DEEP CHANGE

Biodiversity conservation goes DEEP: integrating subterranean ecosystems into climate CHANGE agendas and biodiversity targets

 

                          

 

Funding Source: European Union - Next Generation EU. Bandi PRIN 2022 MUR

Duration: 2 Years (2023-2025)

Summary: Biodiversity conservation is central to the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations and the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. Along the same line, Italy has established a post-covid recovery plan listing the protection of biodiversity in all its forms and functions among its cardinal goals. Recent changes to the Italian Constitution (articles 9 and 41) echo these trends, aiming to preserve the integrity of ecosystems across the country. Amidst a climatic crisis and sixth mass extinction, all these propositions are both laudable and necessary. Yet, the EU biodiversity target of creating Protected Areas for 30% of its territories by 2030 risks being missed unless conservation programs are designed to maximize the coverage of species, habitats and ecosystem services. In Italy and elsewhere, a key gap in conservation programs is the omission of unpopular or poorly studied systems. Cave ecosystems well exemplify this problem, being systematically overlooked in climate change and conservation agendas. For example, we recently showed that only 6.9% of subterranean ecosystems overlap with protected areas globally (Nature Climate Change 2021: 11, 458–459). This lack of protection is concerning insofar as subterranean species account for a substantial fraction of global biodiversity and deliver critical nature’s contribution to people. Using Alpine caves as a test case, and building on the experience gained in past multidisciplinary cave-based projects, we will tackle the pressing question of how to realistically predict global change consequences on subterranean biomes and develop a concrete plan for their protection. DEEP CHANGE is articulated in three intertwined research work packages, with a modular structure based on three key points: collecting data, understanding mechanisms, and developing a protection plan. In WP1, we will study global change dynamics underground using land-use variables and long-time series of climatological data. In parallel, we will collate distribution data and traits for alpine subterranean species. These diverse data will serve to model community responses to human threats with Hierarchical Modeling of Species Communities (WP2), a novel approach to obtain mechanistic insights into community assembly processes. Having consolidated a mechanistic understanding of human impacts underground, we will use prioritization algorithms to optimize a spatial-explicit strategy to protect subterranean biodiversity while accounting for climate-driven shifts in subterranean ecoregions (WP3). A final work package will be entirely dedicated to outreach and stakeholders engagement (WP4). Our approach will be an important step towards a sustainable plan for protecting subterranean biomes, fully transferable to other systems. In compliance with the EU Plan S, we will make all data open, ensuring that future generations will be able to build upon today’s knowledge and monitor the efficacy of protecti

Participants

CNR: Stefano Mammola (Project Coordinator), Ilaria Vaccarelli (PhD student)

UNMI: Antonella Senese (PI), Lorenzo Cresi (Assegnista)

UNITO: Marco Isaia (PI), Elena Piano (co-PI), Fiorella Acquaotta (PI), Olga Pisani (Master Student), Giuseppe Nicolosi (Assegnista), Alice Cimenti (Assegnista)