sustainpine/index.html
Aims of the project
The forest sector has to cope with progressive impact of the global climate change, increasing wood demand, and sustainable biomass economy. Biotechnology and Genomic research are needed to accelerate forest management for sustainable and competitive production. We will focus on maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait), the most advanced conifer model species for genomic research in Europe and the most widely planted species in France, Spain and Portugal.
General aims
- Application of the latest technologies towards the identification of key genes determining adaptive traits in conifers
- To provide new knowledge for the European forest-based-sector that promotes the use of renewable resources in the context of global climate change
Major outcomes
- To propose practical, marker-based strategies to maintain the competitiveness of forest industries by improving biomass and wood productivity of conifer forests even under stress conditions
The proposed research activities are addressed to increase genomic resources and to study candidate genes involved in the regulation of maritime pine development, growth and the response to environmental stress, capitalizing on data from previous projects. The work plan is as follows:
This project is strongly linked to the programme theme "bioenergy" since it aims at contributing to the development of a forest crop with the potential of resource cascading for different energetic and industrial applications (biorefinery concept) in a sustainable bio-based economy.
