Updated scenario results
Publications and resources
Priority Actions for the Conservation of Primary and Old-Growth Forests in Europe
Authors: O’Brien, L., Castelli, F., Felton, A., Kuemmerle, T., Mikoláš, M., Munteanu, C., Sabatini, F. M., Svensson, J., Svoboda, M., Vandekerkhove, K., Winkel, G., & Lindner, M.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: Conservation Letters
High-Resolution LiDAR Reveals Scale-Dependent Links Between Forest Structure and Understory Plant Diversity Across Successional Stages
Authors: Orzan, L., Tomao, A., Casolo, V., Cingano, P., Král, K., Kratoš, F., Krůček, M., Trotta, G., Živec, M., & Alberti, G.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: Remote Sensing
The Interplay Between Forest Succession and Soil Properties Shapes Microbial Community Dynamics After Land Abandonment
Authors: Panico, S. C., Sciabbarrasi, G. L., Foscari, A., Tomao, A., Orzan, L., Alberti, G., & Incerti, G.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: European Journal of Soil Science
Perceptions of rewilding in European abandoned agricultural lands
Authors: Jeanroy C.G., Smith A.M., & Verburg P.H.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: Landscape and Urban Planning
Soil carbon sequestration following natural vegetation recovery on abandoned European lands: review and research needs
Authors: Karimi Nezhad, M. T., Gajski, D., Jeanroy, C. G., Verburg, P. H., Alberti, G., & Šamonil, P.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: European Journal of Soil Science
Beyond management: Proforestation enriches tree-related microhabitat diversity, but forest types determine their composition across Mediterranean and Alpine forests
Authors: Marcoz, G., Tomao, A., Bitunjac, D., Boscutti, F., Duvaltier, C., Marjanović, H., Orzan, L., Piazza, N., & Alberti, G.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: Forest Ecology and Management
Applying the Cultural Values Model to assess biocultural change in Eastern European wood-pastures
Authors: Bădărău, A.S., Pop, M., Püsök, I., Petrescu, D.C., Chiti, T. Cingano, P., Petrescu-Mag, R.M., Maloș, C., Réti, K.O., Csákány, L., Rákosy, L., Wagener, T., Antal, N., Arghiuș, V., Spac, M., Nita, A., Wagener, F., Bouriaud, L., Hartel, T.
Year of Publication: 2025
Source: People and Nature
As forests reclaim the land: Latitudinal variations in carbon-biodiversity trade-offs under natural forest expansion in Italy
Authors: Orzan, L., Tomao, A., Antoniella, G., Bonari, G., Casolo, V., Chiti, T. Cingano, P., Foscari, A., Inserti, G., Panico, S.P., Piazza, N., Trotta, G., Alberti, G.
Year of Publication: 2026
Source: Forest Ecology and Management
Mycorrhizal symbioses and tree diversity in global forest communities
Authors: Jiang, F., Pu, X., Schmid, B., Reich, P. B., Liang, J., Abbasi, A. O., … & Wang, Z
Year of Publication: 2025
Source: Science Advances
Sharing or sparing? An analysis of the forest owners’ opportunity costs in cultural ecosystem services accounting for the Via Transilvanica outdoor recreational trail
Authors: Teodorescu, C.; Nichiforel, L.; Bouriaud, L.
Year of publication: 2025
Source: Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
Assessing ecosystem services in protected areas: trade-offs and hotspots in Friuli Venezia Giulia region (northeastern Italy)
Authors: Olmo, V.; Petruzzellis, F.; Alberti, G.; Sigura, M.; Balbi, S. and Bacaro, G.
Year of publication: 2025
Source: Biodiversity
Europe’s Nature Restoration Law has now been adopted. What comes next?
Authors: Prach, K.; Janečková, P.; Walker, L.R.
Year of publication: 2025
Source: Nordic Society Oikos
Bacterial and fungal communities respond differently to changing soil properties along afforestation dynamic
Authors: Speranza, C.P.; Alberti, G.; Foscari, A.;
Sciabbarrasi, J.L.; Tomao, A.; Inserti, G.
Year of publication: 2025
Source: Microbial Ecology
Combining visual interpretation and image segmentation to derive canopy cover index from high resolution satellite imagery in functionally diverse coniferous forests
Authors: Barnoaiea, I.; Palaghianu, C.; Drăgoi, M.
Year of publication: 2024
Source: Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca
Trajectories and drivers signalling the end of agricultural abandonment in Trás‑os‑Montes, Portugal
Authors: Imbrechts, L.; Azevedo, J.; Verburg, P.
