• Evaluate the current status of alder decline in the leading-edge of Phytophthora spread in Portugal
  • Characterize alder variability across provenances along the species latitudinal range (covering 12 populations from Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Morocco and Serbia)
  • Investigate the variability in the resilience of these populations:
    • quantifying the interaction between physiological performance and disease infection under simulated climatic change scenarios
    • identifying tolerant populations
  • Propose a novel decision support tool for planning riparian conservation guidelines, which would allow to:
    • predict the vulnerability of alder populations in different scenarios
    • help managers to prioritize management targets