LBTU participates in a project for biodiversity conservation and management
A national research program project titled "High-Resolution Biodiversity Quantification for Nature Conservation and Management: HiQBioDiv" (project number: VPP-VARAM-Daba-2024/1-0002) has been launched. The goal of the project is to provide new knowledge and solutions to support the achievement of the European Union's biodiversity strategy objectives. The project focuses on in-depth research into the ecology, distribution, and threat levels of EU-protected species and habitats, with particular attention given to species with unfavorable conservation status and unclear population trends.
The project is being implemented by University of Latvia (leading partner), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), and Daugavpils University, combining the expertise of three leading scientific institutions in biodiversity research, sustainable nature conservation, and the development of modern land management solutions. The project’s implementation period runs from October 1, 2024, to December 31, 2026.
The project consists of five interrelated main tasks:
- Mobilization of species occurrence and eco-geographic data – gathering, structuring, and processing existing data to ensure its usability in further research.
- Species distribution modeling and prioritization of sites for nature conservation – using the prepared data for quantitative ecological data analysis to create detailed and informative species distribution maps and support conservation planning.
- In-depth ecological studies – building scientific understanding of the ecological needs of protected species and habitats, disseminating this knowledge, and applying it in other tasks of the project and for wider public use.
- Integrating biodiversity into ecosystem service assessments and analyzing the socio-economic impacts of various scenarios – utilizing and expanding the data and calculation flows generated in this project and other related initiatives.
- Synthesis and dissemination of project results – effectively compiling the results of all tasks, ensuring open access for all interested parties and reproducibility of the research process.
The HiQBioDiv project will promote a balanced approach to biodiversity conservation by providing transparent, data-driven solutions for decision-making. The results obtained will be freely accessible and suitable for broad application in ecological, nature conservation, and socio-economic assessments and research. The project will also include training for researchers and students in biodiversity modeling, increasing human capital in nature conservation and strengthening public involvement and support. The materials and approaches developed will be freely available, offering opportunities for their use in further human capital development and enhancement.
