Project properties
Title Origin matters! Drought susceptibility of commercial Douglas Fir provenances
Group Forest Ecology and Forest Management Group
Project type thesis
Credits 36-39
Supervisor(s) dr. UGW (Ute) Sass-Klaassen
Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands: Dr. P (Paul) Copini
Examiner(s)
Contact info ute.sassklaassen@wur.nl
http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/Persons/dr.-UGW-Ute-Sass-Klaassen.htm
Begin date 2017/10/01
End date
Description Can also be done as internship (24-27ects)

Douglas fir is a relevant timber species in European forestry. It grows well and produces valuable timber. The challenge for foresters is to choose those Douglas fir provenances for planting, which will perform well also in a changing climate with more drought events. In this study we take profit of large provenance trials with Douglas fir which have been established already in the 1960ies en 1970ies in the context of the IUFRO programs. Tree-ring analyses will be applied to assess the limiting effect of drought on long-term growth performance of different Douglas fir provenances to come up with concrete recommendations on suitable provenances for forest management.
The study involves fieldwork, labwork, tree-ring analyses. We seek for students who are interested in a subject on forestry with practical relevance. Co-supervision with Alterra will enable insights into collaboration between research and forestry practice. The subject is suitable to be executed in a team of 2 students!

For project description visit: http://www.wageningenur.nl/en/Expertise-Services/Chair-groups/Environmental-Sciences/Forest-Ecology-and-Forest-Management-Group/DendroLab/Research/Dendroclimatology/Show/Increasing-the-potential-of-economically-valuable-tree-species-to-survive-drought-by-choosing-the-optimal-provenance.htm.


Climate change effects/ Sustainable forest management /Tree ring analyses and wood anatomy/ The Netherlands /Temperate zone
Used skills Fieldwork, data acquisition and analyses (time-series analyses)
Requirements FEM-30306 Forest Ecology and Forest Management; REG-31806 Ecological Methods I or for BSc: minimal 120 credits