1. A methodological proposal for the climate change risk assessment of coastal habitats based on the evaluation of ecosystem services : lessons learnt from the INTERREG project ECO-SMARTAlberto Barausse, Cécil J. W. Meulenberg, Irene Occhipinti, Marco Abordi, Lara Endrizzi, Giovanna Guadagnin, Mirco Piron, Francesca Visintin, Liliana Vižintin, Alessandro Manzardo, 2022, original scientific article Abstract: Climate change is seriously impacting coastal biodiversity and the benefits it provides to humans. This issue is particularly relevant in the case of the European Union’s Natura 2000 network of areas for nature protection, where the sensitivity of local ecosystems calls for intervention to increase resistance and resilience to climate-related risks. Given the complex ways in which climate can influence conservation hotspot areas, there is a need to develop effective strategic approaches and general operational models to identify priorities for management and inform adaptation and mitigation measures. Here, a novel methodological proposal to perform climate risk assessment in Natura 2000 sites is presented that implements the systematic approach of ISO 14090 in combination with the theoretical framework of ecosystem services assessment and local stakeholder participation to identify climate-related issues for local protected habitats and improve the knowledge base needed to plan sustainable conservation and restoration measures. The methodology was applied to five Natura 2000 sites located along the Adriatic coast of Italy and Slovenia. Results show that each of the assessed sites, despite being along the coast of the same sea, is affected by different climate-related issues, impacting different habitats and corresponding ecosystem services. This novel methodology enables a simple and rapid screening for the prioritization of conservation actions and of the possible further investigations needed to support decision making, and was found to be robust and of general applicability. These findings highlight the importance of designing site-specific adaptation measures, tailored to address the peculiar response to climate change of each site in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Keywords: ecosystem, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, nature conservation, sustainability, coastal management Published in DiRROS: 01.07.2022; Views: 843; Downloads: 542
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2. Using genomic information for management planning of an endangered perennial, Viola uliginosaKyung Min Lee, Pertti Ranta, Jarmo Saarikivi, Lado Kutnar, Branko Vreš, Maxim Dzhus, Marko Mutanen, Laura Kvist, 2020, original scientific article Abstract: Species occupying habitats subjected to frequent natural and/or anthropogenic changes are a challenge for conservation management. We studied one such species, Viola uliginosa, an endangered perennial wetland species typically inhabiting sporadi-cally flooded meadows alongside rivers/lakes. In order to estimate genomic diversity, population structure, and history, we sampled five sites in Finland, three in Estonia, and one each in Slovenia, Belarus, and Poland using genomic SNP data with double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq). We found mono-phyletic populations, high levels of inbreeding (mean population FSNP = 0.407-0.945), low effective population sizes (Ne = 0.8-50.9), indications of past demographic ex-pansion, and rare long-distance dispersal. Our results are important in implementing conservation strategies for V. uliginosa, which should include founding of seed banks, ex situ cultivations, and reintroductions with individuals of proper origin, combined with continuous population monitoring and habitat management. Keywords: nature conservation, demography, genomic diversity, population genomics, RAD sequencing, Viola Published in DiRROS: 20.01.2022; Views: 1045; Downloads: 822
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