About the Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR)
The Birmingham Institute of Forest Research (BIFoR) at the University of Birmingham is dedicated to advancing our understanding of how forests respond to environmental changes.
Established in 2014, BIFoR conducts cutting-edge research on the impacts of climate change, invasive species, and other environmental stressors on forest ecosystems.
A highlight of BIFoR’s facilities is the Free-Air Carbon Dioxide Enrichment (FACE) facility, which enables scientists to study the effects of elevated atmospheric CO₂ levels on forests in real-time. This unique setup allows for groundbreaking research that spans multiple disciplines, including geography, biosciences, engineering, and social sciences.
However, our research stretches much wider than that. Indeed, BIFoR aims to provide fundamental science, social science and cultural research of direct relevance to forested landscapes anywhere in the world.
BIFoR’s mission is to provide critical insights that inform sustainable forest management and conservation strategies, ensuring the health and resilience of forests for future generations.
Research can be broken down into four key areas;
The impact of climate and environmental change on woodlands.
Education and outreach
- BIFoR has 64 doctoral students either completing or having recently completed research related to forested landscapes.
- In addition, it has a Doctoral Training Scholarship, Forest Edge, which is enabling the training of 18 doctoral students.
- BIFoR research is integrated into teaching at the University, including the courses (MSci Human Sciences and MSci Global Environmental Change and Sustainability).
- The institute offers the opportunity for all university students to engage with research through offering primary data collection opportunities at the BIFoR FACE facility, secondary data / samples for dissertation topics from the BIFoR FACE facility and the opportunity to volunteer with us.
Birmingham Institute of Forest Research
Acknowledgements
BIFoR gratefully acknowledges the financial support from the JABBS Foundation, John Horseman Trust, John and Lorna Powell, the Wolfson Foundation, the Leverhulme Trust, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Institute of Advanced Studies (IAS), the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), NSF, the Ecological Continuity Trust and of course the University of Birmingham. We gratefully acknowledge the support of our BIFoR Advisory Group members who help advise us on overall strategy for BIFoR, research activity and priorities. We are delighted to have Professor Jon Drori, Dr Debbie Hemming and Professor Rich Norby as honorary members of the Institute.