Year of publication: 2024
Source: Regional Environmental Change
Interpreting the shifts in forest structure,
plant community composition, diversity,
and functional identity by using remote
sensing-derived wildfire severity
Authors: Trotta, G.; Cadez, L.; Boscutti, F.; Vuerich, M.; Asquini, E.; Boscarol, G.; Cingano, P.; Azzani, G.; Pischedda, S.; Tomao, A. and Alberti, G.
Year of publication: 2024
Source: Fire Ecology
Succession in abandoned fields: Chronosequence data verified by monitoring of semi-permanent plots
Authors: Řehounková, K., Tichý, L. and Prach, K.
Year of publication: 2024
Source: Journal of Vegetation Science
The largest European forest carbon sinks are in the Dinaric Alps old-growth forests: comparison of direct measurements and standardised approaches
Authors: Bono, A., Alberti, G., Beretti, R., Curovic, M., Dukic, V. and Motta, R.
Year of publication: 2024
Source: Carbon Balance and Management
Old-growth forests in the Dinaric Alps of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro: a continental hotspot for research and biodiversity
Authors: Motta, R., Alberti, G., Ascoli, D. et al.
Year of publication: 2024
Source: Frontiers in Forests and Global Change
D4.4 – Social innovation, conflicts and opportunities on rewilding
This deliverable highlights the importance of community based social innovation in enhancing social acceptance and resolving conflicts related to rewilding initiatives across Europe. It emphasizes that successful rewilding depends on inclusive stakeholder engagement, transparent communication, and adaptive governance. The document identifies key mechanisms such as participatory decision-making, local empowerment, and knowledge sharing as essential for fostering trust and collaboration. Examples from various European contexts illustrate how these approaches can mitigate resistance, promote shared benefits, and ensure the long-term sustainability of rewilding projects.
D4.1 – Cross-country comparison of action frames in rewilding policies
This deliverable provides a cross-country comparison of rewilding-related policies, legislation and normative and financial instruments across eight European countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Romania, Italia, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland. The analysis aims to identify policy objectives, instruments and action frames related to rewilding, as well as to detect potential conflicts and trade-offs in governance and decision-making
processes.
WILDCARD D16 (D4.3) – Report on the assessment of the perception and acceptability of citizens and stakeholders on rewilding options
This Deliverable aims to assess public perceptions on two specific rewilding strategies, as defined in WILDCARD Description of the Action: proforestation, defined as the cessation of forest management to allow spontaneous forest development, and natural afforestation of abandoned land, defined as the recovery of shrubs and/or trees on cleared lands through spontaneous regrowth following the cessation of previous disturbance or land use.
Updated versions of the SSP1, Nature for Nature, Nature for Society and Nature as Culture scenarios are available at : https://doi.org/10.34894/GBDS5T and https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18833293. The rewilding locations remain mostly consistent with the maps presented in the Deliverable, but small improvements in the quantification of land system change were made by extending the protected area map that is considered in the model.
Deliverable 1.1 – First iteration estimates of rewilding area and potential
This deliverable (D1.1) presents the first iteration of EU-scale estimates of potential rewilding areas, developed within Work Package 1 (WP1) of the WILDCARD project. It examines where, and to what extent, land in Europe could become available for rewilding as a result of agricultural abandonment and reduced forest management (proforestation).
Deliverable 3.1 – Preliminary dataset on available carbon and biodiversity across the network
This deliverable outlines the methodology used in WILDCARD to collect information such as aboveground dendometric data and plant biodiversity data. It explains how so-called “High-Intensity Sites” were identified
for further remote sensing analysis, and describes the processes used to compute carbon stocks and assess plant diversity.
D2.1 – Pilot above-ground dataset: Compilation of readily available pre-processed aboveground dataset and identification of data gaps
In its Work Package 2, WILDCARD examines the effects of proforestation, utilising a range of existing long-term dendrometric datasets across Europe. This deliverable provides a framework for this task, developing a unified database structure to integrate diverse dendometric datasets. It also provides a pilot dataset on above-ground forest dynamics, and identifies and quantifies gaps in the available data.
Deliverable 6.5 – Project website
This deliverable presents the WILDCARD project website and the project’s social media channels.
Milestone 13: TLS and ULS data acquisition completed and biodiversity data compiled at HIS-Above
This milestone presents a comprehensive Europe-wide compilation and harmonization of biodiversity and LiDAR data from rewilding forest sites. Covering hundreds of sites across multiple ecoregions, the dataset provides a unique foundation for assessing ecosystem recovery, biodiversity conservation, carbon dynamics, and the structural impacts of rewilding and forest restoration.
Milestone 12: Completion of laboratory analyses
This milestone summarizes laboratory analyses of soil samples from the WILDCARD project, focusing on carbon sequestration and biodiversity in rewilded forests and afforested agricultural lands. Standardized protocols ensured data quality. Analyses included organic carbon, nitrogen, pH, texture, and eDNA-based biodiversity, with robust quality control and data consolidation for future research (see Milestone 7 for site information background).
