CoP ForestDSS News January 2026

This is the January 2026 newsletter of the Community of Practice (CoP) on Forest Management Decision Support Systems where we would like to update you on the recent developments and future activities of the CoP.

As many of you are aware, the COST Action “Integrated DSS for delivery of ecosystem services based on EU forest policies (DSS4ES) started in Septermber 2023, with the main goal to establish a research network for facilitating the conceptualisation and development of new methodological approaches in decision support systems including the relation between forests and the landscape. The emphasis of the work is to screen and evaluate existing and future tools to support holistic planning approaches to increase sustainable forest management, considering various ecosystem services and products addressing the associated risks and uncertainties. More details can be found here: https://www.cost.eu/actions/CA22141/ or on the Action website: https://www.dss4es.com/en/ The COST Action DSS4ES allowed to continue with the networking activities of the COP during the last years. Some important activities are planned for the next months, where we would like to invite you to participate:

1) When you are interested to participate in the COST Action please check out the Project Description MoU and consider to join and apply one of the working Groups of your interest. In case that you would like to enage as a Management Committee member, please contact your COST National Contact Points, as they will provide potential nominations for the Action.

2) We will organize a Training school in cooperation with the EU Project OptforEU in spring. The Training School on "Decision support in providing Forest Ecosystem Services for Climate Resilience and Decarbonisation" will take place in Brasov, Romania (19.04.-24.04.2026) and it intends to focus on several aspects related to the development and application of forest management DSS. The aim is to make applicants familiar with the challenges of DSS development, give insight to existing DSS cases and allow them to learn about projects focusing on decision support systems. Please send your application including your CV, motivation letter and research focus  to us, we are looking forward to meet you in Brasov for an exiting week. For selected candidates there is the option that the COST Action DSS4ES will reimburse the costs for travel, accommodation and subsistence. Deadline: 21 January 2026.

3) We have organized a session at the EGU General Assembly 2026 in Vienna (3–8 May 2026). Therefore we cordially invite you to submit an abstract to our session “Decision Support Systems for Ecosystem Services” (ITS3.8 / ERE6.6). The session explores innovative DSS frameworks for landscape management. We are particularly looking for contributions that bridge different sectors and scientific disciplines to develop next-generation forest DSS that address ecosystem services holistically. Deadline: 15 January 2026, 13:00 CET. You can find the full description of the session and the option to submit your abstract here: https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/session/57590