How do tree roots, soils, fungi and pathogens interact, and how do these relationships affect the ability of forests to cope with drought, disturbance and other environmental pressures? These questions are at the centre of research developed at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, MENDELU (LDF MENDELU), through the Horizon Europe EXCELLENTIA project. The project has brought together an interdisciplinary research team, established new long-term field experiments at the University Forest Enterprise Masaryk Forest (UFE Křtiny) and opened new opportunities for international cooperation, including the EuAsiaN-ROOT project.
One of the central achievements of EXCELLENTIA has been the development of the interdisciplinary Mycorrhiza Research Centre. The team brings together core scientists and PhD candidates around a shared scientific programme focused on belowground processes and forest resilience. Researchers investigate tree roots and soils together with mycorrhizal fungi, pathogens and associated microbial communities, examining how these interactions respond to forest composition, environmental stress and disturbance. The project’s research programme explicitly connects soils and fungal communities, root–pathogen interactions and the ecological stability of trees and mixed stands.
“EXCELLENTIA has allowed us to bring together expertise from different areas of forest ecosystem research and build a common research programme. Understanding what happens below ground is essential if we want to understand how forests respond to drought, disturbance and other pressures. At the same time, the project is creating research capacity that should remain at the Faculty well beyond the lifetime of EXCELLENTIA,” said ERA Chair Prof. Douglas Godbold.
The research ranges from local forest processes to global environmental questions. Recent work involving team showed that biodiversity can help grasslands maintain productivity during extreme drought, with particularly strong effects in drier environments. The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, combined biodiversity experiments from 75 sites and data collected over periods of two to 23 years. Other research has addressed forest soil moisture, carbon sequestration, tree productivity and belowground processes: Biodiversity helps grasslands stay productive during extreme drought
It also contributes to the development of science-based strategies for adapting forests to global change. Boris Rewald, an associate professor in the Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, LDF MENDELU, co-authored an international review published in Basic and Applied Ecology. The study assessed scientific evidence on forest management approaches in Central Europe, covering tree species selection, forest diversity, regeneration, silvicultural practices and ecosystem services. The authors identified 35 scientific statements and found that, although many are supported by research, important knowledge gaps remain before the findings can be translated into practical forest management recommendations. The review highlights the need for further research on climate-resilient tree species, forest regeneration and effective monitoring methods. An important part of the project’s legacy is being created directly in the UFE Křtiny.
EXCELLENTIA has contributed to field and laboratory research platforms for long-term investigation of forest ecosystems. Following a severe storm in June 2024, researchers established experiments in affected mixed stands at Jedovnice, Habrůvka and Býčí skála. The resulting experimental platform enables research into forest recovery, soil processes, carbon and biodiversity under different post-disturbance management approaches. Together with strengthened laboratory capacity for root, mycorrhizal, soil fungal and pathogen research, it provides infrastructure that can continue supporting research beyond the project.
The project’s impact is also reflected in people. Six PhD candidates have been integrated into the scientific programme and receive mentoring throughout the research cycle – from field and laboratory work to data analysis, manuscripts, conferences and grant applications. Training has also covered scientific writing, research integrity, Open Science, research data management and project management. The international hands-on course Hidden Half of Ecosystems has further connected training with research into belowground forest processes.
EXCELLENTIA has also provided a foundation for new international cooperation. One example is EuAsiaN-ROOT, an MSCA Staff Exchange coordinated by LDF MENDELU. Launched in January 2025, it extends EXCELLENTIA-related research across contrasting Eurasian forest ecosystems and creates a platform for long-term collaboration involving MENDELU researchers, early-career scientists and international partners.
The capacities developed through EXCELLENTIA are also contributing to LDF MENDELU’s involvement in IN-SYLVA Europe, which was included in the ESFRI Roadmap 2026. The emerging European research infrastructure will connect experimental forest sites, analytical platforms and modelling capacities across Europe to support research on forest adaptation to climate change. For LDF MENDELU, participation builds on expertise and research infrastructure strengthened through EXCELLENTIA, particularly in root ecology, mycorrhizal interactions and forest ecosystem adaptation to global change.
“EXCELLENTIA has strengthened not only our scientific expertise but also the Faculty’s ability to participate in major European research initiatives. The knowledge, people and research capacity developed through the project provide a strong foundation for our involvement in initiatives such as IN-SYLVA Europe and for further international cooperation,” said Prof. Vladimír Gryc, dean of the LDF MENDELU.
The long-term ambition of EXCELLENTIA therefore reaches beyond publications and individual experiments. Practices developed through the project are being incorporated into the research environment, including Open Science and FAIR data principles, career development and mentoring, internationalisation and more systematic support for European research funding.
Contact for more information: Prof. Douglas Godbold, Department of Forest Protection and Wildlife Management, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, MENDELU, douglas.godbold@mendelu.cz
Photo: Martin Čermák
The research publication mentioned this article:
Sasaki, T., Hoss, D., Huang, Y., Iwachido, Y., Zheng, L., Abdala-Roberts, L., Allan, E., Auge, H., Barsoum, N., Bauhus, J., Baum, C., Beierkuhnlein, C., Beyer, F., Brancalion, P., Cappelli, S. L., Chu, C., Craven, D., Daniel, C., Dolezal, J., Godbold, D., Rewald, B., . . . Eisenhauer, N. (2026). Biodiversity effects under climate extremes intensify with aridity in grasslands but not forests. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 10, 1464–1474. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03130-1
Huth, F., Tischer, A., Nikolova, P., Feldhaar, H., Wehnert, A., Hülsmann, L., Bauhus, J., Heer, K., Vogt, J., Ammer, C., Berger, U., Bernhardt-Römermann, M., Böhme, M., Bugmann, H., Buse, J., Demant, L., Dörfler, I., Ewald, J., Feldmann, E., Rewald, B., . . . Schuldt, B. (2025). Ecological assessment of forest management approaches to develop resilient forests in the face of global change in Central Europe. Basic and Applied Ecology, 86, 66–100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2025.05.001
This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme project ERA Chair: Striving for Excellence in the Forest Ecosystem Research (EXCELLENTIA) (Grant Agreement No. 101087262).
Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Executive Agency (REA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
