Some places can serve as a refuge from the climate crisis for species and become refugia for biodiversity. They give the wild species that llive there a little more time to adapt to the effects of the climate crisis. These habitats are the subject of research carried out all over the world. Its aim is to identify future refuges and learn about the mechanisms buffering the effects of the climate crisis and to study adaptations conducive to the survival of organisms.
Research of scientists from the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection of the University of Lodz conducted under the direction of dr. hab. Marcin Kiedrzyński and dr hab. Katarzyna M. Zielińska (Department of Biogeography, Paleoecology and Nature Conservation).
Migrations of species due to climate change occurred in the past over very long periods of several or several thousand years. The most recent greatest migrations have been related to recurring ice ages. At that time thermophilic species moved to the south of Europe to the so-called refugia, and when conditions improved, they returned to their earlier territories. Refugia is a term that for a very long time was used mainly by paleoecologists and paleobiologists, but today it is gaining a new meaning.
– says dr hab. Marcin Kiedrzyński from the Department of Biogeography, Paleoecology and Nature Conservation at the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz.
Currently, climate change is proceeding much faster than the climate change we know from history, which is why the idea to adapt the concept of refugia to identify future biodiversity refuges in connection with the new, anthropogenic climate change came up.
It is very important to predict how the future refuges will be arranged, although it is not easy. The research requires the use of complex mathematical algorithms that help us pinpoint such places.
– admits dr Kiedrzyński.
The key attribute of refugia is their relative durability, despite climate change in the surrounding landscape. The conducted research has a significant practical aspect, as it indicates new priorities in nature conservation, taking into account the perspective of future changes.
It is important to check whether the indicated spatial areas coincide with existing landscape parks, nature reserves and national parks. If it turns out that they do not, efforts will have to be made to protect these areas at all costs. It is important not only to indicate these places, but also to create ecological corridors between them.
– adds dr Kiedrzyński.
Team from the University of Lodz identifies future refugia, among others, on the example of lowland forests in Central Europe. Analysis of future refuges for biodiversity is particularly difficult in the areas with poorly defined topography, where the effects of climate change are more evenly distributed. The structure of vegetation may be of considerable importance, e.g. the occurrence of natural forests with a specific microclimate, buffering the effects of prolonged drought. The researchers from the University of Lodz are looking for such places.
The occurrence of species that are already remnants of past climatic periods, e.g. species that are relics of the ice age, which have survived to this day despite climate warming, may be an indication. Mountain plants occurring in low-pressure conditions constitute the model object of the research of the team from the University of Lodz. The research covers the characteristics of habitats conducive to the survival of such populations in the lowlands, but also their typical habitats in the mountains. It is important to study the specific adaptations of individuals so as to indicate which of them may be beneficial for survival in the future.
The research conducted by the team from the University of Lodz makes use of biology tools and achievements of geographical sciences, range modelling, garden experiments and molecular research – all in order to best predict the possible effects of the climate crisis and indicate places that will serve as future paradises for biodiversity.
Students and doctoral students of Biology, Environmental Protection as well as Biomonitoring and Ecological Biotechnologies study programmes take part in the research. The students join the activities both as part of their master's theses and student science clubs, including the Botanical Section of the Science Club of Biology Students and the Student Science Club for Nature Preservation.
As part of the research, expeditions to the Carpathians or the Alps are organised, but for the students the practical effect of research and translating the results into nature conservation are also important. We have excellent cooperation with the Botanical Garden in Lodz, where experimental plots have been created to multiply plant species that can no longer reproduce under natural conditions. We also cooperate with the State Forests in Lodz and Lodz Voivodeship Complex of Landscape Parks.
– emphasizes dr Kiedrzyński.
Source: Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz