English
Chantilly forest, France (6344 ha)
A major field campaign leverages advanced IoT monitoring and state-of-the-art laboratory expertise to tackle climate adaptation, carbon modelling, and forest fire risks across European ecosystems.
Chantilly, France — July 2026
As European forests face unprecedented challenges from climate change, the ability to monitor, model, and manage forest dynamics is critical. During the week of 6–10 July 2026, a comprehensive field campaign was carried out in the Chantilly Forest, demonstrating how the IN-SYLVA Europe research infrastructure provides vital technical and strategic support to large-scale initiatives.
By integrating national experimental sites into a broader European framework, IN-SYLVA Europe is facilitating ground-breaking research for major projects such as CARTO-FEUX (National Fire Risk Map) and ALAMOD (Shared Databases and Numerical Models on Carbon).
Strategic vision: initiating the deployment of next-generation forest IoT
A cornerstone of IN-SYLVA Europe’s long-term impact strategy is the widespread deployment of advanced environmental sensors across broad ecological gradients. In a key step towards this 2031–2034 implementation goal, the Chantilly campaign saw the installation of the first three connected IoT sticks, known as 'Forest Sentinels'.
Developed in cooperation with ALCOM Tech, these state-of-the-art sensors provide high-resolution data on forest microclimates, soil moisture, and tree phenology. This technological leap enables large-scale remote sensing for phenotyping and envirotyping, providing researchers, forest managers and policymakers with real-time, actionable insights into forest health and climate adaptation as well as forest contribution to reducing grenhouse gas emission. These IoT sticks form part of the monitoring system set up by INRAE, the Château de Chantilly and the Regional Nature Park with the technical support of IN-SYLVA France (the French national node and central hub of IN-SYLVA Europe) to track the forest’s dynamics within a context of climate change.
Technical excellence from the field to the Lab
The Chantilly Forest hosts six of the 60 national plots established by INRAE for the CARTO-FEUX and ALAMOD programmes. The recent field campaign showcased a rigorous technical methodology designed to assess greenhouse gas reduction and fire vulnerability:
- Carbon & growth tracking: Three litter trays per plot capture the annual fall of leaves, fruit, and branches, while six root regrowth cores measure subterranean annual growth.
- Fire risk assessment: Up to six quadrats per tray are dedicated to measuring the quantity of ground fuel.
In just one week, the team successfully collected 159 bags of ground litter and 54 root regrowth cores. To process this vast amount of biological data, two of IN-SYLVA Europe's specialised in lab services 
have been mobilised: the Biogeochemistry Laboratory and the Silvatech platform, ensuring world-class sample processing and data reliability.
Unifying research synergies: a model for Europe
While CARTO-FEUX and ALAMOD operate as crucial national assets and “Let’s Save the Chantilly Forest” as a participatory research initiative at local level, IN-SYLVA Europe elevates their impact to an international level.
- CARTO-FEUX: A multi-partner initiative (ONF, INRAE, Météo France, IGN, CIRAD, IRD) mapping the sensitivity of forest vegetation to fire.
- ALAMOD: A targeted collaborative project (CNRS, AgroParisTech, IRD, CIRAD, Sorbonne Université, Université de Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse 3, Institut National de l'Information Géographique et Forestière, IFP Energies Nouvelles) in the frame of PEPR FairCarboN aiming to consolidate carbon stock databases and develop innovative ecosystem models using IR spectroscopy and satellite imagery.
- 'Let’s Save the Chantilly Forest Together': A pioneering research-action programme launched in 2019 to address the massive dieback of pedunculate oaks, exacerbated by the soil’s poor water retention capacity. Recognised by PEPR FORESTT as a premier Forest Living Lab to co-design solutions with stakeholders, it brings together the Château de Chantilly, foresters (ONF), researchers (INRAE, universities), local organisations involved in nature conservation (Regional Nature Park, National Botanical Conservatory of Bailleul, associations), hunters, and citizen volunteers.
This collaborative framework—underpinned by IN-SYLVA Europe’s Services and associated impact strategy—serves as a powerful blueprint for how local ecological crises can drive pan-European scientific and technological resilience.