In the quiet mountain villages of northern Portugal’s Peneda-Gerês National Park, centuries-old stone water tanks and irrigation channels may now be serving a surprising new purpose. Research published in Ecosphere and led by scientists at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) reveals that these historic structures, once central to traditional village life, are now providing critical breeding and refuge sites for amphibians, as natural wetlands are increasingly under pressure from climate and land-use change.