‘Don’t forget biodiversity,’ say Swiss researchers at COP28
According to Swiss experts speaking on Monday at COP28, the loss of biodiversity is just as serious a problem for nature and humanity as climate change.
Climate protection measures should thus not harm biodiversity, said Dirk Karger from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) at the Dubai climate conference. Climate and biodiversity influence each other reciprocally, he and other experts said.
As an example, they cited “mixed forests”, which reflect more sunlight and heat up less than purely coniferous forests. This is because conifers have to close their stomata earlier in hot weather in order not to lose too much water. Stomata are microscopically small pores in leaves and needles that serve to regulate the exchange of gases between the tree and its environment.
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By closing the stomata earlier, purely coniferous forests evaporate less water overall, thereby loosing the cooling effect of evaporation and indirectly contributing to warming, the WSL said.
Appeal to politicians
In the “Feedbacks” research project, scientists including Karger and Tom Crowther from the Swiss federal institute of technology ETH Zurich are investigating such links between biodiversity and climate. In a statement at COP28, they called on politicians to take the findings into account.
Climate protection and the protection of biodiversity should be considered together, they say. For example, it may seem sensible from a climate protection perspective to plant monocultures of fast-growing tree species in order to bind as much CO2 as possible. However, as monocultures are much more susceptible to wind damage or pests, there is a risk that the trees will quickly die again and release the CO2 back into the atmosphere.
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