Wed 14th May 2025 in News

The University of Aveiro (UA), through the Department of Environment and Planning (DAO) and the Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies (CESAM), hosted a working meeting and a stakeholder workshop on April 28 and 29, as part of the COST Action “DSS4ES – Decision Support Systems for Environmental Services.

This COST Action, which aims to promote the development of decision support systems for environmental services, is coordinated by CESAM, with researcher Sofia Corticeiro (CESAM/DAO) serving as the institutional representative at UA and coordinator of the “Governance (Implementation and Monitoring)” working group.

Over the course of the two-day meeting, 21 members of the COST network from various European countries took part. The stakeholder workshop on April 29 brought together 14 international stakeholders from sectors such as forestry, environmental management, public administration, and governance, enabling a rich exchange of experiences and perspectives on the needs and challenges of using decision support systems on the sustainable management of ecosystem services.

The workshop provided a rich platform for reflection and exchange, helping us to better understand both the needs and challenges involved in the development and application of Decision Support Systems. Participants emphasized the importance of delivering simplified, practical outputs that can be readily integrated into existing workflows and decision-making processes. There was a clear call for tools that are adaptable, aligned with legal frameworks, and capable of supporting well-defined objectives, such as climate targets or resource management. The discussion also highlighted the importance of showcasing real-world examples, addressing economic considerations, and investing in training and capacity-building.

At the same time, key challenges were identified, including limited awareness of available tools, difficulties in accessing or harmonizing relevant data, and resistance to training, especially within resource-constrained institutions. Building trust in DSS tools remains a critical issue, particularly when decisions are made under pressure or uncertainty.

 These insights will be essential as we refine our approach within the DSS4ES COST Action. More information can be found here: University of Aveiro hosted meeting and workshop of the COST Action “DSS4ES” – Cesam

Mon 12th May 2025 in News

• INTUF – European Network for the Integrative Approach of Urban Forestry
• ARiF – Bringing Digital Data and Reality Together: Augmented Reality in Forestry

• DSS4ES – Integrated Decision Support Systems for Delivery of Ecosystem Services Based on EU Forest Policies
• PANGEOS COST – Pan-European Network of Green Deal Agriculture and Forestry Earth Observation Science

• CLEANFOREST COST Action – Joint Effects of Climate Extremes and Atmospheric Deposition on European Forests

• UB3Guard – Safeguarding Urban Trees and Forests Through Improved Biosecurity

• 3DForEcoTech – Three-Dimensional Forest Ecosystem Monitoring Using Terrestrial-Based Technologies

 🔗 Session Details | Programme Overview

Mon 12th May 2025 in News

We’re excited to announce that registration for the ICDSST 2025 Conference is now officially open – including credit card payments!

You can register at the following link: 
https://icdsst2025reg.fon.bg.ac.rs/
 

Key Updates:

• Early registration deadline extended to May 15, 2025 – don't miss out!

• Author registration is mandatory: Each accepted paper must have at least one registered author to be included in the conference proceedings.

•Accompanying people are welcome to register using the student registration category.

ICDSST 2025 will be help at distinct and historic venues:

• Day 1: Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary

• Days 2 & 3: Palace of Science

• Day 4: Viminacium Archaeological Site

And Featuring keynote talks by:

• Pascale Zaraté  – IRIT, France
• Fatima Dargam – SimTech, Austria
• Zoran Obradović – Temple University, USA
• Marko Bohanec – Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia
• Lily Xu – Oxford, UK / soon Columbia, USA

 We look forward to welcoming you to Belgrade for a great ICDSST 2025!

Tue 8th April 2025 in News

This symposium, sponsored by IUFRO, the Systems Analysis community, and DecisionES project coordinators, provides a forum for forest systems analysis, operations research (OR), and decision science. It will feature two main types of sessions: technical and practical. The technical presentations will focus on forest management and planning research, covering topics such as harvest scheduling, supply chain management, forest health, spatial optimization, wildland fire risk management, simulation, stochastic processes, and forest and fire economics. Meanwhile, the practical sessions will showcase studies on ecosystem service provision, global change impacts, degraded forest restoration, and more.
The conference organizers invite collaborators and speakers from diverse countries and backgrounds. This event will be held in conjunction with the annual coordination meeting of the DecisionES project and IUFRO Unit 4.04.00 (Forest Management Planning).

📅Time: June 30th to July 4th, 2025

📍 Place: Porto Seguro, Brasil.

 For more information about registration and the conference program, click here .

Mon 7th April 2025 in News

We are pleased to report on a highly successful joint workshop of Working Groups 1 (WG1) and 2 (WG2) of the COST Action DSS4ES, which took place at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW). The workshop was expertly hosted by Professor Wojciech Kędziorą, to whom we extend our sincere gratitude for his hospitality.

The workshop, held under the leadership of Dr. Janina Kleemann (WG1 Leader, MLU Halle-Wittenberg, Link: https://sustain.geo.uni-halle.de/team/mitarbeiterinnen/dr-kleemann/ ) and Dr. Ulrike Hiltner (WG2 Leader, ETH Zürich, Link: https://usys.ethz.ch/en/people/profile.Mjc3MjEx.TGlzdC82MzcsMzIwMTk3MjIy.html ), focused on advancing our understanding and classification within the realm of Decision Support Systems for Ecosystem Services (DSS4ES).

