Climate Change & Biodiversity in mountains areas

Dal 26 al 28 Ottobre, il Polo UNIMONT – Università degli Studi di Milano ospita Bernat Claramunt, Professore Associato – Università autonoma di Barcellona, Ricercatore al CREAF – Center for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications e Coordinatore di NEMOR – Network for European Mountain Research, di cui il polo UNIMONT-Università degli Studi di Milano è membro fondatore, per tenere un ciclo di seminari sul cambiamento climatico e la biodiversità nelle aree montane. Gli incontri saranno in lingua inglese. 

26 Ottobre, ore 16.00 – The effects of climate change on mountain ecosystems

Mountain systems are among the most affected by global change in the world. Climate and land use change are affecting all components of the natural and human environments. During the presentation we will visit all these components, describe their current status and future threats. Finally, using recent works, we will discover how the different components of mountain social-ecological systems can be pooled in a unique working framework for decision making under different scenarios.

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27 Ottobre, ore 8.30-17.00 – Participation in the field trip focusing on the effects of climate change on plant and animal biodiversity in the Alpine environment.

During our visit in neighbouring areas representative of some important mountain ecosystems (forests and mountain grasslands), we will dicuss the different field methodologies that are used in ecological studies to study the natural communities. We will discover which methods answer which questions, which experimental designs are needed, and the pros and cons of each method.

The field trip will take place in Val Grande (Vezza d’Oglio) in Stelvio park (www.vezzadoglioturismo.it/val-grande/?lang=en)

• The departure will be at 8.30 a.m. in the UNIMONT car park (Via Morino n8, Edolo – BS)
• 8.45: travel by car to Vezza d’Oglio
• 9.00: start of the field trip
• 12.30: take away lunch during the walk
• Travel back to Edolo, expected arrival before 17.00

We recommend clothing appropriate to the season and the altitude (1.300-2000 m). The car in necessaryto move from Edolo to Vezza d’Oglio. Hiking itinerary from Vezza D’Oglio.

28 Ottobre, ore 16.00 – Ecological networks for the management of biodiversity in mountain areas

Plants and animals live in an extremely interconnected network, and their interactions are extremely important for their stability, specially important in fragile enviroments such as mountains. During the seminar, we will learn the basics of ecological networks, how their complexity is measured, and which of their emrging properties need to be preserved to ensure their stability.

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