Managing Protected Areas in Central and Eastern Europe Under Climate Change

Beginning with an overview of data and concepts developed in the EU-project HABIT-CHANGE, this book addresses the need for sharing knowledge and experience in the field of biodiversity conservation and climate change. There is an urgent need to build capacity in protected areas to monitor, assess, manage and report the effects of climate change and their interaction with other pressures. The contributors identify barriers to the adaptation of conservation management, such as the mismatch between planning reality and the decision context at site level. Short and vivid descriptions of case studies, drawn from investigation areas all over Central and Eastern Europe, illustrate both the local impacts of climate change and their consequences for future management. These focus on ecosystems most vulnerable to changes in climatic conditions, including alpine areas, wetlands, forests, lowland grasslands and coastal areas. The case studies demonstrate the application of adaptation strategies in protected areas like National Parks, Biosphere Reserves and Natural Parks, and reflect the potential benefits as well as existing obstacles. A general section provides the necessary background information on climate trends and their effects on abiotic and biotic components. Often, the parties to policy change and conservation management, including managers, land users and stakeholders, lack both expertise and incentives to undertake adaptation activities. The authors recognise that achieving the needed changes in behavior – habit – is as much a social learning process as a matter of science-based procedure. They describe the implementation of modeling, impact assessment and monitoring of climate conditions, and show how the results can support efforts to increase stakeholder involvement in local adaptation strategies. The book concludes by pointing out the need for more work to communicate the cross-sectoral nature of biodiversity protection, the value of well-informed planning in the long-term process of adaptation, the definition of acceptable change, and the motivational value of exchanging experience and examples of good practice.

Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Chapter 1 – Natural Heritage at Risk by Climate Change -- Chapter 2 – Climate Change in Central and Eastern Europe -- Chapter 3 – Effects of Climate Change on the Hydrological Cycle in Central and Eastern Europe -- Chapter 4 – Potential impacts of climate change on protected habitats -- Chapter 5 – Climate Change impact modelling cascade - Benefits and limitations for -- Chapter 6 – Indicators for Monitoring Climate Change-Induced Effects on Habitats – a -- Chapter 7 – Remote Sensing-based Monitoring of Potential Climate-induced Impacts on Habitats -- Chapter 8 – Assessment of Climate-induced Impacts on Habitats -- Chapter 9 – Legal Aspects of Climate Change Adaptation -- Chapter 10 – A Methodical Framework for Climate Change-Adapted Management in Protected Areas -- Chapter 11 – Monitoring concept of climate-induced impacts on peat bog vegetation in Pokljuka plateau in Triglav National Park, Slovenia -- Chapter 12 – Concept for the monitoring of climate induced impacts on rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) in Triglav National Park, Slovenia -- Chapter 13 – Suggested management measures for Natura 2000 Habitats in Körös-Maros National Park, Hungary -- Chapter 14 – Climate-induced challenges for wetlands: revealing the background for the adaptive ecosystem management in the Biebrza Valley, Poland -- Chapter 15 – Habitat changes caused by sea level rise, driven by climate change in the Northern Adriatic coastal wetlands, Slovenia -- Chapter 16 – Potential impacts of climate change on forest habitats in the Biosphere Reserve Vessertal-Thuringian Forest in Germany -- Chapter 17 – Potential Impact of Climate Change on Alpine Habitats from Bucegi Natural Park, Romania -- Chapter 18 – Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Habitats and their Effects on Invasive Plant Species in Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, Romania -- Chapter 19 - Reproduction biology of an alien invasive plant: a case of drought-tolerant Aster squamatus on the Northern Adriatic seacoast, Slovenia -- Chapter 20 – Conclusions and Recommendations for Adapting Conservation Management in the Face of Climate Change -- Index.