The collaborative efforts proved highly productive, resulting in the development of preliminary classifications for key areas:

• Decision-support problems: Laying the groundwork for a structured understanding of the challenges DSS4ES aims to address.
• Dynamic forest models: Establishing initial categories for the models used to simulate forest ecosystem dynamics.
• Decision-support methods: Identifying and categorizing the various approaches employed in DSS4ES.

Furthermore, the workshop facilitated valuable discussions on how the future work of DSS4ES can be effectively linked to these preliminary outcomes. Active members from the Working Groups actively contributed to brainstorming concrete steps for further developing and populating the DSS4ES framework.

The energy and engagement of all participants were remarkable, and the workshop represents a significant step forward in our collective efforts to build a comprehensive and practical framework for Decision Support Systems for Ecosystem Services. We look forward to continuing this collaborative work and further enriching the framework with ongoing contributions from our active members. 

Fri 21st March 2025 in News

Trees on Earth plays a crucial role in mitigating anthropogenic climate change by sequestering carbon. Recent advancements in high-resolution satellite imagery, combined with advanced machine/deep learning techniques, offer promising ways for forest mapping, monitoring, and carbon counting. 

The 17th EEBIOMASS Virtual Workshop – Special Edition titled “Upcoming Opportunities and Challenges in Forest Missions” will be held on March 27, 2025, from 13:00 to 16:00 CET.

For more information about the workshop program, click here .

You can register here:

https://survey.academiccloud.de/index.php/988545?lang=en

Tue 18th February 2025 in News

Our changing world poses significant challenges to our forests. Challenges we can only solve together. New technology can aid us: SmartForests are digital, sustainable, and climate adjusted.

They are built into value chains and are managed in an efficient manner, for example through the use of digital twins, machine learning, and other innovations. To create them, we need both scientists and practitioners. We need innovations, such as AI, as well as a clear understanding of the challenges we are facing both now and in the future. This is SmartForest 2025.

📅Time: March 13th & 14th, 2025

📍 Place: TU Munich, Freising

📝 Registration Deadline: February 28th, 2025

For more information about registration and the conference program, click here .

Tue 28th January 2025 in News

The NFZ.forestnet summer school invites PhD students and young researchers from diverse academic fields.
Biologists, ecologists, social scientists, and specialists in forest sciences are welcomed to join us for this exciting event.

📅 Time: August 25–29, 2025
📍 Place: Nancy, France

Participants will explore the theme:
“Challenges and Latest Tools for Forest Planning and Management in the 21st Century.”

Forest cover and forest ecosystem service provision are fundamentally challenged by uncertainties, further increased by climate change. Together with scientists and professional experts from France, Germany and Switzerland, we will discuss essential questions posed by different stakeholders:

• How will or should forests look like in the future?
• How can forest planning and management contribute to sustain forests and their uses?

For more information and registration details,click here .

Fri 24th January 2025 in News

The updated Grant Awarding User Guide has been released!

This latest version includes significant updates, particularly to the Annotated Rules that came into effect on November 1, 2024. Key changes include:

• Introduction of the new YRI grant
• Revisions to the ITC grant
• The avoidance of double funding

The updated guide provides the Grant Awarding process as implemented in e-COST, from the moment an applicant submits an application for approval by the Grant Awarding Coordinator to the payment and recording of the amount paid by the Grant Holder Manager (GHM) to the grantee.

For more details, access the full Grant Awarding User Guide here .

Wed 22nd January 2025 in Call for Papers

Mon 20th January 2025 in Call for Papers

Fri 20th December 2024 in Call for STSM

The call for Short Term Scientific Missions (STSM) and Conference grants of COST Action DSS4ES is open for activities ending before 1st October 2025 with application deadlines the last of January, March, and June. (Applications submitted 2025 for year 3 have deadlines August, October, and December)

For more information, click here

Fri 28th June 2024 in Call for STSM

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) allow scientists to learn about innovative concepts and methodologies of particular interest from an institution or laboratory in another COST country. The Applicant should normally be a post graduate student or a postdoctoral fellow and employed in an institution of a COST Country having accepted the MoU. The activities in DSS4ES are structured in five Working Groups (WGs): WG1: DATA AND KNOWLEDGE, WG2: MODELS and METHODS, WG3: USER PERSPECTIVE, WG4: DSS INTEGRATION and WG5: GOVERNANCE. The current call focuses on research activities in WG1, 2, and 3 and applications can only be submitted by using the on-line registration tool on e-COST (go to https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22141/ and choose e-COST; select Action DSS4ES). The applicants should submit their application and the Core Group of DSS4ES will evaluate the applications on behalf of the Management Committee.

Thu 27th June 2024 in News

The Core Group of the DSS4ES COST Action met during the IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm to discuss the activities of the upcoming months. Jan Kaspar has introduced the COST Action DSS4ES in the session T5.35 "The next generation of forest decision support systems for tackling today’s and future challenges!" and presented the five key points 1) data and knowledge, for gathering and utilization of forest characterization; 2) models and methods for providing decision support; 3) user perspectives for involving various stakeholders and their interests, 4) DSS integration to consider various ecosystem services and 5) governance for finding the best approaches of translating results into practice.