We are developing a project proposal focused on the interactions between soil organic carbon, forest site hydrology and water balance under climate change.
The project aims to combine soil carbon assessment, soil moisture and water availability measurements, forest inventory data, climate data and hydrological modelling, preferably using plots linked to National Forest Inventories (NFI). The objective is to better understand how drought, forest structure and management affect both soil carbon stocks and forest site resilience.
The project would investigate, among others:
- how soil moisture and water availability influence soil organic carbon stocks,
- which forest sites are most vulnerable to drought and carbon loss,
- how forest structure and management affect water balance and soil carbon simultaneously,
- whether NFI and environmental data can be integrated to model both soil carbon and site hydrology,
- how these relationships may change under future climate scenarios.
We are currently looking for a partner who could contribute soil data and/or soil sampling capacity.
In particular, we are interested in organisations that already have access to relevant forest soil datasets or would be willing to collect soil samples within the project, preferably on forest plots that can be linked to NFI or other long-term monitoring sites.
The partner could contribute to harmonised sampling and analysis of soil organic carbon and soil water conditions, and support the integration of soil, forest inventory and environmental data into a joint carbon–water modelling framework.
Experience in forest soils, soil carbon, hydrology, NFI data, long-term monitoring or climate-related forest research would be highly relevant.

Our institution has been shaping Polish forests for over 60 years, co-creating their natural and economic potential along with the State Forests.

We have full knowledge about the state of forest ecosystems, which we update and share on an ongoing basis. These are maps, forest value descriptions and numerous nature research studies for forest areas throughout Poland. Our archives comprise a wealth of maps: from these drawn in pencil to the latest developments such as digital maps, digital images processed using remote sensing and photogrammetric techniques, as well as the data collected from laser scanning of forests. We also develop geographic information systems (GIS), full range of geodetic documentation, and also provide many other planning and expert services. We conduct NFI in Poland as well as other important forests-related activities.