• Diego Fontaneto (CNR – IRSA) – coordinatore
• Emiliano Mori (CNR – IRET) – vice-coordinator
• Annalisa Iadanza (CNR – DSSTTA) – scientific secretariat
• Ernesto Azzurro (CNR – IRBIM)
• Girolama Biondo (CNR – IAS)
• Lucia Bongiorni (CNR – ISMAR)
• Fabio Cianferoni (CNR – IRET)
• Paolo Colangelo (CNR – IRET)
• Paolo Domenici (CNR – IAS)
• Carmelo Fruciano (CNR – IRBIM)
• Angelina Lo Giudice (CNR – ISP)
• Stefano Mammola (CNR – IRSA)
• Michelangelo Morganti (CNR – IRSA)
• Paola Pollegioni (CNR – IRET)
• Ilaria Rosati (CNR – IRET)

Collaborators:

• Claudia Allegrini (CNR-ISMAR), Biodiversity Gateway (National Biodiversity Future Center)
• Francesco Falcieri (CNR-ISMAR)

Research Infrastructures

ESFRI Landmark/Environment a coordinamento CNR

ICOS – Integrated Carbon Observation System

ICOS is a European research infrastructure dedicated to monitoring and studying the carbon cycle and other greenhouse gases through a network of measurement stations that provide continuous and high-quality data. This information is used by scientists and policy makers to predict and mitigate climate change.

The infrastructure consists of:

• A network of stations spread across 13 countries, for a total of over 150 stations;

• Three Thematic Centers on terrestrial ecosystems (Ecosystem Thematic Centre), oceans and sea (Ocean Thematic Centre) and atmosphere (Atmosphere Thematic Centre) and an analysis laboratory (Central Analytical Laboratory);

• A coordination office(Head Office) which includes tools for the dissemination and diffusion of results and the supply of products (Carbon Portal).

The Italian participation in ICOS is supported and promoted by a Joint Research Unit (JRU) composed of 15 institutions including research centers and universities, coordinated by the National Research Council. In particular, ICOS Italia participates with 17 observation and data collection stations, of which 3 for the atmosphere, 10 for ecosystems and 4 for the oceans. This is a leading participation in the European network, which is also highlighted by the Italian leadership of the Ecosystem Thematic Centre (coordinated by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change and the University of Tuscia), the center to which all the data from the ecosystem sites of the European ICOS network converge and which is responsible for the processing and quality control of the data, methodological developments, training and coordination of the network.

Carlo Calfapietra – IRET, Coordinatore JRU e Focal Point per l’Italia, carlo.calfapietra@cnr.it

LifeWatch ERIC – e-Science Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Ecosystem research

LifeWatch is a European research infrastructure dedicated to the study of biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, in order to support civil society in addressing major global challenges. LifeWatch is an eScience infrastructure, which offers researchers virtual laboratories in which to carry out experiments and research projects using data resources, tools and services available as digital technologies.

The infrastructure is made up of/consists of:

• 3 common facilities distributed in Spain (Sede Statutaria e Centro ICTcore), Italy (Centro Servizi) and Holland (Centro Laboratori Virtuali & Innovazione);

• 7 national nodes, known as Distributed Centres, present in all Member States participating in the infrastructure (Belgium, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain).

The Italian participation in LifeWatch is supported and promoted by a Joint Research Unit (JRU) composed of 35 institutions including research centers and universities, coordinated by the National Research Council. In particular, LifeWatch Italy, with its broad and qualified partnership and with the creation and implementation of a digital infrastructure for the organization, management, analysis and modeling of data on biodiversity and ecosystems, contributes to the coordination of national research and to a strengthening of the international competitiveness of the Italian scientific community on topics of high scientific and socio-economic relevance.

Antonello Provenzale – IGG, Coordinatore JRU, antonello.provenzale@cnr.it

Contatto GdL Biodiversità: Ilaria Rosati – IRET, ilaria.rosati@cnr.it

ESFRI Projects /Environment coordinated by CNR

DANUBIUS-RI – International Centre for Advanced Studies on River-Sea Systems

DANUBIUS-RI is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure, included in the Roadmap of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) since 2016. The DANUBIUS-RI infrastructure will have as its main purpose to support interdisciplinary research on large river-delta-sea systems (River-Sea systems), building on existing European excellence.

