News - Wildcard

United in diversity – the hidden treasure of WILDCARD

Gesche Schifferdecker on January 12, 2026

by Lucia Seebach

Europe is unique. Within a relatively small geographical area, an extraordinary diversity unfolds: landscapes, climates, forests, and species form a natural treasure of remarkable richness. This biodiversity is one of Europe’s greatest strengths – but also one of its greatest challenges. Protecting and understanding biodiversity is not a one-time task; it is a continuous effort that can only succeed if we work together.

Diversity, by its nature, brings complexity. This is true not only for Europe’s ecosystems but also for the way we observe and measure them. Forests do not stop at national borders, yet the methods used to monitor them often do. While standards for forest inventories exist, each country or institution has developed its own dendrometric survey methods (the measurement of tree and stand characteristics such as tree diameter, height, volume, and growth), shaped by national priorities, management objectives, and historical tradition. As a result, long-term forest information has traditionally been built for regional or national analyses rather than for a harmonised European perspective.

And yet, within this diversity lies a hidden treasure. Across Europe, enormous amounts of valuable data already exist. The key question is: how can we bring this information together? How can we harmonise these datasets to unlock their full potential and create a “golden state” of knowledge that allows us to address pressing issues such as how to store carbon efficiently, reduce biodiversity loss, and understanding and responding to the impacts of climate change? Achieving this requires not only technical solutions, but also time, expertise, and resources to build and maintain a shared database capable of supporting a wide range of scientific and policy-driven questions.

Dendrometric survey (photo @Wevell v. Krüger)

What Is dendrometric data and why do we need it?

Dendrometric data form the backbone of forest monitoring. They include measurements such as tree diameter, species, height, volume, and deadwood – key indicators for forest structure, growth, and carbon stocks. Collecting such data is not new. In many countries, dendrometric measurements have been part of National Forest Inventories (NFIs) for centuries, providing invaluable long-term records.

In strict forest reserves (designated areas of forest set aside e.g. for conservation or research purposes), however, systematic dendrometric monitoring often started much later. One can imagine the current situation as a large puzzle: countless pieces collected over decades, sometimes centuries, using different shapes and scales, all in different countries. Today’s challenge is to fit these pieces together into a coherent European picture that allows us to understand past developments in forest reserves and respond effectively to current and future environmental challenges on a wider scale.

Lots of deadwood in the site Bechtaler Wald (photo @Lucia Seebach)

How we tackled this challenge in WILDCARD

Within WILDCARD, we addressed this challenge step by step. Firstly, we established a dedicated data taskforce to work on harmonisation issues and to develop a common data template. This meant dealing with very practical issues, such as different names for the same information, varying definitions, and how to handle tricky variables like deadwood.

The first harmonisation trials were carried out with internal project partners across a limited number of sites. Once the approach proved workable, we extended it to external partners within the European Forest Reserve Initiative (EuFoRIA) network, significantly increasing the number of contributing sites. The result is a unique and growing database that will serve as a valuable resource for future research and collaboration across Europe.

Recyling in site Schwarzahalden (photo @Lucia Seebach)

Data heroes behind the scenes

None of this would have been possible without the dedication of the project’s “data heroes.” Harmonising diverse datasets is demanding work, requiring both technical expertise and deep knowledge of forest monitoring practices. Key challenges included dealing with different levels of detail in the data and reconciling fundamentally different monitoring methods – for example, in deadwood assessment, where approaches can vary greatly between countries and institutions. But thanks to the commitment of colleagues of the institution Výzkumný ústav pro krajinu (VUK) in the Czech Republic, these challenges were overcome. VUK, a Public Research Institute dedicated to studying landscapes and their ecosystems, helped to compile dendrometric datasets from more than 800 forest sites all across Europe and harmonized the data within one database. This database ensures that Europe’s diverse forest data can now speak a common language.

In the end, WILDCARD shows that diversity is not a barrier but a strength – if we manage to unite it. By bringing together Europe’s rich and varied forest data of these valuable forest reserves, we are turning a hidden treasure into shared knowledge for the benefit of science, policy, and future generations.

Featured image: forest reserve „Siedigkopf“ in the Black Forest in Germany (photo @Alexandra Kage)

Researching the unacknowledged: A young Belgian researcher’s journey to understand the hidden world of forest soils

Rina Tsubaki on November 21, 2025

By Rina Tsubaki.

