Fourteen years of Alpine Forest Genomics Network (AForGeN): Advances in the research field and perspectives ahead

Mountainous forests are among the ecosystems most vulnerable to climate change. Over the past two decades, rapid advances in high-throughput sequencing have transformed research on mountainous tree species, enabling a transition from population genetics to genome-wide analyses of demography and adaptation. However, a quantitative survey of how the field of mountainous or alpine forest genomics has evolved, is lacking. Here, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of 662 research articles published between 2000–2024, focusing on seven of the most important high-elevation European conifer species. Topic modelling and co-occurrence network analyses were used to identify major research topics and their dynamics in time. Moreover, members of the Alpine Forest Genomics Network (AForGeN) were asked to indicate future priorities and challenges of the field. Our results show that publication activity has increased substantially after 2010 and that Picea abies (59%) was the most studied species. Topic modelling identified eight major research areas, and their temporal trends revealed a shift from genetic diversity and population structure studies towards environmental adaptation genomics. Co-occurrence analysis indicated two major clusters: population genetics and functional genomics research. Survey responses showed that there is an agreement that adaptation genomics will dominate the research of mountainous forests in the upcoming years, although the infrastructure, funding, and genomic resources remain the major constraints. Our work draws attention to specific advances and challenges of this research area and emphasises the importance of collective and interdisciplinary efforts, to be able to provide a scientific basis for a climate-resilient management of mountainous forests.