Project goals:
The project is focused on the elaboration of sound information basis for protection and sustainable management of mountain glacial relict plants. This will facilitate the implementation of the National Strategic Reference Framework (2007-2013) as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) to achieve by 2010 reduction of biodiversity loss. A special attention is paid to the National Biodiversity Monitoring System through setting up the plots for long term monitoring in the selected regions as a pilot initiative on a national scale.
Major problems related to biodiversity, and particularly to glacial relicts, in the high-mountainous areas of Bulgaria are the following:
- Rapid environmental change, mainly caused by tourism development and global climatic change, which threatens many species and habitats with deterioration and extinction.
- Lack of an early-warning system to detect impact of threats on biodiversity and to implement appropriate response measures.
- Unsustainable use of biological diversity.
The goal of the Project is to address the above mentioned issues and provide a scientific and an information basis for the protection and long-term monitoring of the glacial relict plants and fungi in Bulgaria.
The following main questions will be answered:
- (1) what is the impact of the different threats on glacial relict plants in Bulgaria and
- (2) how geographical isolation and fragmentation influences the plant survival potential and habitats stability.
Project activities :
The approach is based on representative sites and indicator species. The main activities are related to the historical dynamics of vegetation in relation to climate change, evaluation of the present state of populations and habitats of glacial relict plants under the influence of current climatic changes and other threat factors, comparative analysis of genetic variation, population structure and reproductive systems of model glacial relict plants, impact of parasitic fungi on the development of populations of glacial relict plants, in vitro cultivation of model plant species and dissemination of the results to the target groups.
Collaboration with leading experts form the Ecological and Environmental Change Research Group at the Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Norway will provide opportunity for exchange of knowledge and further cooperation. Young Bulgarian researchers will gain experience useful for their further carrier.
Conservation of biodiversity in hot-spots of glacial relict plants
in Bulgaria - BG0034 EEA Grants/Norway Grants
Project duration: 23 months (2009 - 2011)