Soil might not be the first thing you notice when walking through a nearby forest. But it’s a quiet, hidden guardian that our forests depend on. It connects trees, insects, and fungi in ways we often overlook. Many soil organisms feed on dead plant residues, making important nutrients available to plants. Additionally, while feeding and digging, they incorporate organic carbon into the soil, improving soil structure and water holding capacity. Healthy, biodiverse soil is therefore essential for making forests resilient and multifunctional and cannot be ignored by anyone working in sustainable forest management.

Rewilding: A double shield against Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss

Raghav Sharma on September 29, 2025

We are living in a decisive moment, facing two connected global challenges: the loss of biodiversity and climate change. As rising temperatures accelerate the disappearance of species, it is clear we need to rethink how we live with nature and how we manage our land. Traditional conservation efforts have had mixed success, and more and more attention is turning to restoration – bringing nature back – as a lasting solution.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the EU Nature Restoration Law both urge member states to “prevent, halt, and reverse” ecosystem degradation. In Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG, Italy), a WILDCARD Case Study, nature is already making a comeback: over the past 50–60 years, forest cover has nearly doubled (from 160.000 to over 300.000 ha), now covering around 40% of the region. Much of this change has happened quietly as old pastures and terraced fields were left to rewild, with a warming climate helping forests spread higher up the mountains, as shown in a research by Valentina Olmo (University of Trieste) and a team of researchers from different countries, including WILDCARD Coordinator Giorgio Alberti. Across the EU, the story is similar: since the 1990s, forested areas have increased by about 14 million hectares, clear evidence that passive rewilding is already reshaping the landscape.

Example of the recolonisation of abandoned meadows by forest vegetation in the municipality of Tapiana, Udine (Credits: Luca Cadez)

Pros and Cons of Rewilding

Olmo and her team caution that more trees do not always mean more biodiversity. Their initial findings have shown that the trajectories of plant and microbial biodiversity in the soil (fungi and bacteria) and those of carbon do not always coincide or are not always positive. Moreover, numerous national and international projects are investigating not only the impacts of natural reforestation on carbon stock dynamics in the various components of the ecosystem and on plant, animal and microorganisms’ biodiversity, but they are also verifying the level of acceptability of these rewilding processes by local populations and the possible economic tradeoffs.

The purple line in the four graphs shows the trends in the abundance (number of species) of the herbaceous plants, woody plants, fungi and bacteria as carbon accumulated in forest stands of different ages, originating from abandoned agricultural land. It can be seen that the number of species, particularly plants and fungi, increased with the increase in accumulated carbon (and the age of the stand) up to a certain point and then decreases. As of bacteria, however, there is an almost linear growth in relation to accumulated carbon. This suggests that ecosystems with greater carbon accumulation are not always the most favourable for biodiversity conservation, and that this relationship depends on the organisms considered (Credits: Lorenzo Orzan)

Proforestation: Letting Forests Mature

A complementary approach, proforestation, simply suspends timber management to let stands age naturally. Accumulating deadwood boosts carbon storage and creates microhabitats for fungi, insects, and cavity-nesting birds. The Wildcard project and the newly established Italian National Registry of Old-Growth Forests are studying how unmanaged stands handle climate stress, fire risk, and pests. Whereas scaling proforestation more widely must also weigh timber, water regulation, soil protection, and tourism values. Achieving such a balance will require dialogue among scientists, planners, and stakeholders.

Letting forests regrow naturally or leaving them unmanaged, can help tackle biodiversity loss and climate change. Europe’s restoration policies show how abandoned farmland has turned into forest and weigh the benefits and trade-offs of these approaches for carbon storage, biodiversity, and local economies.

To learn more about it and the case of Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), read the article by clicking on the link below (only in Italian):

IL REWILDING PER CONTRASTARE LA PERDITA DI BIODIVERSITÀ E PER MITIGARE IL CAMBIAMENTO CLIMATICO

Crowdfunding Campaign: Seeding Eternal Forest in Faia Brava – first of 1,000 forest sanctuaries – connecting art, community, and forest

Admin on September 11, 2025

For the first time, Eternal Forest and Faia Brava join efforts to create a sanctuary where contemporary art meets nature conservation — in Portugal’s first private protected area, which in 2025 celebrates its 25th anniversary.

