20.6.4 Further Need for (Transdisciplinary) Research
Climate change issues have become a high priority for research activities over the
years. Nonetheless, many knowledge gaps still exist. Future research on the impacts
of climate change on biodiversity should focus more on cooperation between science
and practice. Our experience is that transdisciplinary projects provide a suitable
setting for the identification of knowledge and data gaps, the formulation of relevant
research questions, the understanding of climate-related problems, and the transfer of
results into adaptation action. Many research activities are primarily focused on the
production of information (e.g. about impacts and vulnerabilities) without much
guidance on how this data should be used within the decision-making process.
Consequently, there has not been a great deal of uptake into management and actions.
Transdisciplinary research can help a shift towards a more action-oriented production
of knowledge. In addition, the exchange of experience and good practice examples
can be a strong motivation for action, whilst sharing unsuccessful experiences is
important for understanding problems and identifying barriers to adaptation.
Scientific support can strengthen conservation, but more research into assessment
tools and methods is necessary. It should be focused on:
• The potential climate-induced reactions of specific habitats and species. Individual
species will respond differently according to their tolerances to climatic changes,
their ability to migrate to new locations, their potential to alter phenology
(e.g. breeding date) or their dependence on shifting food sources.
• A framework for the identification of adequate responses to climate-induced
changes and succession of habitats. It should include evaluation criteria and
thresholds for adequate reactions by conservation management.
• Methods to handle results from multiple scenarios for future development and to
harmonise climate projections for adaptation on the local level without
prescribing data.
• Useful and applicable indicators for evaluating possible local impacts of climate
change on biodiversity at site level.
• The potential effects of climate change on the competitiveness of alien invasive
species.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Auer, I., Bo ¨hm, R., Jurkovic, A., Lipa, W., Orlik, A., Potzmann, R., Scho ¨ner, W., Ungersbo ¨ck, M.,
Matulla, C., Briffa, K., Jones, P., Efthymiadis, D., Brunetti, M., Nanni, T., Maugeri, M., Mercalli,
L., Mestre, O., Moisseline, J. M., Begert, M., Mu ¨ller-Westermeier, G., Kveton, V., Bochnicek,
O., Stastny, P., Lapin, M., Szalai, S., Szentimrey, T., Cegnar, T., Dolinar, M., Gajic-Capka, M.,
Zaninovic, K., Majstorovic, Z., & Nieplova, E. (2007). HISTALP – Historical instrumental
20 Conclusions and Recommendations for Adapting Conservation Management. . .
301
Climate change issues have become a high priority for research activities over the
years. Nonetheless, many knowledge gaps still exist. Future research on the impacts
of climate change on biodiversity should focus more on cooperation between science
and practice. Our experience is that transdisciplinary projects provide a suitable
setting for the identification of knowledge and data gaps, the formulation of relevant
research questions, the understanding of climate-related problems, and the transfer of
results into adaptation action. Many research activities are primarily focused on the
production of information (e.g. about impacts and vulnerabilities) without much
guidance on how this data should be used within the decision-making process.
Consequently, there has not been a great deal of uptake into management and actions.
Transdisciplinary research can help a shift towards a more action-oriented production
of knowledge. In addition, the exchange of experience and good practice examples
can be a strong motivation for action, whilst sharing unsuccessful experiences is
important for understanding problems and identifying barriers to adaptation.
Scientific support can strengthen conservation, but more research into assessment
tools and methods is necessary. It should be focused on:
• The potential climate-induced reactions of specific habitats and species. Individual
species will respond differently according to their tolerances to climatic changes,
their ability to migrate to new locations, their potential to alter phenology
(e.g. breeding date) or their dependence on shifting food sources.
• A framework for the identification of adequate responses to climate-induced
changes and succession of habitats. It should include evaluation criteria and
thresholds for adequate reactions by conservation management.
• Methods to handle results from multiple scenarios for future development and to
harmonise climate projections for adaptation on the local level without
prescribing data.
• Useful and applicable indicators for evaluating possible local impacts of climate
change on biodiversity at site level.
• The potential effects of climate change on the competitiveness of alien invasive
species.
Open Access This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
Noncommercial License, which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in
any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
References
Auer, I., Bo ¨hm, R., Jurkovic, A., Lipa, W., Orlik, A., Potzmann, R., Scho ¨ner, W., Ungersbo ¨ck, M.,
Matulla, C., Briffa, K., Jones, P., Efthymiadis, D., Brunetti, M., Nanni, T., Maugeri, M., Mercalli,
L., Mestre, O., Moisseline, J. M., Begert, M., Mu ¨ller-Westermeier, G., Kveton, V., Bochnicek,
O., Stastny, P., Lapin, M., Szalai, S., Szentimrey, T., Cegnar, T., Dolinar, M., Gajic-Capka, M.,
Zaninovic, K., Majstorovic, Z., & Nieplova, E. (2007). HISTALP – Historical instrumental
20 Conclusions and Recommendations for Adapting Conservation Management. . .
301