DarCo (2022-2026)

„The vertical dimension of conservation: A cost-effective plan to incorporate subterranean ecosystems in post-2020 biodiversity and climate change agendas“

https://www.biodiversa.eu/2023/04/19/darco/

http://www.meg.irsa.cnr.it/index.php/component/content/article?id=105

Subterranean ecosystems (such as caves, groundwaters, and fractured rocks) host a broad diversity of specialized and endemic organisms that account for a unique fraction of the global taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. They deliver crucial ecosystem services, especially the provisioning of potable water to more than half of the world’s population. Yet, these out-of-sight ecosystems are systematically overlooked in post-2020 biodiversity and climate change targets. Only 6.9% of known subterranean ecosystems overlap with the global network of protected areas, with just a few of these areas designed to account for their vertical dimension.

DarCo, funded by EU biodiversa+, aims to advance knowledge about subterranean biodiversity in Europe and inform its management. The overarching goal is to develop a concrete plan to incorporate subterranean ecosystems in the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.

DarCo unifies a multidisciplinary team of leading scientists from a broad range of European countries to advance our understanding of subterranean ecosystems and their conservation. First, we will compile existing databases and leveraging a capillary network of international collaborators to gather distribution data, traits, and phylogenies for all major subterranean animal groups, including crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and vertebrates. These data will serve to predict species responses to human threats using different modelling techniques. Models’ predictions of biodiversity change will provide the basis for a first mapping of subterranean life in Europe. By intersecting maps of diversity patterns, human threats, and protected areas, we will design a plan to protect subterranean biodiversity complementing the current European Union’s network of protected areas. Finally, through target dissemination and engagement activities (including seminars, open days, living labs, and publications intended for a general public), we seek to raise societal awareness about subterranean ecosystems and invite stakeholders to incorporate subterranean biodiversity in multilateral agreements. We will make all data originating from DarCo open and re-usable by the development of a centralized and open database on subterranean life — the Subterranean Biodiversity Platform. Making all data available will ensure that future generations will be able to build upon knowledge accumulated on subterranean biodiversity and monitor the effectiveness of today’s protection measures in the years ahead.

Lead partner (Partner 01): National ResearchCouncil, Water Research Institute (IRSA-CNR) Project  Coordinator: Stefano Mammola

Partner 02: University of Murcia, Department of Ecology and Hydrology (UMU) Principal investigator: David Sánchez-Fernández

Partner 03: Universidade dos Açores, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e do Ambiente (UAC) Principal investigator: Paulo P.A.V. Borges

Partner 04: University of Helsinki, Finnish Museum of Natural History (LUOMUS) Principal investigator: Thomas Lilley

Partner 05: Université Libre de Bruxelles, Departement de Biologie des Organismes (ULB) Principal investigator: Jean-Francois Flot

Partner 06: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (CNRS) Principal investigator: Florian Malard

Partner 07: Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History (SMNS) Principal investigator: Arnaud Faille

Partner 08: University of Zurich, Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies (UZH) Principal investigator: Florian Altermatt

Partner 09: University of Vienna, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology (UNIVIE) Principal investigator: Christian Griebler

Partner 10: University of L'Aquila, Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences (UnivAQ) Principal investigator: Diana M.P. Galassi

Partner 11: University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology (UL) Principal investigator: Maja Zagmajster

Partner 12: National Institute of Biology, Department of Organisms and Ecosystem Research (NIB) Principal investigator: Nataša Mori

Partner 13: Romanian Academy / Emil Racovita Institute of Speleology (ISER) Principal investigator: Traian Brad