The RESTORE (natuRe-basEd SoluTions for imprOving REforestation) project aims to study the interactions between plants, soil, and microorganisms (microbiomes*) in forest ecosystems facing increased drought stress due to climate change. Their project aims to develop biotechnological solutions based on observation of the nature and functioning of forest ecosystems, in order to improve forest restoration. These solutions are based on the restoration of soil microbial diversity and on plant communication molecules such as hormones and regulators.
Read more about the project here
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In The Wheat Code, the scientists in The Wheat Code project use the interactions between plants, soil, and microbiomes to improve wheat production across the globe. They use fungi to help combat drought in the fields.
Forests provide numerous ecological services: they purify the air, water, and wildlife, and above all they sequester carbon to limit global warming, by converting atmospheric CO2, a greenhouse gas, via photosynthesis. They are, however, subject to the pressures of climate change, the impact of which is combined with increased logging, creating a surge in timber prices that is compromising forest renewal, with a recent increase in the mortality rate of young trees.