This event will bring together thinkers, decision-makers, and key actors in the fields of art and ecosystem regeneration.

Through a crowdfunding campaign, they invite you to take part and support this first phase of the project.

On November 7–8, 2025, the initiative will take the first steps to seed a forest that is not only regenerative and biodiverse but also a living work of art. Created through the partnership of Eternal Forest, a global art and ecology initiative founded in Portugal, and Faia Brava – Associação de Conservação da Natureza, a protected reserve stewarded for 25 years, this will be a forest like no other.

You are warmly invited to join Eternal Forest in person on the days of November 2025 at Faia Brava for this unforgettable gathering. Come plant the first trees through a regenerative artistic design, meet the artists, scientists, and guardians, and take part in an experience of art and poetry, along with a symposium on art, forest, and community in collaboration with the Côa Park Foundation — an event open to all who wish to participate, support, or witness this historic moment.

🌿 This is just the beginning: first chapter of a long-term vision, first forest sanctuary out of 1,000!

The planting in November is not a one-off event — it’s the first chapter of a multi-generational project that will unfold over the years. Eternal Forest Faia Brava will grow slowly and meaningfully, rooted in care, co-creation, and ecological knowledge.

This crowdfunding campaign will provide them with the resources to not only deliver the first phase and the event in November, but also to develop vital research and collaborative designs that can be replicated to grow Eternal Forests all over Portugal.

By contributing to this campaign, you are planting the first seeds of a sanctuary that will continue to grow over generations, ecologically, artistically, and communally.

Eternal-Forest-in-Faia-Brava-Photo-Credit-Marco-Piano-014-1024x576

Eternal-Forest-in-Faia-Brava-Photo-Credit-Marco-Piano-016-1024x576

🌿 What this campaign supports

With your help, the initiative hopes to raise €22,000 to fund the Seed of Eternal Forest Faia Brava, the Phase 1 of the project, including:

Organise an artistic residency and a technical visit at Faia Brava to do on-site research and ecological listening to select the most meaningful planting location, while connecting to local community, initiatives and planning the project
Create a collaborative design of the forest sanctuary: artist Evgenia Emets and regenerative designer Maurício Umann of Fractal Regenerative Technologies, together with biodiversity specialists and plant experts, focusing on creating habitats
Prepare the site and plant the first trees in November, including transport, logistics, plants, materials and equipment
Organise the Seeding Eternal Forest in Faia Brava Symposium in collaboration with Côa Museum
Community gathering and village celebration
Filming of the process of creating the Eternal Forest Sanctuary + short trailer
A digital and physical publication about the process of creating Eternal Forest Sanctuary

🌿 Why Eternal Forest is creating this project

This Eternal Forest is an invitation to long-term thinking. They are creating a habitat for the future old-growth forest, not a plantation. A seed of Eternal Forest – native species will be planted in an artistic design — guided by biodiversity, artistic vision, regenerative design and a deep respect for place.

The forest will grow alongside artistic residencies, education, and community participation, becoming a space of beauty, resilience, and cultural continuity.

The site sits in the Côa Valley, home to some of Europe’s most extraordinary prehistoric engravings and paintings — a region where nature and culture have always been entwined.

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CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE? https://seed.eternalforest.earth/event-en

Eternal Forest began in Portugal in 2018 and has since grown into an international network of artists, ecologists, and communities. Our vision is to create 1,000 forest sanctuaries protected for 1,000 years – and Faia Brava will be the very first. https://www.eternalforest.earth/

Faia Brava is Portugal’s first classified Private Protected Area, part of the Natura 2000 network, IBA and Côa Archaeological Park (UNESCO). Spanning 1,000 ha of sustainably managed natural landscapes, it features stunning landscape of Côa River with wild cliffs, native forest of cork oaks, holm oaks. It provides critical habitat for griffon and Egyptian vultures, golden and Bonelli’s eagles, and black storks. Emblematic species like wildcats, otters, roe deer, and wild boar help sustain the ecosystem and naturally reduce wildfire risk.

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Image credits: Marco Piano, Eternal Forest

Rewilding in Three Dimensions: What LiDAR Reveals About Forests

Kamil Kral on September 4, 2025

By Kamil Kral.

