At the beginning of the action most work-effort was devoted to arranging the details of the experimental design, solving practical challenges and training in the field of lichens. Following this period, we performed the field sampling in the international long-term experimental network encompassing sites in Lisbon (Portugal), Madrid (Spain) and Sassari (Italy). Once all 432 soil cores and 50 soil lichen samples were collected, the microcosm experiments kicked-off. Laboratory analyses for a complete set of soil variables of these samples were performed in the following months. In parallel, the objective related to soil lichen’s ability to cope with environmental changes was accomplished and published in 2022 (Morillas et al., 2022). Database to investigate how lichen physiological responses and soil parameters are correlated was completed with twelve variables in summer 2020, and it is currently being explored and preliminary results will be presented in several meetings. Objectives focused on soil processes have not been fully accomplished due to a delay in the project schedule. However, databases related to these goals are curated and ready for analyses and will be published in the coming months.
Besides working on the tasks tightly linked to Med-N-Change, I have also engaged in other scientific activities, such as participating as Guess Editor in the publication of the two Special Issues, participating in two workshops with oral presentations, and being involved in the COST Actions Bottons-up (CA18207, H2020) and Eudaphobase (CA18237, H2020). I have co-authored two scientific papers and an editorial within the scope of Med-N-Change in collaboration with international partners (LoCascio et al., 2021, Ventura et al., 2021 and Andreeta et al., 2022) and been involved in many public engagement activities of European or national reach such as “The International Day of Girls and Women in Science”, “The European Researcher´s Night”, “Science is Wonderful!” or “Ecology Day”.
Overview of the results from Med-N-Change and their exploitation and dissemination include:
• Scientific publications: Five research articles have been published in open access, which will facilitate their exploitation. They have been disseminated in Twitter and the website of the action, as well as in 11 national and international conferences through 15 oral and poster communications.
• Dissemination articles: Four articles have been published in the most popular public engagement website related to science in Spain (Naukas), which ensures a broad reach of the public interested in scientific-related topics.
• Virtual learning material: Seven learning tools have been developed during the lifespan of the action and within its framework. They have been exploited through public engagement activities of European or national reach.
