Description
The goal of the project is to identify the impact of climate change on plant diversity in forests, wetlands, grasslands, inland bodies of water and heath ecosystems in the region of Southwest Lithuania. The project is implemented on the basis of systematized and verified data, and will implement theoretical and practical measures for improvement of methodological and organizational conditions for protection of flora diversity in the region of Southwest Lithuania and in Lithuania. The project is implemented by the Vyautas Magnus University, in partnership with the Forestry Enterprise of Marijampolė, the Regional Park of Vištytis and the Lithuanian Plant Gene Bank.
Summary of project results
Lithuania is lagging behind in the implementation of target 8 of the Global Strategy of Plant Conservation significantly: in total, there were only 36% Lithuanian Red Book plant species in the collections of botanical gardens in Lithuania by 2013, and the Plant gene bank had seeds of only 5 wild plant species. The project Botanica Sudavica was focused on the estimation of the impact of climate change on plant biodiversity in south-western Lithuanian forests, wetlands, meadows, inland bodies of water, and heath ecosystems. Some of the most important project achievements were preparation of the imminent risk forecast and proposition of the adjustment measures. The territory of the project was in the south-west region of Lithuania. After project implementation the results of the performed investigations, including the imminent risk forecast for the south-western Lithuania plant diversity caused by climate change and the proposals for adjustment measures, were presented to the target group in training and in written material. This information is also relevant for the other regions of Lithuania and neighboring countries as an example of risk assessment and practical application of adaptation measures. While implementing the project the participants of the training improved their professional qualifications so they could practically contribute to the improvement of plant diversity in their region and in the entire country, applying the knowledge gained during training activities. The project contributed to the development of endangered local plant collections and their seed collections ex-situ, thus supporting the 8th target of the Global Plant Conservation Strategy. It was the first project on plant conservation ex-situ in south-western Lithuania. The research performed, the information collected and summarized about the plant species of the project and the trends in their population dynamics, and the assessed causes of the most recent changes provided the background for specific recommendations on plant conservation. This information is conveyed to professionals capable to directly implement these recommendations in their work.
Summary of bilateral results