Landscape and habitat use, and climate adaptation in bats

All bat species are listed in Annex IV of the Habitats Directive. Bats are a critical group for policy. Of the 18 species reported by Flanders, 12 are unfavourable or insufficiently known. The species protection plan for bats counts on input from INBO in order to be able to take actions for species protection. In concrete terms, advice and guidelines are requested from INBO concerning the design of winter quarters and the use of the landscape. Until now it has not been possible to construct potential habitat maps using the methods available at INBO, as was the case for the other habitat guideline species. INBO has expertise in modelling both aspects, but further research is needed to optimise these models and make them more widely applicable.
Because bats need very specific microclimate conditions for hibernation, they are very sensitive to climate change. For many species, range shifts and extinctions are expected. It is therefore very important to investigate to what extent the hibernation objects are or can be made climate-robust. In addition, most species are strongly bound to landscape elements for their migration, and good connectivity is essential to allow movements under the influence of climate.