The infrastructure consists of:

• 1 Hub in Romania that will provide leadership and governance, coordination and standardization activities, communication with other research infrastructures and key stakeholders, and key scientific, educational and analytical capacities;

• 4 thematic nodes (Observation, Analysis, Modelling, Impact) that will coordinate the provision of specific services;

• 12 Supersites, test beds for research activities and natural laboratories to test new technologies not only environmental but also in connection with the possible impacts on the population and cultural heritage;

• 1 Technological Transfer Office for interaction with companies;

• 1 e-Learning Office for training activities;

• 1 Data Centre, single point of access for all services, including distributed services.

The Italian participation in DANUBIUS-RI is coordinated by the National Research Council – Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR) and also involves the Consortium for the coordination of research relating to the Venice lagoon system (CORILA) and the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS). The establishment of the JRU DANUBIUS-Italy is underway, the CNR Commission for the coordination of Italian participation in the research infrastructure is currently operational.

Georg Umgiesser – ISMAR, National Coordinator DANUBIUS-RI, Vice-President of the CNR DANUBIUS-Italy Commission, georg.umgiesser@ismar.cnr.it

Francesca De Pascalis – ISMAR, Italian Representative BGR DANUBIUS-RI, member of the CNR DANUBIUS-Italy Commission, francesca.depascalis@ismar.cnr.it

Debora Bellafiore – ISMAR, member of the CNR DANUBIUS-Italy Commission debora.bellafiore@ismar.cnr.it

DiSSCo – Distributed System of Scientific Collections

DiSSCo is a European research infrastructure that aims to create a single portal of access to digital resources that revolve around natural science collections, also in terms of curation, policies and practices aimed at ensuring that all data are available according to the FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability). The focus of DiSSCo is the transformation of the physical sample of the collection into a virtual representation of it.

DiSSCo represents the largest formal agreement between natural history museums, botanical gardens, universities, and biodiversity research institutions that conserve and curate collections.

For the construction of DiSSCo partner institutions have developed the following targeted projects:

• ICEDIG (2018-2020). It was the first official step towards DiSSCo to refine some elements of the research infrastructure and address technical, financial, political and governance aspects.

• DiSSCo Prepare (2020-2022). Preparatory phase started in 2020 for the construction of the infrastructure.

• SYNTHESYS+ (2019-2021) Fourth edition of the Synthesys project. It includes two options: Virtual Access (VA) to propose the digitization of collections and Transnational Access (TA) to conduct short-visit projects at European institutions.

• MOBILISE (2018-2023) COST Action supporting the exchange of experiences and expertise, Training Schools and Short-Term Scientific Missions (STSM).

• ENVRI-FAIR Environmental Research Infrastructures (2019-2013) It aims to bring together Environmental and Earth System Research Infrastructures to seek synergies. It will connect to EOSC (European Open Science Cloud).

The Italian scientific community is represented by: CNR, Natural History Museum of the University of Florence (representative of the Italian consortium supporting DiSSCo = NTF) and various scientific organizations (Associazione Nazionale Musei Scientifici, Accademia delle Scienze, Accademia Nazionale di Entomologia, Società italiana di Biogeografia, Società italiana di Paleontologia, Società Geologica Italiana, Società Botanica Italiana).

To collaboratively coordinate the activities planned for DiSSCo, the CNR scientific community is cooperating in the infrastructure of the Department of Bio-Agri-Food Sciences (DISBA) Bio-Memory, aimed at creating a national network of microbial, plant and animal biobanks.

Francesca Maggiore – ISMAR, CNR Representative, francesca.maggiore@ismar.cnr.it

Biodiversity Working Group Contact: Fabio Cianferoni – IRET, fabio.cianferoni@cnr.it

eLTER RI – Integrated European Long-Term Ecosystem, Critical Zone & Socio-Ecological Research Infrastructure

eLTER-RI is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure, whose mission is to study long-term changes in terrestrial, freshwater and transitional ecosystems through a holistic “whole system” approach, based on the integration of different environmental disciplines.

The infrastructure consists of:

• 26 national networks, 500 research sites and 50 LTSER platforms, ensuring a broad and systematic coverage of the main European ecosystems

• 1 service portfolio that includes centralized services (e.g. both virtual and transnational access to sites). Among the thematic services that are being developed are Quality Assurance for Data (QAD), Modelling and Analysis Tools (MAT), Design, Interoperability and Synthesis (DIS) and Technical Innovation and Development (TID)

eLTER-RI is currently funded through the two H2020 projects eLTER PPP and eLTER PLUS.

The national network LTER-Italia, coordinated by the CNR, is made up of 79 research sites spread throughout the national territory.

The Italian participation in eLTER-RI is coordinated by the National Research Council and involves numerous Italian institutions including universities, research institutes, national bodies and territorial bodies. The establishment of the JRU eLTER-Italia is currently underway.

Giorgio Matteucci – IBE, LTER-Italy Network Coordinator, giorgio.matteucci@cnr.it

Biodiversity Working Group Contact: Diego Fontaneto – IRSA, diego.fontaneto@cnr.it

ESFRI Landmark/Environment/Health & Food where the CNR is a member of the JRU

EMSO – European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water-column Observatory

The European consortium EMSO ERIC is the pan-European infrastructure of multidisciplinary submarine observatories for the long-term monitoring, even in near-real time, of environmental processes related to the interaction between the geosphere, the biosphere and the hydrosphere, contributing to studies in a wide range of research areas including biology, geology, chemistry, physics, engineering and computer science and in the most diverse scenarios, from the polar to the subtropical environment, thus ensuring a broad interdisciplinarity. The EMSO ERIC observation network is currently composed of twelve submarine observatories positioned on deep seabeds and three test sites in coastal waters. These observatories are located in specific sites in the seas around Europe, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Black Sea, from the Arctic to the Atlantic, thus forming a widely distributed pan-European infrastructure. The Member Countries of EMSO ERIC are: Italy (which hosts the legal headquarters), France, Spain, England, Ireland, Greece, Norway, Portugal and Romania.

The Italian participation in EMSO ERIC is supported and promoted by a Joint Research Unit (JRU), coordinated by INGV, composed of INGV, SZN, INFN, CNR, OGS, ISPRA, ENEA, CONiSMA and IIM. The aim is to provide Italian and European marine scientists with technologically advanced infrastructures to study long-term time series of data on the European marine environment and to detect natural and anthropogenic changes and threats related to climate and biodiversity. The EMSO-Italy JRU is an unprecedented commitment of leading Italian research institutes and universities to join forces in the field of marine sciences and allows Italy to maintain a leading role in the European Research Infrastructure EMSO.

Paolo Favali – INGV, JRU Coordinator, paolo.favali@ingv.it

Giuseppa Buscaino – IAS, Representative in JRU, giuseppa.buscaino@cnr.it

Stefano Miserocchi – ISP, Deputy Representative in the JRU, stefano.miserocchi@cnr.it

EMBRC – European Marine Biological Resource Centre

EMBRC is a European research infrastructure dedicated to the application of interdisciplinary approaches and technological development to marine biology and ecology. The infrastructure, consisting of a network of marine biology stations and research institutes spread across the European area, aims to offer researchers from both academia and private industry the possibility to study marine organisms and their ecosystems, access organism banks and facilities to study them, including experimental facilities and technological platforms. Examples of activities coordinated by EMBRC are EMO BON – European Marine Omics Biodiversity Observation Network, Ocean Sampling Day, and H2020 ASSEMBLE Plus.

The Italian JRU, coordinated by the Stazione Zoologica di Napoli (SZN), sees the participation of CNR institutes (IAS, IRBIM, IRSA, ISMAR and ISP).

Diego Fontaneto – IRSA, Representative in JRU, diego.fontaneto@cnr.it

Luisa Patrolecco – ISP, Rappresentante nella JRU, luisa.patrolecco@cnr.it

International Bodies and Committees

CITES – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

The CITES Scientific Commission (CSC) at the Ministry of Ecological Transition (MiTE) is the national scientific authority of reference for the management of the trade in live or dead specimens, or only parts of organisms or products derived from them, of species considered at risk of extinction, aiming to reduce their commercial exploitation, within the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

For any information regarding CITES, contact one of the CNR members. The CNR has five members at the CSC of MiTE, representing botanists, zoologists and ecologists with expertise in marine, terrestrial and freshwater environments.

Titular representatives: Maurizio Azzaro – ISP maurizio.azzaro@cnr.it; Gianna Fabi – IRBIM gianna.fabi@cnr.it; Diego Fontaneto – IRSA diego.fontaneto@cnr.it; Andrea Scartazza – IRET andrea.scartazza@cnr.it; Massimo Zacchini – IRET massimo.zacchini@cnr.it

IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature

IUCN is the world’s largest and oldest network for nature conservation. The Union brings together in a unique global partnership more than 1,400 Member Organizations including government agencies and non-governmental organizations, more than 17,000 volunteer experts from 160 nations grouped in 6 Commissions. The mission of the Union is to influence, encourage and assist societies worldwide in conserving the integrity and diversity of nature and ensuring that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

The Italian National Committee for IUCN is one of the 49 National Committees recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The general task of the Italian Committee is to support the activity of IUCN in achieving its international mission, both for the objectives of nature conservation in Italy and for the contribution that Italy gives or can give to nature conservation in the world. The CNR is a voting member of IUCN and through its representative can actively participate in the work of IUCN at the national and international level.

Representative holder: Paolo Colangelo – IRET, paolo.colangelo@cnr.it

Substitute Representative: Claudia Mattioni – IRET, claudia.mattioni@cnr.it

SCAR – Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research

The Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research is a thematic body of the International Science Council (ISC), established in 1958 with the mission of initiating, developing and coordinating international scientific research in the Antarctic region (including the Southern Ocean). SCAR provides independent scientific advice to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings (ATCM) and other organizations such as the UNFCCC and the IPCC on science and conservation issues affecting the management of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and the role of the Antarctic region in the Earth system. SCAR meets biennially to conduct its administrative work at the SCAR Delegates Meeting. At these meetings, SCAR members, through their appointed delegates, are responsible for the formulation, policy and strategy of SCAR.

Representative holder: Giovanni Macelloni – IFAC, g.macelloni@ifac.cnr.it

Substitute Representative: Giorgio Budillon, giorgio.budillon@uniparthenope.it

SCOR – Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research

SCOR is a non-governmental organization for international cooperation in ocean sciences, created in 1957, as the first interdisciplinary organization, by the International Council for Science. SCOR’s activities focus on promoting international cooperation in the planning and execution of oceanographic research and on resolving methodological and conceptual problems that hinder research in the field. SCOR is composed of approximately 250 volunteer scientists from thirty-eight countries and organized into working groups and steering committees. Working groups of no more than 10 members are usually formed to investigate a specific topic and to produce high-quality scientific publications. Each working group’s work must be completed in 4 years or less.

Representative holder: Annalisa Griffa – ISMAR, annalisa.griffa@cnr.it

Substitute Representative: Stefano Aliani – ISMAR, stefano.aliani@cnr.it

EUROPARC – Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe

EUROPARC is the umbrella organisation for Europe’s protected areas. It brings together national parks, regional parks, nature parks and biosphere reserves in 38 countries, with the common aim of protecting Europe’s unique variety of wildlife, habitats and landscapes. The EUROPARC Federation brings together a wide range of organisations and individuals involved in the policy and practice of managing parks and protected areas across Europe. In its 27 years of existence, it has done much to spread good practice and foster a common sense of community in the network of protected areas. While the strategic plan focuses on the organisation and way of operating of the Federation, the underlying aim is to enable the Federation to play the largest possible role in achieving the vision of an adequate, efficient and well-managed network of protected areas in Europe, to fully conserve the landscape and biological diversity of the continent.

Representative holder: Gianfranco Tamburelli – ISGI, gianfranco.tamburelli@cnr.it

Substitute Representative: Carlo Calfapietra – IRET, carlo.calfapietra@cnr.it

CIESM – Mediterranean Science Commission

The Commission, based in Monaco, now involves 24 Member States and a network of several thousand marine researchers. Structured in six committees and several task forces, CIESM runs expert workshops, collaborative programmes and regular congresses, providing authoritative and independent advice to national and international agencies. The Commission integrates a broad spectrum of marine disciplines, including geophysical, chemical and biological processes, together with high-resolution mapping of the seabed. CIESM tracks and analyses current changes in the Mediterranean Sea at the scale of the entire basin, from the impact of global warming on sea levels and water masses to changes in marine biodiversity; from morphological changes of the coasts to the accumulation of trace metals in marine food chains. CIESM fosters scientific exchange between researchers from across the Mediterranean, maintaining a constructive and peaceful dialogue between populations too long divided by historical conflicts.

Representative holder: Ernesto Azzurro – IRBIM, ernesto.azzurro@cnr.it

 

Scientific article published: “How much biodiversity is concealed in the word ‘biodiversity’?” – Biodiversity, a word we use too much?

