Beech genomes for the future ¶
Date: April 4, 2025, 09:00 - 17:00
Location: University of Zurich, Irchel Campus, Winterthurerstrasse 190, Y25-H-92
Organisation: Sofia van Moorsel, Domitille Coq--Etchegaray, Toja Guerra, Meredith Schuman - Department of Geography and Department of Chemistry, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Language: English
Event type: Presentations and colloquia
As a drought-sensitive species, European beech is thought to be particularly vulnerable to climate change (Leuschner, 2020) and increasing temperatures and rain-free days in Switzerland and Europe. The drought in 2018 has led to significant dieback in Switzerland (Frei et al., 2022) and models estimate large reductions in population growth rate in the coming decades in Europe (Martinez del Castillo et al., 2022). However, there is evidence that some beech individuals or populations may be more drought tolerant (Kurath et al., 2024). Characterizing the spatial distribution of genomic variation underlying beech resistance to drier and hotter climates will be key to determine where and under what conditions beech forests will persist in Europe.