EUFGIS upgrade
FORGENIUS successfully upgraded the European Information System on Forest Genetic Resources (EUFGIS), an online platform designed to give end‑users direct, user‑friendly access to information on forest genetic resources. The platform brings together analytical tools, predictive models, visualisation interfaces, and links to external databases, such as FOREMATIS. Released in November 2025, the enhanced system enables the exploration, characterisation, and evaluation of Genetic Conservation Units (GCUs) across multiple scales. The EUFGIS platform is available at eufgis.org.
The upgrade of EUFGIS strengthens the capacity of national authorities responsible for managing GCU networks in each country, as well as the wider conservation community, by providing a detailed, accurate and frequently updated overview of the status of the GCUs. EUFGIS is a tool that can assist with the designing of new, adaptive strategies to safeguard these valuable forest genetic resources at the continental level.
The upgraded EUFGIS offers a suite of tools tailored to diverse user needs:
• Characterisation tools: presenting genetic, phenotypic, environmental, and synthetic indicators for individual GCUs or groups of units.
• Analytical and predictive tools: allowing users to assess the current state of populations and project climatic changes affecting each unit.
• Multi‑scale outputs: providing GCU‑level summaries, regional and national overviews, and species‑level comparisons.
• Reporting functions: supporting the generation of indicators for international processes, such as Forest Europe report on the State of Europe’s Forests and the global State of the World FGR, as well as national conservation requirements.
• Breeding‑oriented outputs: offering information on traits, genetic parameters, and population characteristics relevant to forest tree breeders.
The EUFGIS platform also includes GCU sampling protocols directly within the interface, guiding users through data acquisition, sample collection, laboratory processing, and data upload. This ensures that future characterisation efforts at both continental and national scales follow a consistent and harmonised approach. A comprehensive user manual is provided to help users navigate the system and interpret the data independently. In addition, a five‑video tutorial series accompanies the manual, offering an interactive introduction to the interface.
The online publication of EUFGIS marks a cornerstone achievement for the FORGENIUS project, transforming the upgraded information system into a practical, accessible, and analytical tool for conservation, management, policy development, and breeding. EUFGIS will be maintained and further developed as part of the European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN).