Climatic change, mainly those consequences derived from the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, constitutes one of the most challenging problems that the human race has to face today. The extensive impacts of climatic change, which we only recently have started to experience, are surely going to have undesirable side effects on the economy, health and social welfare thus leading to irreversible changes to the state, composition, dynamics, and productivity of ecosystems.
Although climatic change was recognized in 1979 during the «First World Conference on Climate», it wasn’t until 1992 that the first international agreement ‘The United Nations Convention on Climatic Change’ was signed and ratified by 154 countries. Three of the engagements included in that document are directly related the activities proposed in the SEMCLIMED Project:

- Education, public awareness, and training
- Research and observation (risk assessment)
- Assistance to under-developing countries (financial assistance, technology and experience transfer)

The efforts to provide the international community with legal instruments that oblige countries to follow the specific objective of decreasing the greenhouse gas emission have been brought to fruition in the «Kyoto Protocol» (1997). Climatic change has undoubtedly a deep impact on biodiversity. In fact, global warming have already caused a variation in the distribution of various species in different parts of the planet. However, it is not easy to know exactly the magnitude of this threat, since the precise scenarios about future are still uncertain, particularly on a regional and local level.

According to the more favourable predictions, 15-37% of existing plants will be endangered by 2050. Biodiversity loss would probably affect the most vulnerable regions: small islands, coasts, arid and semi-arid zones, etc. The aforesaid Convention specifically demands the protection and restoration of areas affected by drought and desertification, particularly in Africa.

Pancratium maritimum L.
Rocky coast.
Photo: Climent Picornell

Thermo-Mediterranean and pre-desertic scrubland.
Callosa del Segura, Alicante. Photo: Raquel Herreros

Global warming effects causing desertification in some zones: drought in Pianosa island.
Photo: Giordani.

The Mediterranean basin is one of the 25 ‘biodiversity hotspots’ of the planet and also one of the most interesting areas in Europe from a floristic point of view. However, the high sensitivity of high mountain flora regarding environmental change and the fragmentation of their habitat make the threat of extinction even more real. Moreover, islands make up another very sensitive ecosystem, due to the fact that if an increase in the average temperature forces the plants to settle in more favourable ecological niches (usually searching for cooler areas), then the chance of success for island species is very limited by the presence of the sea; the plants would be condemned to extinction.

The germplasm banks constitute the most important tool for ex situ conservation and, particularly in the case of vascular plants, represent the last defence against an expected massive extinction due to global warming. Unfortunately, the implementation of conservation activities in the countries of the Mediterranean basin not universally applied.. Although there is a wealth of diversity and flora, some countries have problems due to the lack of equipment, working experience or legal protection for sensitive areas.

Despite a considerable number of recent studies regarding the impact of climate change on biodiversity, there is a lack of information and specific predictions on Mediterranean flora. In addition, the existing studies are very general and consider a wide range of plant ecology and physiological processes, but without covering some particularly important processes, such as reproductive biology and/or reproductive ecology.

The SEMCLIMED project (acronym for the French words seed: SEMence; climate: CLImat; and Mediterranean: MEDitérannée) proposes different actions directed to the evaluation of climatic change effecting Mediterranean flora diversity, as well as to the implementation of measures for the active conservation of threatened species and habitat, and to increasing public awareness towards the social and ecological dimensions of the global warming. The need to endorse regional and transnational measures in order to minimize or delay this process became even more obvious after the results and work of a previously established network (the GENMEDOC network). The SEMCLIMED network stretches out over the same Mediterranean regions participating in GENMEDOC, but also over new and important zones, to cover a total of 12 regions from 5 EU members and 3 from countries outside the EU.

The proposed actions include:

1. The study and systematic examination of the seed germination of various species, in order to evaluate the effect of climate change. Climatic models will be simulated in laboratory conditions in order to better understand and predict the threat on the flora of the regions concerned.

Phoenix theophrasti seeds.
Photo: C.Fournaraki

Phoenix theophrasti Plantule. Photo : C.Fournaraki

Phoenix theophrasti.
Photo : C.Fournaraki

2. Intensive cooperation with participating countries from North Africa, one of the most vulnerable and less studied areas of the Mediterranean, in order to make ex situ collections of germplasm from threatened species, to conserve seed lots in seed banks and to establish living plant collections in Botanical Gardens. These actions are also important in other sensitive zones, such as islands or transitional mountainous regions between Mediterranean and Euro-Siberian habitat types.

Stocking seed chamber.
Institut des Régions Arides.
Laboratoire d’Ecologie Pastorale, Tunisia.

Coastal dunes (Crucianelion maritimae).
Tavernes de Valldigna, Valencia.
Photo: Raquel Herreros

3. A pilot project that includes various demonstrative actions, such as habitat restoration, reinforcement of plant populations threatened by extinction, or sustainable management of ecosystems that have been exploited by man. The aim is to establish a common working methodology that could be adopted by local Administrations and other research groups.

4. Popularization of the obvious effect of climate change on native Mediterranean systems and on the survival of several plant species, sensitive to the changes in environmental conditions. Popularization material will be addressed to society in general, under the supervision of botanical gardens, which are often visited by almost all different social groups.

5. Exchange and development of innovative techniques for the ex situ conservation of plant germplasm.

A first general meeting was held in Murcia, in order to establish the Steering Committee of the project and define exactly the methodology and the time schedule of the project. All partners have participated in this phase under the leadership of the coordinator of the whole project (CIEF).

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