- Make biodiversity a key part of urban planning – treat nature as essential, not decorative.
- Set bold targets for restoring native species and ecosystem health.
- Include urban biodiversity in national restoration plans with strong monitoring and long-term goals.
- Show cities as leaders in nature restoration and teach the public about its benefits.
- Give cities expert support and real-life examples to follow.
- Protect rare urban habitats – don’t let infrastructural development or tree planting destroy open areas that are already rich in wildlife.
- Train city staff in ecology, not just landscape design.
- Ensure social fairness – restoration must benefit all residents, not push out poorer communities.
- Measure the current state of urban biodiversity and act quickly to protect what's left.
Thursday, 19 June 2025
European cities need ambitious nature restoration targets – our new comment paper published in npj Urban Sustainability
Monday, 19 May 2025
New EASAC report on Changing Wildfires is published
Over the last two years we have been working on a very interesting and topical issue in an international research group, resulting in the publication of the latest study by the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) entitled Changing Wildfires: Policy Options for a Fire-literate and Fire-adapted Europe. A total of 22 international researchers participated in the project, with Thomas Elmqvist as project manager and Orsolya Valkó and Cathelijne Stoof as working group leaders.
Our study warns that vegetation fires have also reached a new level in Europe. Climate change, land-use change and social factors are combining to create conditions that are making vegetation fires more frequent and destructive. In addition, the risk is increasing in regions, including central Europe, where it was not particularly prevalent before.
The full report is freely availanble at EASAC's homepage (please click here).
The EASAC press release can be read here.
The launch of our report took place in Brussels in 19 May 2025, with scientists from all over Europe, discussing their findings with EU policymakers and stakeholders across Europe. The event was webstreamed and the presentations and panel discussions can be watched here.
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The EASAC infographic summarizing some of the key messages of our report. |
Friday, 21 February 2025
New review paper on the soil seed banks of drylands
Our latest article a review of the soil seed bank of drylans, has been published with the first authorship of Abdubakir Kushbokov.
Kushbokov, A., Deák, B., Valkó, O. (2025): Characteristics of soil seed bank in global drylands – A review. Arid Land Research and Management 39: https://doi.org/10.1080/15324982.2025.2467728
The pdf of the article is available from the authors (please click here).
Drylands cover a large part of the Earth and are unique in terms of their biodiversity and the ecosystem services they provide. Understanding the characteristics and restoration potential of the soil seed bank is key to maintaining and restoring ecosystem biodiversity. In our review article, we looked at the characteristics of the soil seed bank in global drylands and analysed the key factors influencing seed bank density and composition, including soil and climatic characteristics, woody vegetation, topography, and grazing. In our article, we have shown that soil seedbank can contribute to some extent to the restoration of degraded dry habitats, but in many regions and in highly degraded and overgrazed environments, the restoration potential of seedbank is limited.
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Map showing the locations of the reviewed studies and the studied treatments. |
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A picture from our study site in the Kyzyl-Kum drylands, where we started investigating soil seed bank composition. |