The results of a study published in Current Biology by the Biodiversity Working Group in collaboration with the Laboratory for Integrative Biodiversity Research of the Finnish Museum of Natural History confirm how the word “biodiversity” is often used inappropriately, both in general terms and in the world of scientific research.

The article is available at the link https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982222019030 e https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.003

 

Biodiversity census at CNR

To stimulate and promote synergies between the many CNR activities related to biodiversity, the Working Group has promoted a census of colleagues interested in the topic in order to create an online database where information on those who deal with biodiversity at the CNR can be found. The survey results are available at the link below, and updated based on the information received through the form available on the same page.

Census Results

Wikispecies and taxonomists at CNR

Wikispecies is a project supported by Wikimedia and aims to collect the names of all known species in a multimedia archive. The project, started in 2004, currently includes over 780,000 pages. Each species, higher taxonomic category and each author has a dedicated page. All CNR colleagues who have described taxa are encouraged to add them to Wikispecies and to complete or create the pages for themselves. We have prepared detailed instructions that you can find at this link: CNR Wikispecies. For further information contact Fabio Cianferoni (IRET), fabio.cianferoni@cnr.it.

CNR SYMPOSIUM Biodiversity Change in the Anthropocene (10-11 April 2024 – Fano Marine Center)
Research Priorities

The Symposium “Biodiversity Change in the Anthropocene: Priority in Research” was held at the Fano Marine Center on 10 and 11 April 2024. All experts dealing with biodiversity in Italy, both in the terrestrial and aquatic fields, are invited to the symposium. Registration is free and the congress expenses are covered by the CNR. The contributions will be functional to convey messages on the problem of biodiversity change in Italy and in the Mediterranean region, in an attempt to enhance and promote synergies in the national research context.

The symposium was divided into four sessions. The first three represent the sub-themes of the symposium: Examples of change; Forecasts of change; Tools, actions and management of change; to these is added the PhD spot session, dedicated to PhD students funded and co-funded by the CNR. The event was broadcast live streaming.

Event Page

Download the Book of Abstracts

POSTER

Rewatch the event on YouTube

Round Table“Biodiversità che cambia”(Venezia, 22 maggio 2023)

On the occasion of World Biodiversity Day and the recent setting up of the CNR exhibition “Anthropocene: the earth under fire and sword” at the Palazzina Canonica in Riva dei Sette Martiri (Venice), seven national experts will gather in a round table to talk about one of the most dramatic transformations that characterize our era and to spark reflections on the critical relationship between human activities and the wonderful variety of forms in which life manifests itself on the planet that hosts us. The Round Table (2:30-5:30 p.m.) will be followed by a guided tour of the Anthropocene exhibition, lasting about an hour, for interested participants (time slot 5:30-7:00 p.m.).

Dedicated page: https://dta.cnr.it/tavola-rotonda-biodiversita-che-cambia-venezia-22-maggio-2023/

When: 22 maggio 2023 (14:30 Tavola Rotonda; 17:30 visita guidata Mostra Antropocene)

Where: Venice, Palazzina Canonica in Riva dei Sette Martiri (in case of bad weather the exhibition will take place at the CNR-ISMAR headquarters, Tesa 104 – Arsenale)

Round Table Live Streaming: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nP_HyIwb4LU

Contact email for the event: biodiversity@cnr.it

Organizational referents: Ernesto Azzurro, Emiliano Mori, Lucia Bongiorni, Diego Fontaneto, Annalisa Iadanza, Francesco Falcieri

EVENT POSTER

First cycle of ‘BIODIVERSITY MASTERCLASSES’ meetings (Spring 2022)

The GdL Biodiversità proposes the first edition of the BIODIVERSITY MASTERCLASSES, divided into three afternoon meetings dedicated to the themes of scientific writing and open data. All information is available on the dedicated page: https://dta.cnr.it/primo-ciclo-di-incontri-biodiversity-masterclasses-primavera-2022/

Twitter Moment of the initiative

Contact email for the event: master.biodiv@cnr.it

Initiative referents: Michelangelo Morganti (CNR-IRSA) & Diego Fontaneto (CNR-IRSA) – Chairman, Annalisa Iadanza (CNR-DSSTTA) – Scientific-technical Secretariat of the Biodiversity Working Group

POSTER of the masterclasses 2022