Climate adaptation of species and ecosystems
As climate change increasingly impacts regions worldwide, Flanders must adapt to address these challenges. Through climate adaptation efforts, we strive to bolster the resilience of both nature and society, reducing vulnerability to the effects of climate change. The central objective is to make nature and society climate resilient.
INBO aims to support this by:
1) examining the impact of climate change on biodiversity in Flanders
We focus on the impact of climate change and its interactions with other pressures on ecosystems, species populations and different species survival strategies.
For this, we carry out tests in our greenhouse and use our monitoring networks in Flanders such as the terrestrial long-term ecosystem research sites (LTER) in forest and open habitats, the forest vitality monitoring network and the unmanaged forest monitoring network. We assemble knowledge from publications and project experiences in a climate report.
2) considering how to make nature sufficiently climate-robust
We explore how we can adapt our nature and forest management to make ecosystems more resilient to climate change. We examine which tree species are suitable and which provenances we can recommend to achieve the objectives around forest expansion and climate-robust forests. We map the climate resilience of Flemish nature reserves for Flemish and European priority species. We examine how green-blue networks outside nature reserves make nature more resilient.
3) exploring the contribution of Flemish ecosystems in mitigating the impact of climate change on society
Through additional project development, we are exploring how to adapt nature management and landscapes in a climate-smart way to ensure ecosystem services in the future.
We want to support the Flemish and National Climate Adaptation Plan with scientific insights and formulate policy recommendations. We are committed to structural cooperation with other policy and research partners, in Flanders and internationally.