Different Paleoecological disciplines have compiled relevant and specific data of each ecosystem during the last decades. Many of the paleoecological data are currently dispersed in different repositories and databases and, to a large extent, are not publicly available.
He European Paleopen project aims to face the challenge to put much of these data in the public domain, make them relevant to the conservation of nature and harmonize their taxonomy and their metadata.
Ecosystems: European Paleopen Project
A European Network of Scientific Personnel, called Paleopenwill collect data generated by researchers from all over the world to contribute to the conservation of the planet’s biodiversity. The objective of this recent initiative, in which the Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (IPE) participates- belonging to the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC)- is to make information about the response of ecosystems to the use of land in recent decades and centuries, as well as to the climate change of the last millennia.
The actions To conserve biodiversity currently require understanding How ecosystems have responded to climate change and land use in the past, although the necessary data is not easily accessible. This analysis, which is part of the ‘paleoecology’ field, comes to contribute to this mission, since it allows identifying long -term trends that help plan conservation and adaptation strategies to climate change.
“Many paleoecological data are scattered in repositories and databases, and are not mostly public. We want to make them available to all people, harmonize their taxonomy and format with community practices and make them relevant to the conservation of nature”, Explains Thomas Giesecke, paleoecologist at the University of Utrecht, which leads the project with Sandra Nogué Bosch, biogeographer of the Center for Ecological Research and Forest Applications (CREAF).
Paleopen also seeks to benefit society in general. Thus, Graciela Gil-Romera, CSIC researcher at the IPE, leads activities educational and dissemination to promote ecological heritage. “We want to convey scientific knowledge in an attractive and accessible way for all people. For example, we are creating Wikipedia articles for as many places in Europe as possible, linking them to the OpenSTRETMAP application. The idea is that, while we are looking for addresses to reach a site, let’s learn about its ecological value ”,
The project will bring together more than 200 people from the academic field and interested agents in Europe to identify data gaps in the conservation of the continent. “We will develop this action to guarantee access, property and transparent conditions to share Historical ecological data that guide future policies on biodiversity and conservation”, Says Xavier Benito Granell, researcher at the Institute for Agrifood Research and Technology (IRTA). “Working in a fair and open data exchange is especially important for fresh water ecosystems, which have suffered one of the greatest losses of all habitats, with 85% decline since 1970,” adds Stefan Engels, by Birkbeck University (United Kingdom), leader of a working group.
Paleoecology includes multiple subdisciplines and data management is in itself a scientific branch. People participating in Paleopen contribute to different working groups: From terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to data storage and management, each with their own challenges. “When we talk about terrestrial ecosystems, we refer to remains of plants and pollen, vertebrate bones, charcoal and insects, but also to abiotic data that characterize soil erosion.
Inclusion and participation network
In certain data communities, such as pollenonly a small part is not accessible to the public, but in the case of vertebrates and macrophysile Another working group.
Paleopen has financing of European cooperation in Science and Technology (Cost) and includes 27 European countries. The Red promotes inclusion and values the diversity of knowledgefrom scientific experts to local practitioners and policy, to achieve real change in the culture of research.