Training School on Global Change and Next Generation Manipulation Experiments

The EU CLEANFOREST Training School on Global Change and Next Generation Manipulation Experiments (GCNG) at BIFoR-FACE, University of Birmingham – First announcement

The second training school of the CLEANFOREST COST Action will be held at the Birmingham Institute of Forest research Free Air CO2 Enrichment (BIFoR-FACE) for mature temperate forests from June 10 to 12, 2025. BIFoR-FACE measures the effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels on ecological responses in an Oak dominated forest.  More specifically, the mission of the FACE research is to determine the impact of climate change on forest biology and ecology, with a key focus on leaf to ecosystem-scale ecophysiology, growth, carbon capture, carbon allocation, tree-microbe-soil interactions, nutrient cycling and water acquisition and tree resilience to pest and diseases. The key goal is to demonstrate how manipulation experiments are designed and run for simulating global change and how it affects functions of forest ecosystems.

The CLEANFOREST training school is designed to introduce the participants to key global change issues and techniques in assessing forest responses to elevated CO₂ on day one, followed by hands on experience, demonstration and data collection at the BIFoR-FACE site on day 2, and data analysis and preparation of group presentations by the participants on day 3.

Key Transferrable Skills Trainings

Based on the available resources and expertise on site, the following broader training areas will be covered in the training school

1. Global Change Manipulation-an introduction to BIFoR-FACE: science goals, set up and multidecadal CO₂ enrichment programme
2. Forest responses to elevated CO₂: assessing tree ecophysiological responses via ground dendrometry surveys, allometry and dendroecology. 
3. Forest responses to elevated CO₂: leaf level CO₂ and water exchanges including leaf miners damage assessment
4. Forest responses to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization at BIFoR-FACE: assessing root phenological plasticity
5. Forest responses to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization at BIFoR-FACE: assessing soil biogeochemical properties

Target audiance

This training school is designed for Early Career Investigators: from PhD students to post-docs with up to 8 years of experience after their PhD. To comply with COST Action inclusiveness principles, we will ensure that gender and geographic balance (including ITC) will be both met. 

How to apply

Participation in the Training School will be free of charge for all trainees, but it is limited to up to 25 trainees (20 covered within CLEANFOREST). Only applicants from Full COST Member countries and Near Neighboring Countries are eligible for reimbursement for their long-distance travel (max 500€) and accommodation and subsistence through a 220€ daily allowance. For more information, please look at the Annotated Rules. Please, express your interest to participate as a trainee filling the google form by the 11^th May 2025. 

Local organizer: Sami Ullah (S.Ullah@bham.ac.uk).