RESTORE

EU Joint project RESTORE: Isolation, characterization and application of microorganisms to improve drought stress tolerance of trees in reforestation projects

Project homepage Brazil:	link
	Due to the prediction of increasing periods of severe drought in the course of this century, the preservation of the forests and reforestation play a key role for mitigating the effects of climate change. However, tree seedlings show a high mortality during reforestation projects, especially under drought. Thus, improving drought tolerance of tree seedlings is of central importance.
	In the project RESTORE, we want to improve drought tolerance of tree seedlings using selected plant associated microorganisms (PAMs). Therefore, we isolate and characterize root associated soil microorganisms from different sites of temperate mixed forests (European Beech and Norway Spruce) in southern Germany and analyze them regarding their ability to reduce drought stress. Promising isolates are applied under axenic conditions as well as in greenhouse experiments to enhance drought tolerance of European Beech and Norway Spruce seedlings and to restructure tress associated microbial communities. Finally, nature-based materials will be developed as carrier systems for plant growth promoting fungi and bacteria (PGPF/PGPB) or plant growth regulators (PGRs) and applied in reforestation projects.
Duration	2021-2024
Editing	Sonja Magosch (TUM-HFM & HMGU), Dr. Michael Rothballer (HMGU), Prof. Dr. Karin Pritsch (HMGU), Prof. Dr. J. Philipp Benz (TUM-HFM)
Funding	BMBF (16LC2026A), RESTORE

Partner	State University of Londrina (UEL), Brasilien (Dr. Halley Caixeta de Oliveira; Koordinator)
	Helmholtz Zentrum München - Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt (GmbH), Institut für Netzwerkbiologie
	CNRS AMU Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnology Aix-Marseille University, France (BIAM)
	Sao Paolo State University, Brazil (UNESP)
	University of Sorocaba, Brazil (UNISO)
	Federal University of ABC, Brazil (UFABC)