Mediterranean Biodiversity

Dear Colleagues,

This Topic is related to the organization of the Italian 14th National Conference on Biodiversity—1st International Conference of Mediterranean Biodiversity, Lecce, Italy, 13‒15 September 2023. The aim is to promote the advancement of knowledge based on the research activity founded on the rigor of the scientific method. In particular, the Conference will be a showcase for studies and research focusing on “Biodiversity, Resilience and Climate Change”. Since the birth of agriculture more than 12,000 years ago, we have witnessed a continuous erosion of biodiversity as natural ecosystems have shrunk in favor of cultivated areas. Agriculture has led to the emergence of the concept of agrobiodiversity and the proliferation of many typical local varieties (sometimes of species imported from other continents). Today, safeguarding the productivity, sustainability, and biodiversity of the agroecosystem is helpful in preventing new natural areas from being sacrificed for crop fields. However, in recent years, increasing greenhouse gases and average temperatures have introduced additional variables into this challenge. The effects of climate change on biodiversity are already visible: species distribution, flowering periods, and bird migrations are changing. It is, therefore, necessary for humans to be able to help ensure the proper health of ecosystems because our prosperity and well-being depend on the ecosystem services that nature provides. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem degradation are interconnected and have devastating consequences for our economic and social stability, health, and well-being. The EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030, a key pillar of the European Green Deal, includes a nature restoration plan that can promote the proliferation of so-called “nature-based solutions” that are viable socioeconomic options regarding agroforestry, water resources, and the urban environment. Biodiversity, resilience, and climate change are, thus, closely interrelated issues that constitute the future strategic challenge of sustainable development. An innovative biodiversity preservation strategy covering not only the primary terrestrial and aquatic environments formed through millions of years is needed, but also the secondary natural environments determined by human action over the centuries (particularly in recent decades) that have led from “cultivated fields” to today's rural areas. The topic is intended to include articles related to Biodiversity in the broadest sense, such as the following non-exhaustive list:

• Biodiversity of agro-systems;
• Terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems including plants, animals, and microorganisms, and their physiology and interaction;
• Biodiversity, land, and landscape including urban/peri-urban, coastal, and marine systems;
• Climate change and alien species;
• Biodiversity and culture;
• Biodiversity and human well-being and health including gastronomy;
• Ecosystem services and economic-social impact of Biodiversity;
• European, national, and regional policies.

Prof. Dr. Luigi De Bellis
Prof. Dr. Genuario Belmonte
Dr. Massimiliano Renna
Dr. Elena Ciani
Dr. Monica Marilena Miazzi
Prof. Dr. Andrea Pieroni
Topic Editors