Oases of the world: Urgent call to save key archives for cultural and biological diversity
Oases are key to humanity’s settlement in drylands in the past, today, and in the future. They form complex geo-bio-cultural systems of pivotal importance. Present climatic, economic, and social changes may lead to the demise of tangible and intangible values in and of oases, potentially affecting 500 million people. We aim at raising awareness of the accelerating threat to oases and argue for immediate action to protect this unique system.
Authors
- Matthew Dalton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1651-7384)
- Knut Bretzke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5397-7224)
- Marco Cantonati (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0179-3842)
- Karin Hohberg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9681-9157)
- Abdullah A. Saber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4676-6998)
- Jonathan M. Jeschke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3328-4217)
- Lawrence E. Stevens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4377-974X)
- Sarah Alsaif (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1314-8085)
- R. J. Fensham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3658-5867)
- Karin Kindermann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0311-6319)
- Karsten Wesche (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0088-6492)
- Mechthilde Falkenhahn
- Christiane Zarfl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2044-1335)
- Nicholas J. Conard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4633-0385)
- Klement Tockner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0038-8151)
- Juan Antonio Hernández‐Agüero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6584-5774)
- Joy McCorriston (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6905-5075)
- Feng Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5236-3709)
- Thomas Schmitt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3781-7236)
- Nuria Sanz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8583-4095)
- Clara Jeuthe
- Louise Purdue
Institutions
- Ain Shams University (EG)
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of Potsdam (DE)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Université Côte d'Azur (FR)
- Peking University (CN)
- Supreme Council of Antiquities (EG)
- King Saud University (SA)
- Flagstaff Medical Center (US)
- Senckenberg - Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research (DE)
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment (DE)
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (DE)
- Cultures et Environnements. Préhistoire, Antiquité, Moyen Âge (FR)
- Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz (DE)
- Science Oxford (GB)
- Senckenberg German Entomological Institute (DE)
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- University of Tübingen (DE)
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (NL)
- University of Bologna (IT)
- German University in Cairo (EG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Heritage Science
- Published
- 2025-11-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s40494-025-02118-7
- Primary Topic
- Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Purdue University
- Ohio State University
- Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
- University of Oxford
- University of Queensland
- Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
- Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
- Ain Shams University
- King Saud University
- Universität Potsdam
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- Università di Bologna
- Freie Universität Berlin
- Peking University
- Universität zu Köln
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Leibniz-Gemeinschaft