When I walk through a forest, I am always struck by the sense that there is more happening than I can perceive. My eyes trace the trunks of trees, the canopy stretching above me, and the shafts of light breaking through in places. But I also know that much of the forest remains hidden from my view. Forests are not some layers of vegetation; they are complex, three-dimensional worlds. They grow upward, outward, and in intricate layers, creating habitats within habitats. To truly understand how these structures form and evolve, we need tools that go beyond what our senses and traditional methods can capture. That is where LiDAR comes in, and why it has become such a powerful part of our work in the WILDCARD project.

LiDAR – Light Detection and Ranging – allows us to map forests in three dimensions at centimetre-to-metre resolution. By sending out laser pulses and measuring how they reflect, LiDAR creates an extraordinarily detailed picture of vegetation structure. From airplanes, it can cover entire landscapes, but in WILDCARD we focus mainly on ground-based and drone-mounted systems. These cover smaller areas, yet their precision is remarkable, revealing the layers of the understory, the openings in the canopy where light filters through, the presence of exceptionally large trees, and the way these elements combine into complex arrangements across a site. What excites me most is how LiDAR connects many different domains: a single dataset links the technical world of remote sensing with ecological research and the very practical sphere of management and policy. It shows us what remains invisible to aerial photographs and ground surveys – the fine-grained complexity of the understory, the architecture of the canopy, and the shifting patterns of light and space that drive ecological processes. And what truly matters is not just capturing these patterns but translating them into indicators that reflect biodiversity, turning three-dimensional point clouds (the reflections of laser beams emitted by the scanners) into ecological meaning.

*Drone pilot Bára Kobosilová ready for the start at Jansheideberg site, Belgium. Picture: Dan Cigánek*

For rewilding, this information is crucial. Rewilding is not just about leaving land unmanaged and hoping for the best. It is also about letting natural processes unfold and observing how they gradually create new ecological opportunities. LiDAR allows us to measure these changes. By comparing sites of different ages and management histories – what we call a space-for-time substitution or chronosequence – we can track how complexity develops once human interventions stop. Over decades, forests shift in structure, forming vertical layers, creating gaps, and offering niches for species that depend on a dynamic habitat. These transformations are difficult to capture with traditional field plots, which often rely on sampling a small number of trees or features. LiDAR, on the other hand, gives us a comprehensive picture and a repeatable way to observe these changes across dozens or even hundreds of sites.

With LiDAR, we can start to ask why forests behave the way they do. Why do carbon accumulation and biodiversity often rise together in some places, while in others the two seem to diverge? How does structure influence species composition? And how might we use this knowledge to guide rewilding in ways that support both climate goals and biodiversity? These are questions that matter deeply, not only to scientists but to policymakers, land managers, and communities who want to see landscapes recover.

*Pictures: Bára Kobosilová and Dan Ciganek*

From our pilot sites we already have encouraging results. We have built a robust processing pipeline and developed a first set of structural indicators. The early patterns are striking: rewilded stands seem to show higher levels of both vertical and horizontal complexity than managed stands. These structural differences are precisely the kinds of features that many species depend on, and we anticipate strong correlations with independent measures of biodiversity. At the same time, we are grappling with real challenges. Data collected from different sensors and platforms do not always align neatly, and we need to harmonise them to ensure comparability. We are also learning about the limits of scale – how small a plot can be before its complexity becomes too difficult to measure reliably. These are technical hurdles, but they are also stepping stones that will allow us to expand our analysis across the entire WILDCARD network.

For me, the most exciting aspect of this work is its potential to shift how we think about rewilding. Forests are often described as carbon sinks or as habitats for species, but the WILDCARD project reveals them as both at once: living, evolving, complex three-dimensional systems. With the LiDAR technology we can not only see but also measure the richness of their structure and begin to understand how it shapes biodiversity and carbon dynamics together. That knowledge can inform rewilding strategies, guide conservation investments, and support policies that build resilient ecosystems. Forests are more than collections of trees. They are dynamic, intricate habitats that we are only beginning to understand in full. LiDAR gives us a way to step into that complexity, to capture it with unprecedented precision, and to tell the story of rewilding in three dimensions. For WILDCARD, it means we are one step closer to making the so far hidden patterns measurable, and to building the knowledge that will help rewilding succeed at scales that truly matter.

WILDCARD: The Forest Game Podcast launches

Gesche Schifferdecker on July 8, 2025

What if rewilding Europe were a strategic board game – where every forest hides a secret, and every move helps decide the fate of our ecosystems?