Milestone 10: Social innovation showcase
This document presents the conceptual and methodological framework developed for Task 4.3 of the WILDCARD Horizon Europe project, which aims to “identify community-based mechanisms of social innovation and social acceptability in rewilding and rewilded areas.
Milestone 9: Perception assessment report
This milestone provides an overview of the surveys and interviews conducted under the three subtasks of Task 4.2. It summarises their objectives, data collection methods, and the number of responses and interviews obtained. The detailed analysis of results from these activities is presented separately in D4.3 Report on the assessment of the perception and acceptability of citizens and stakeholders on rewilding options.
Milestone 8 – Simulation results from dynamic models available for preliminary feedback to WP1
Milestone 8 of the WILDCARD project presents preliminary simulation results from the dynamic forest model ForClim, comparing rewilding and business-as-usual (BAU) management scenarios. Four archetypal European forest stands – coniferous, mixed, beech-dominated, and broadleaved – were simulated under climate change conditions (RCP8.5) to provide robust reference systems for the later pan-European analysis.
Milestone 7 – Soil Sampling Completed
Milestone M7 describes the workflow for collecting new soil data within the WILDCARD project across WP2 and WP3 throughout Europe, resulting in a consolidated dataset. While WP2 focuses on carbon (C) sequestration and biodiversity changes following the cessation of forest management to allow spontaneous stand development (proforestation), WP3 investigates secondary succession on abandoned agricultural land (afforestation).
Milestone 6 – First model results on preliminary data for above- and belowground carbon sequestration and for forest structural indicators related to forest biodiversity
The WILDCARD milestone M6 contains the first model results from Tasks 2.3 and 3.3 of the Horizon-Europe WILDCARD project. These tasks aim to fill the knowledge gap in predicting how climate change will affect the long-term structure, carbon dynamics, and biodiversity of strictly protected forests, as well as the outcomes of large-scale agricultural land abandonment across European ecoregions. Milestone M6 serves as a proof of concept, using preliminary data from Swiss datasets to demonstrate the modeling approach.
Milestone 5 – Collection and harmonisation of existing aboveground data from established networks completed
The WILDCARD Milestone M5 outlines the process of collecting and harmonising dendrometric datasets across Europe. These harmonised data will form the basis for analysing the impacts of rewilding on carbon storage and biodiversity (Tasks 2.1–2.3 and Tasks 3.1–3.3). For Work Package 2 (WP2), the analysis relies on existing long-term as well as chronosequence datasets provided by both internal and external partners. In contrast, Work Package 3 (WP3) primarily involves the establishment of new datasets.
Milestone 4 – Preliminary scenarios of potentially available land for rewilding due to agricultural abandonment and set-aside forests
The WILDCARD milestone M4 contains an analysis of available data and preliminary scenario simulations of potentially available land for rewilding agricultural abandoned lands and proforestation, providing a first estimate of the areas in Europe with a likelihood for rewilding.
Milestone 3 – Final selection of soil sampling plots (Belowground) and definition of an operational soil sampling protocol
This milestone outlines the selection process of sites used for below-ground biodiversity analysis across various European ecoregions and along selected ecological and climatic gradients. It also defines an operational soil sampling protocol for the WILDCARD project.
Milestone 2 – Stakeholder mapping Milestone Report
This milestone report provides an overview of the initial stakeholder mapping (Task 5.1) conducted in WILDCARD WP5 from May to October 2024. Task 5.1 “Mapping of local and European stakeholders” is of vital importance to tasks in WP5 and other WPs as it provides a framework for the mapping and identification of key stakeholders to be engaged via different activities in relation to the relevant rewilding processes throughout the WILDCARD project.
Milestone 1 – Delineation of relevant ecoregions and ecological gradients, connection to existing databases
The WILDCARD milestone M1 describes the selection of ecoregions and eco-gradients (including additional variables) relevant for achieving the objectives of the project. For the relevant eco-gradients, maps are produced indicating the connection to existing databases.
Project poster
Project flyer
Rewilding to counteract biodiversity loss and mitigate climate change (IT) – Segnali dal Clima in FVG | Friuli Venezia Giulia regional government
We can address biodiversity loss and climate change—two interconnected crises—through a unified strategy: restoring nature. Rewilding, whether through the natural expansion of forests or through proforestation, offers multiple benefits. However, scientific studies—such as those currently underway in Friuli Venezia Giulia—are essential to assess its contribution to CO₂ sequestration and to promote a new balance between ecosystem restoration and human activities. (Paper in Italian).