Intermediate report IMPLIT available on-line

Intermediate report of the project IMPLIT, on the impact of extreme events (storms) linked to clkimatic change on the coastal hydro-systems in Mediterranean France, is already downloadable from the Tour du Valat's website. You can directly download from http://www.tourduvalat.org/content/download/221/1174/version/2/file/GICC_IMPLIT_intermediaire2_vm.pdf

However, we recommend to visit all the website to know more on the projects of this Biological Station (www.tourduvalat.org) The download area also encloses other very interest issues on ecosystems conservation and management, at http://www.tourduvalat.org/documentation/telechargements We remind you that most available e-books and reports are only edited in French

Ensconews nr 2 is already issued

2nd annual bulletin of ENSCONET, inlcuding interesting articles on seed conservation, has been recently edited. It is available on line at
http://www.ensconet.eu/PDF/ENSCONET_2nd_Annual_Bulletin.pdf
This issue has been edited thanks to the effort of the editorial board, including main editors from the Botanical Garden of the University of Valencia (Drs E. Estrelles and A.M. Ibars, as well as A. Amblar and D. Lazaro) and associated editors from abroad (S. Linintong, D. Aplin and J. Müller). Representatives and researchers of some member institutions of GENMEDOC -Elena Estrelles, Christina Fournaraki and Emilio Laguna- have collaborated in this issue.

Natura 2000 Newsletter and the climatic change

The vol. 22 of the EC's Natura 2000 Newsletter, issued in july 2007, is focused on the relationships between Biodiversity and Climatic Change, as well as the role of the Natura 2000 network to fight against the negative impacts of this change. You also will find an article on strategies and projects tomitigate those effects. Please click on the link to access and download the issue:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/nature_conservation/useful_info/newsletter_natura/pdf/nat22_en.pdf

Short notice on SEMCLIMED in Planta Europa Newsletter

The 8th issue of Planta Europa News (July 2007), includes a short notice on the project SEMCLIMED, drafted months ago by Ch. Zreik, P. Ferrer and E. Laguna. Unfortunately the edition of this issue, expected by April, has been too delayed. Anyway, this notice will provide enough basic information to the attendants to the next Planta Europa conference (Cluj-Napoca, 5-9 Sept 2007), where a more extended presentation will be made. The full issue of the Planta Europa newsletter is downloadable from the webpage http://www.plantaeuropa.org/oldwebsite/documents/PENewsletterJuly2007.pdf . In addition, information on Planta Europa can be found at the website www.plantaeuropa.org

Odissea Semina nr 1 is already available

The first issue of the newsletter ‘Odissea Semina’ is already available. Odissea Semina is edited in the framework of the project SEMCLIMED, and it will try to report the activities of all the GENMEDOC network.

The issue has been drafted in French, and provides an excellent overlook on the goals, actions and results of the project SEMCLIMED. Odissea Semina is edited by the Botanical Garden of the University of Valencia (BGUV, Spain), and the editorial committee id compound by Drs Elena Estrelles and Ana M. Ibars (BGUV), François Boillot (CBNP, Porquerolles, France), Antoni Marzo, Christophe Zreik and Pablo Ferrer (CIEF, Valencia, Spain). As well as the main traits of the project, Odissea Semina nr 1 has reported the last activities developed by the SEMCLIMED partners: the seminar on Biotechnology and Plant Conservation (Murcia, Spain, September 2006), the first campaign to harvest plant seeds in Morocco (October 2006), the workshop on in situ conservation organized by the Argotti Herbarium and Botanic Gardens (Malta, March 2007), the seminar on rock gardens and exhibitions on the natural heritage carried out by the Botanical Garden of Soller (Mallorca, Spain, March 2007), and the second joint meeting of SEMCLIMED partners (Rabat, May 2007) organized by the ISR. To get this issue, please freely download from the CCB website http://www.ccb-sardegna.it/download/genmedoc/01Odissea%20Semina.pdf or from the GENMEDOC website, at the GENMENews area, http://www.genmedoc.org/altrenews.aspx?=1&lang=fr . It also will be soon downloadable from the SEMCLIMED project website www.semclimed.org (under construction)

SEMCLIMED to be introduced in Planta Europa V and SEBCP congress

The Scientific Committee of the 5th European Conference on the Conservation of Wild Plants, Planta Europa V (Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 5-9th september 2007) has accepted an oral presentation on the main goals and actions of SEMCLIMED, to be exposed by Dr Emilio Laguna (CIEF, Valencia, Spain), advisor of the Planta Europa’s Steering Committee. The 5th Conference is devoted to enhance and promote the partnership for plant conservation, so SEMCLIMED is a perfect example to be introduced to other European conservationists.

In other hand, representatives of the CIEF will attend the 3rd Spanish Congress on Plant Conservation (Tenerife, Canary Islands, last week of september) organized by the SEBCP (Sociedad Española de Biologia de Conservacion de Plantas), where a poster on SEMCLIMED will be displayed and explained. This congress will coincide in time with the SEMCLIMED’s partners workshop to be held in Chania (Crete, Greece), also reported here in other blog post.

Next SEMCLIMED’s workshop, Chania (Crete), 25-28 September 2007

Logotype of the MAICh, displayed in its central building in Chania. ©E. Laguna, 2005

The Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICh), Crete (Greece), is organizing the next workshop of SEMCLIMED partners, to be held in Chania between 25th and 28th September 2007. It will deal with a 4-days workshop, mostly focused on the current knowledge on the climatic change and its consequences. The workshop title is ‘Climate Change Impacts on Mediterranean Plant Diversity’. Main conferences will ve given by Drs. Helena Flocas (National and Kapodistrian University, Athens, Greece), Maria J. Sanz (Center of Mediterranean Environmental Research, Valencia, Spain), Michael Gottfried (University of Vienna, Austria), Miguel Bastos (National Museum of Natural Sciences, Madrid, Spain), Dimitris Sarris (University of Patras, Greece), Costas Thanos (National and Kapodistrian University, Athens) and Christina Fournaraki (MAICh); in addition, partner contributions will be presented. As foreseen in the SEMCLIMED project, the MAICh will pay the stay and travel expenses for the North-African partners, as well as the stay of 1 representative for each European partner. The attendants will visit the germplasm bank, herbarium and botanical gardens of the MAICh. In the field excursion, they will visit the proposed plant micro-reserve Aspri Limni (Chryssokalitissa, SW Crete), holding the Westernmost population known of the Cretan Palm Tree (Phoenix theophrasti) –additional information on this site is available at the LIFE-CRETAPLANT webpage miantained by Dr. Costas Thanos, http://cretaplant.biol.uoa.gr-.

Coastal, karstic outcroops of Aspri Limni (Chryssokalitissa, Crete), housing isolated specimens of Phoenix theophrasti. ©E. Laguna, 2005