Welcome to WILDCARD. The Forest Game, an exciting new podcast that turns the complex science of ecological restoration into an immersive, continent-spanning adventure. Produced by our WILDCARD project in collaboration with Starter, this innovative audio series invites listeners to journey through Europe’s diverse and often overlooked forest landscapes, exploring how damaged ecosystems can be restored and reimagined.

Each episode of The Forest Game acts as a “strategic move” on a metaphorical game board. Listeners join scientists, researchers, and forest experts in unraveling stories of nature – from identifying remnants of true wilderness to balancing human needs with ecological integrity. Along the way, they encounter powerful narratives of transformation and hope, as well as strategies to bring forests back to life in all their complexity.

By using the metaphor of a board game, the podcast breaks down complex ecological concepts into engaging, accessible narratives. Every dice roll reveals new challenges – wildfires, invasive species, fragmentation – while each game square unveils a tale of resilience, research, and renewal. The result is a unique blend of entertainment and scientific insight, making forest restoration not only understandable, but thrilling.

The series is written by Silvia Giralucci (Starter) and produced under the scientific supervision of Giorgio Alberti from the University of Udine. Editorial guidance comes from Gesche Schifferdecker of the European Forest Institute (EFI), with voice-over by Rahel Könen and post-production by Santiago Alarcón, also of EFI.

Whether you’re an environmental enthusiast, a science lover, or simply curious about the future of Europe’s landscapes, WILDCARD. The Forest Game offers a fresh and thought-provoking perspective on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Ready to roll the dice on the future of our forests? Tune in and play along: WILDCARD: The Forest Game Podcast – Wildcard

Europe’s Hidden Eden: a special trip to one of the rare old-growth forest in Europe

Louisa Bouri-Saouter on July 4, 2025

A blogpost by Caterina Moretti and Gianmaria Paludet

Our Forestry teachers Giorgio Alberti and Antonio Tomao had prepared quite a special field trip for their 17 Environmental and Natural Sciences students. We came all the way from the University of Udine in Italy to visit the Lom Reserve Forest, one of the three remaining old-growth forests in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one of the last in Europe.

Visually striking, the forest impressed us with the imposing size of its trees, the endless layers of vegetation and mosses, and the massive amount of deadwood, both standing and lying on the ground. It was a landscape full of life, which also made it difficult for us to navigate and get proper orientation.

The students are taking a hike in the forest. PC: Gianmaria Paludet

A very interesting discussion point was how this forest is adapting to climate change. As our guide explained, the ecological richness of the Lom Forest, along with its natural regeneration, makes it largely resilient to wildfires and invasive or alien plants and insects.

The forest’s capacity to adapt to a changing climate sparked both our curiosity and made us think: Shouldn’t modern forest management aim for a balance between economic revenue and ecological stability? Such a view was shared by many of us students, and we agreed that forest management in the Lom buffer zones comes close to our ideas.

Dead wood is an important visual and ecological aspect of the Lom forest. PC: Gianmaria Paludet

We also learned that wildlife in the forest is well regulated. Natural barriers like rivers and dense vegetation, along with careful culling (selective and controlled removal of individual animals), prevent deer populations from overgrowing. The absence of red deer has led to an increase in roe deer and wild boar populations, resulting in less competition for space and food resources.

Our day was also enriched withy surprising facts, such as the widespread presence of “aerial roots.” Seedlings that grow on dead trunks tend to develop aerial roots, which become unstable once the supporting trunks rot away completely.

A tree which developed “aerial root” by growing at first on a dead trunk. PC: Gianmaria Paludet

On a less positive note, we were also surprised to learn about the theft of “resonance wood.” Many trees had small carved-out cubes, causing both ecological and visual damage. The wood, taken from Picea abies bark, is used in the manufacture of musical instruments.

Resonance wood is being stolen in the Lom forest to make instruments. PC: Gianmaria Paludet

Inspired by this resilient and inventive old-growth forest, we felt the sense of pride the Bosnian people have for their well-preserved forest, and we would like to see that same pride in natural resources shared across the European continent and the world. Seeing such untouched ecosystems made us realize just how rare and precious they are today.

