Grants for Characterization of European Forest Disturbances

With this call, FORWARDS aims to support the compilation of an exhaustive open-access European forest disturbance reference dataset based on ground data. Such a dataset will allow for developing statistically rigorous estimates of disturbances in Europe, developing and testing new methods for the quantification of the impact and carbon loss due to disturbances and recovery and analyzing the effects of different types of disturbances over different forest types across Europe.

Aim

• Projects supported by this call should contribute to the development of such an exhaustive and open-access forest disturbance reference dataset for Europe and are encouraged to address one or more of the following FORWARDS’ aims:
  • Integration of remote sensing-derived maps and ground reference data for the quantification of carbon loss due to different disturbances, different disturbance severity degrees and regrowth trajectories
  • Characterization of forest disturbance using Landsat, Sentinel-1, or Sentinel-2 data
  • Linking remote sensing information with ground reference data to quantify forest disturbance severity and canopy cover loss and recovery
  • Remote sensing-derived metrics (e.g., disturbance magnitude and recovery) and their relationship with actual forest changes derived from ground, near-sensing and/or very high-resolution satellite observations
  • Quantification from remote sensing of biomass recovery following disturbance
  • Reviewing strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and potential implementations of remote sensing in forest disturbance monitoring through independent validation and accuracy analysis.

Funding Information

• Each grant is in the maximum amount of €150,000.
• Up to five projects will be funded under this call.
• Projects are expected to start in May 2025 and last a maximum of 24 months.

Geographical Focus 

• Proposals must indicate the European region that is targeted by the project. European regions follow the country groups as defined by Forest Europe in its State of Europe’s Forests reports:
  • North Europe
  • Central Europe
  • South Europe

Eligibility Criteria

• Grant applications can be submitted by one legal entity or a consortium of legal entities.
• Applicants must, by the deadline for submission of the Application, meet the following criteria to be eligible for the grant:
  • E1: Applicant is a legal entity (legal person):
    • If the application is submitted by a consortium (grouping of legal persons represented by a coordinator), this criterion applies to all the participants
    • This call is not open for applications from natural persons.
  • E2: Applicant eligible for funding under the European Union Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Program:
    • If the application is submitted by a consortium, this criterion applies to all the participants.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Furthermore, the following legal entities (legal persons) will not be eligible for funding:
  • Beneficiary or associated partner of the FORWARDS project under the Grant Agreement
  • Entities subject European Union restrictive measures
  • Israeli entities due to activities in the territories occupied by Israel
  • Public interest trusts established under the Hungarian Act IX of 2021 or any entity maintained by such a public interest trust.

For more information, visit EFI.