INBO draws WILDCARD
In recent decades, a lot of remote farmland and forests in Europe have been abandoned and left to spontaneous succession. The ‘rewilding’ increases local carbon sequestration but also alters the landscape and affects biodiversity.
Local people often view the rewilding with dismay and worry about increased risks of forest fire, wildlife damage and predation.
The new Horizon project WILDCARD (2024-2027) aims to better quantify rewilding effects through measurements and modelling across Europe. The socio-economic context of rewilding will be studied in targeted case studies and interactive forums. INBO is one of the 16 WILDCARD partners and will determine above- and belowground carbon and biodiversity in spontaneously developing forests.