Where the Bison Roam Again: Rewilding in Vânători Neamț Nature Park

Santiago Alarcón on June 20, 2025

In the quiet forests of Northeastern Romania, near the town of Suceava, a remarkable rewilding story is unfolding.

This short film takes us into the heart of Vânători Neamț Nature Park, where the European bison, once extinct in the wild, is once again roaming free. The journey began in the 1970s, when the first bison were brought to Romania by the National Forest Administration. But it wasn’t until 2003, with support from a World Bank project, that the dream of rewilding took real shape, with infrastructure built and the first animals arriving in the park.

By 2012, the first five bison were released into the wild. Since then, more have followed, year after year, slowly rebuilding a population that had vanished. But this isn’t just about restoring a species. It’s about restoring balance between open fields and forest, between people and nature.

The European bison is more than a keystone species. It’s a national symbol, deeply woven into Romanian and Moldavian heritage. Its presence now supports local economies, from eco-tourism to traditional crafts, and fulfills important EU conservation goals.

And while the term “rewilding” may be new to some, the idea isn’t. As Laura Bouriaud from the Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava says, “we are living with nature. Even if we didn’t put this name on it, rewilding is part of our life.”

Let them be? Exploring forest biodiversity dynamics after management has stopped

Dr. João M. Cordeiro Pereira on May 16, 2025

By João M. Cordeiro Pereira

Imagine walking through a primeval forest – towering trees with gnarled branches, thick undergrowth, and chaotic piles of fallen branches and logs. It would also be bursting with life, from the mats of moss and lichens covering logs, to the birdsong echoing across the canopy, or the insects of all sizes buzzing around on a hot day.

Primeval forests like this are a rare sight in today’s Europe. But this is changing as ever more forests are set aside from active management, allowing nature to take the reins. We would expect to see an increase in biodiversity within these “rewilded” forests, but is that really true? This is one of the key questions the WILDCARD project is asking, and answering it will be the main goal of my research for the next couple of years. What I can already tell you is that the answer will not be as straightforward as it may seem.

Forests change over time – and so does their wildlife

Following a large disturbance or a clearing, forests will go through a series of development stages, which vary in many aspects: most obviously tree height, but also the tree species present, the vegetation layers or the deadwood volume. Many forest organisms rely on a specific combination of those features, and thus thrive only in forests at specific development stages. For example, butterfly species (such as the silver-washed fritillary, Argynnis paphia, pictured below) need sunny clearings with young vegetation for their larvae and flowers for nectar. The three-toed woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus, pictured below) and the white-backed woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos) instead prefer old forests with decaying trees, which they can use for nesting and foraging.

Silver-washed fritillary (*Argynnis paphia*), in the Black Forest (Germany). Source: *João M. Cordeiro Pereira*

This means letting forests develop into old age will probably not help all species – rather those adapted to older, undisturbed forests. Since traditional forestry often removes deadwood and harvests trees before they reach full maturity, these old-forest specialists are often the most threatened – and the ones most likely to benefit when we as humans step back. This is why these species will be in the center of my analyses.

Counting species is not enough

And how should biodiversity be measured? At the scale of individual forest reserves or research plots, simply measuring the number of species (the species richness) can be misleading. Within some species-rich groups, such as plants or ground beetles, most species are either generalists (using various habitat types) or depend on open habitats. Thus, over time, unmanaged forests may witness no change in species richness or even a decline, as the canopy closes up. However, this can obscure that, in fact, old-forest species of high conservation value may be recovering. That is why, in my analyses I will focus on which species appear (the community composition), rather than how many, as time goes on after management has stopped.

Eurasian three-toed woodpecker (*Argynnis paphia*), in the Black Forest (Germany), where this species is critically endangered at the regional level. Source: *João M. Cordeiro Pereira*

The hidden role of legacies and the landscape

Some species struggle to return even after a forest recovers. Why? Let us take the example of the blue ground beetle (Carabus intricatus, pictured below). This a large-bodied, flightless species, that relies on a stable forest habitat. If its environment changes, it has a limited ability to disperse in search of new habitat. If this species’ habitat in a forest patch was degraded in the past, and if this patch was too isolated from other areas with good habitat, this may have led to a local extinction of the beetle. The species would then have trouble returning, even if conditions improved. This means today’s biodiversity is not just the result of current management or the absence of it – it is also shaped by past events and how well-connected forest habitats are.

