Institute of Nature Conservation Polish Academy of Science

The Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IOP PAN) in Krakow was established in 1952 and is one of the few institutions in the world (and the only one in Poland) conducting interdisciplinary research focused on the protection of natural heritage.

Areas:

biology

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The activities carried out by scientists from the Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences are restoring species that have become extinct in Poland and recreating habitats for rare plant species that have been lost, among other things, as a result of human activity. The photo shows the reintroduction of shadow-loving plants to selected locations in the Tatra National Park.
Photo: Paweł Olejniczak / IOP PAN

The aim of basic research and applied work is to create a scientific basis for the contemporary protection of living and non-living nature.

The research topics concern the preservation of species diversity in the plant and animal world, ecology and the basics of protecting rare and endangered species, the sustainability of natural resource use and the maintenance of natural processes, water biology, geo-protection, and so-called conservation biology and the social dimension of nature conservation. The research documents the state and threats to biodiversity, and its results are used to create and implement species and habitat conservation programs.

Analysis of plant secondary metabolites using high-resolution liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (Multiomics Laboratory).

The projects conducted concern, among other things, the impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems, the ecology and protection of selected species, the ecology of human-wildlife conflict, and the invasion of alien species.

The Institute also maintains databases (e.g., of alien species, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, cyanobacterial blooms), publishes red books and red lists of plants and animals. It also publishes the quarterly magazine “Chrońmy Przyrodę Ojczystą” (Let’s Protect Our Native Nature). By conducting classes and lectures and actively participating in Science Festivals, it is involved in the promotion of science.