Wildcard: The Forest Game - A scientific adventure across Europe's hidden forests

Ep. 8: Where wolves walk: natural reforestation and the return of wildlife

As European forests regenerate, wildlife responds, but the relationship is far more complex than animals simply returning to restored habitats. They actively shape forests through browsing, seed dispersal, and creating gaps. Trishna Dutta from the European Forest Institute studied how wildlife and forest regeneration interact in North Rhine-Westphalia. Her camera traps revealed how changing landscapes become corridors for animal movement. Species colonized new territories. Ecologist Davide Serva explains habitat connectivity: naturally regenerating forests create pathways through human-dominated landscapes, allowing animals to moveand establish populations. Yet animals don't simply occupy these spaces, they transform them. Predators and prey shape forest structure together. Herbivores influence which plants survive. This is rewilding as a two-way conversation between land and wildlife, each reshaping the other. Welcome to WILDCARD: The Forest Game, the scientific podcast that explores Europe's rewilding revolution through real ecological detective stories, uncovering how nature recovers when humans step back and observe. CREDITS «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD projectand Starter. Featuring: Trishna Dutta, European Forest Institute,Davide Serva, Doñana Biological Station. Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European ForestInstitute Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute Post-production: Sara Uzquiano, European Forest Institute Graphic design and visuals: Gabriela Rueda, European Forest Institute ⬇️Audio transcription available HERE [https://wildcard-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Episode8_Script_Cleaned.pdf⁠]: Learn more about the WILDCARD project: ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu [www.wildcard-project.eu] ⁠ European Forest Institute:⁠ www.efi.int [www.efi.int] ⁠ Follow us also on LinkedIn: ⁠WILDCARD project [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildcard-project]

Ep. 7: The invisible architects

When catastrophic wildfire burns Mount Vesuvio, consuming 2,000 hectares in 2017, what survives beneath the ash? Soil ecologist Speranza Panico expected desolation. Instead, she discovered billions of microorganisms actively at work - breaking down charred material, releasing nutrients, rebuilding soil functionality. This episode descends into the soil to reveal the true architects of rewilding. Sara Cazzaniga from ETH Zurich explains how bacteria and fungi form the hidden foundation of forest recovery. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria pull nutrients from the air. Mycorrhizal fungi extend tree roots far underground. Decomposers transform dead matter into living soil. These billions of organisms work invisible to the human eye, yet they determine whether ecosystems recover or remain broken after disaster. Whether following catastrophic fire or agricultural abandonment, the same microscopic processesare rebuilding Europe's ecosystems from below. Welcome to WILDCARD: The Forest Game, the scientific podcast that explores Europe's rewilding revolution through real ecological detective stories, uncovering how nature recovers when humans step back and observe. CREDITS «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD projectand Starter. Featuring: Speranza Panico, University of Udine and SaraCazzaniga ETH Zürich Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European ForestInstitute Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute Post-production: Sara Uzquiano, European Forest Institute Graphic design and visuals: Gabriela Rueda, European Forest Institute ⬇️Audio transcription available HERE [https://wildcard-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Episode7_Script_Cleaned.pdf⁠ ] Learn more about the WILDCARD project: ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu [⁠www.wildcard-project.eu] ⁠ European Forest Institute:⁠ www.efi.int [www.efi.int] ⁠ Follow us also on LinkedIn: ⁠WILDCARD project [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildcard-project]

Ep. 6: When nature surprises us: the steppe that refused to become forest

For fifty years, Karel Prach returned to the same abandoned field in the Bohemian Karst expecting trees to gradually reclaim the land. Instead, nature had a completely different plan. Competitive grasses held their ground, and steppe species - rare plants adapted to dry grasslands - established themselves where forest should have grown. This episode explores why secondary succession doesn't follow a single script. Climate, soil moisture, and surrounding ecosystems all shape the outcome. In this case, dry limestone hills transformed an abandoned field into something far more valuable for conservation: grassland habitat for endangeredspecies. Karel's fifty-year study reminds us that nature often surprises us - and that the best science means observing patiently, letting nature work, and being ready to revise our expectations. Welcome to WILDCARD: The Forest Game, the scientific podcast that explores Europe's rewilding revolution through real ecological detective stories, uncovering how nature recovers when humans step back and observe. CREDITS «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD project and Starter. Featuring: Karel Prach, University of South Bohemia inČeské Budějovice and Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine. Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European Forest Institute Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute Post-production: Sara Uzquiano, European Forest Institute Graphic design and visuals: Gabriela Rueda, European Forest Institute ⬇️Audiotranscription available HERE [https://wildcard-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Episode6_Script_Cleaned.pdf] Learn more about the WILDCARD project: ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu [www.wildcard-project.eu] ⁠ European Forest Institute:⁠ www.efi.int [www.efi.int] ⁠ Follow us also on LinkedIn: ⁠WILDCARD project [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildcard-project]

Ep. 5: Natural reforestation in Portugal

Across Europe's mountains, millions of hectares of farmland are transforming into forest, not through government programs, but because people are leaving. In Portugal's remote Trás-os-Montes region, Lien Imbrechts discovered that this natural reforestation is far more complex than satellite images suggest. Retired emigrants plant olives. City dwellers manage almond groves from a distance. And on abandoned hillsides, forests reclaim land they haven't heldfor centuries. This is Europe's largest reforestation process, yet almost nobody planned it. Professor Peter Verburg from Amsterdam's Vrije Universiteit predicts this pattern will continue beyond 2050 - driven by economics, demographics, and marginal soils that can no longer compete in modernagriculture. The new forests bring hope: carbon sequestration and returning wildlife. But they also bring challenges: wildfire risk and unclear land ownership. The question remains: what kind of forests will they become? Welcome to WILDCARD: The Forest Game, the scientific podcast that explores Europe's rewilding revolution through real ecological detective stories, uncovering how nature recovers when humans step back and observe. CREDITS «WILDCARD. The Forest Game» is a podcast production written by Silvia Giralucci for the WILDCARD project and Starter. Featuring: Lien Imbrechts and Peter Verburg, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Scientific Supervisor: Giorgio Alberti, University of Udine Editorial Supervisor: Gesche Schifferdecker, European Forest Institute Voice-over: Rahel Könen, European Forest Institute Post-production: Santiago Alarcón, European Forest Institute Graphic design and visuals: Gabriela Rueda, European Forest Institute ⬇️Audio transcription available HERE [https://wildcard-project.eu/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Episode5_Script_Cleaned.pdf] Learn more about the WILDCARD project: ⁠www.wildcard-project.eu [www.wildcard-project.eu] ⁠ European Forest Institute: www.efi.int [www.efi.int] ⁠ Follow us also on LinkedIn: ⁠WILDCARD project [https://www.linkedin.com/company/wildcard-project]

Primary or not? A forest mystery in Bulgaria (Trailer)

Welcome to European forests. A mysterious and immersive landscape where nothing is as it seems. As the forest reveals its secrets, every feature matters when it comes to rewilding. But first, we dive deep into the concept of primary forests and what are the criteria to identify them in Europe. Let's explore what Bulgaria's Balkan mountains have to tell you about their history. The full episode will be available soon. Stay tuned!