Blue ground beetle (*Carabus intricatus*), in the Black Forest (Germany), where this species is vulnerable both at regional and national levels. Source: Sebastian Schwegmann.

What is next?

My aim is to identify more clearly which components of forest biodiversity profit from non-intervention – and which elements may be the “blind spots” of this approach. To do this, I am working with a large amount of biodiversity data, contributed both by WILDCARD partners and external institutions (mostly in the EuFoRIa network). This data spans across multiple countries, forest types and taxonomic groups, and offers a unique opportunity to answer these questions. However, it also poses unique challenges – the data is very heterogeneous and often collected using different methodological approaches. Right now, I am working on bringing all datasets together, documenting and harmonizing them (a big job in itself!), before embarking on statistical analyses. Despite the challenges, I cannot help but feel excited to discover the stories hiding in these forests and share what I learn along the way.

Uncovering the hidden world beneath our feet: reflections from the WILDCARD Soil Workshop in Brno

Santiago Alarcón, Gesche Schifferdecker, Sara Cazzaniga, Yannick de Win on April 28, 2025

By Santiago Alarcón, Gesche Schifferdecker, Sara Cazzaniga, and Yannick de Win.

Not far from Brno, in the Czech Republic, an inspiring team of experts from various countries came together for a two-day workshop combining theory and practice on soil sampling. The workshop provided an immersive, hands-on experience focused on one of the most vital, complex, and still largely unexplored components of terrestrial ecosystems: the soil.

Organized by the WILDCARD project and involving both project researchers and external specialists, the soil sampling workshop aimed to align diverse research objectives under a shared mission: highlighting the critical role of soil in the context of rewilding. Over the two days, participants worked in two contrasting forest environments: one with soft, loamy soil that made the sampling procedure easy, and another with hard, rocky ground that challenged their adaptability and resilience. Thanks to the strong commitment of the group, once the technical training and minor hurdles were behind everyone, we group fully immersed ourselves in the environment. The workshop fostered a deep connection, not just among the participants, but also with nature and the often-overlooked world beneath our feet.

For many of us, soil might seem like little more than the “dirt stuff” we live on. But for Sara Cazzaniga from ETH Zurich, it’s a constantly shifting landscape of hidden stories. “Working with forest soil is particularly fascinating because of how much it varies”, she said. “Not only between sites, but even across different spots within the same forest.”

Sara came to Brno hoping the workshop would demystify the dense and challenging soil sampling protocol – and right from the start, she found a collaborative and supportive team. “As soon as we arrived at the first demonstration site, the outdoor setting felt just right,” she said. “Thanks to the shared insights and helpful observations, what initially felt difficult started to make sense. The hands-on practice really helped us become more comfortable and confident with applying the protocol.”

The group was a vibrant mix of backgrounds and expertise – from seasoned soil scientists to enthusiastic newcomers. That diversity quickly became a strength: beginners brought fresh questions, while more experienced participants shared field-tested tips. Everyone contributed with the shared goal of making the soil sampling protocol work – not just for science, but for nature, too.

“We had such a great mix of perspectives,” Sara added. “It made the tools and resources – like the app, FAQs, and videos – feel much more accessible and practical.”

Also, Yannick de Win from the Research Institute for Nature and Forest (EV-INBO) echoed that enthusiasm, “People often think of forests as trees, birds and mammals, but so many fundamental processes continuously happen belowground. That’s where trees and roots develop and where carbon is stored, thanks to the great diversity of organisms that live there.”

As part of the WILDCARD project, the teams at EV-INBO and Silva Tarouca Research Institute (VUK) will analyze both soil and forest floor layers to understand soil carbon dynamics, while Sara will extract environmental DNA from soil samples to investigate microbial community composition across different forest successional stages throughout Europe. Their combined efforts aim to reveal how soil carbon and biodiversity have shifted over time – specifically in areas where agricultural land and pastures were abandoned more than 70 years ago or forest management had been stopped.

The ultimate goal is to provide deeper insight into the potential for forest restoration and to inform strategies for climate change mitigation in the near future.

What began with this workshop is hoped to grow into a powerful reminder: that soil holds essential clues to the health of our planet and our future. In Brno, the WILDCARD team not only collected soil samples – they also planted seeds of knowledge, collaboration, and curiosity, laying the groundwork for more sustainable land management across Europe.