On the occasion of the International Wetlands Day – February 2, Stefan Kazakov and Tsvetelina Isheva from IBER-BAS visited the 51st “Elisaveta Bagryana” School, where they delivered an educational lecture dedicated to the wetlands along the Danube River and their importance for nature and people. During the meeting, the students had the opportunity to learn about the biodiversity of the Danube floodplains, including the Srebarna Lake, as a subject of long-term ecosystem research by the national network LTER-BG and LTER.

The lecturers paid special attention to the key ecosystem functions of wetlands and their role in the conservation of rare and protected species, as well as the ecosystem services that floodplains provide to people. Demonstrations of flood processes and the role of floodplains in the accumulation and storage of water and flood protection were presented. The main threats to these valuable ecosystems were discussed, such as changes in the flood regime, anthropogenic pressure, climate change and the introduction of alien and invasive species. The work of scientists related to the use of modern specialized equipment and the collection of standardized data in field studies – collecting samples and measuring water quality – was also presented.