Dr. Ariel Bergamini

In der 20. Folge der ‚Beiträge zur bryofloristischen Erforschung der Schweiz’ werden neue Fundorte von seltenen, gefährdeten oder anderweitig bemerkenswerten Moosen vorgestellt. Dabei handelt es sich um folgende Arten: Bryum Bryum versicolor, Cephaloziella divaricata, Harpanthus scutatus, Lejeunea lamacerina, Microbryum floerkeanum, Meesia minutissima, Microbryum curvicollum, Odontoschisma francisci, Oreoweisia torquescens, Oxystegus minor, Plagiochila exigua, Reboulia hemisphaerica, Riccia bifurca, Schistidium mammillosum, Tetraplodon urceolatus, Timmia comata, Tortella nitida, Tortula cernua.

The 20th issue of the series ‘Contributions to the bryofloristic exploration of Switzerland’ comprises descriptions of new sites of rare, threatened or other remarkable bryophyte species. The following species are included: Bryum Bryum versicolor, Cephaloziella divaricata, Harpanthus scutatus, Lejeunea lamacerina, Microbryum floerkeanum, Meesia minutissima, Microbryum curvicollum, Odontoschisma francisci, Oreoweisia torquescens, Oxystegus minor, Plagiochila exigua, Reboulia hemisphaerica, Riccia bifurca, Schistidium mammillosum, Tetraplodon urceolatus, Timmia comata, Tortella nitida, Tortula cernua.

Grasslands’ high diversity is threatened by land-use changes, such as nitrogen fertilization, leading to productive but low-richness, fast-growing plant communities. Bryophytes are a key component of grassland diversity and react strongly to land use. However, it is unclear whether land-use effects are direct or mediated by changes in vascular plants. Increases in vascular plant cover are likely to decrease bryophyte abundance through light competition. Whether changes in vascular plant composition and richness also play a role remains unclear. We sampled bryophytes in a factorial grassland experiment manipulating nitrogen fertilization, fungicide, species richness, and functional composition of vascular plants crossed with moderate disturbances by weeding. Disturbance increased bryophyte richness and modulated treatment effects. In contrast to previous studies reporting indirect negative fertilization effects via increasing vascular plant productivity and reduced light levels, nitrogen fertilization directly reduced bryophyte cover and species richness, possibly because of toxic effects. Low vascular plant richness and dominance of fast-growing species reduced bryophyte richness. This might be because of decreased structural and resource niche heterogeneity in species-poor communities. Our results highlight novel mechanisms by which land-use intensification can affect bryophytes and suggest that a loss of vascular plant richness might have cascading effects on other taxonomic groups.

In der 19. Folge der 'Beiträge zur bryofloristischen Erforschung der Schweiz' werden neue Fundorte von seltenen, gefährdeten oder anderweitig bemerkenswerten Moosen vorgestellt. Dabei handelt es sich um folgende Arten: Brachythecium capillaceum, Grimmia crinita, Drepanocladus sendtneri, Microeurhynchium pumilum, Ptychomitrium incurvum, Roaldia dolomitica

The 19th issue of the series 'Contributions to the bryofloristic exploration of Switzerland' comprises descriptions of new sites of rare, threatened or other remarkable bryophyte species. The following species are included: Brachythecium capillaceum, Grimmia crinita, Drepanocladus sendtneri, Microeurhynchium pumilum, Ptychomitrium incurvum, Roaldia dolomitica

Im Rahmen des Bryolich-Projektes 'Flechten und Moose in Gärten' wurden in 28 Gärten die Moos- und/oder Flechtenarten erfasst sowie Informationen über die Umweltfaktoren gesammelt, um datenbasierte Empfehlungen für moos- und flechtenfreundliche Gärten machen zu können. Insgesamt wurden 138 Moosarten und 164 Flechtenarten erfasst, darunter auch gefährdete und potenziell gefährdete Arten. Am wichtigsten für einen hohen Artenreichtum in einem Garten ist eine grosse Anzahl verschiedener Lebensräume.

As part of the Bryolich project 'Lichens and Bryophytes in Gardens', bryophyte and/or lichen species were recorded in 28 gardens and information on environmental factors was collected in order to make data-based recommendations for bryophyte- and lichen-friendly gardens. A total of 138 bryophyte and 164 lichen species were recorded, including vulnerable and near threatened species. Most important for a high species richness in a garden is to have a high number of different habitats.

Mittels eines 150 Jahre alten Herbariums wurde untersucht, wie sich die Flora des Schweizer Kantons Schaffhausen seit 1847 verändert hat, welche Lebensräume vom Aussterben von Pflanzenarten besonders betroffen waren, welche Umweltansprüche die regional ausgestorbenen Pflanzen hatten und ob sich daraus Rückschlüsse auf Einflussfaktoren wie z. B. Landnutzungsänderungen ziehen lassen. Von insgesamt 987 im Jahr 1847 erfassten Pflanzenarten sind 154 heute ausgestorben. Das heißt, dass der Verlust dieser Arten über einen Zeitraum von 153 Jahren in einer Größenordnung von durchschnittlich einer Art pro Jahr liegt. Ausgestorben sind v. a. stresstolerante, konkurrenzschwache und lichtliebende Arten der Feuchtgebiete, Pionier- und Ruderallebensräume sowie der Äcker. Die Auswertung eines regionalen Herbariums liefert dem Naturschutz Informationen zu besonders gefährdeten Lebensräumen und möglichen Ursachen des Artenrückgangs.

Using a 150-year-old herbarium, we investigated how the flora of the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen has changed since 1847. We examined which habitats were particularly affected by local species extinction, what environmental requirements extinct plants had and whether conclusions can be drawn about factors causing species extinction such as land-use change. Of 987 species recorded in 1847, 154 are now extinct in Schaffhausen. This means that the loss of these species over a period of 153 years is in the order of one species per year on average. Most of the species that became extinct were stress-tolerant, low-competition and light-demanding species of wetlands, pioneer and ruderal habitats, and arable fields. Our evaluation of a regional herbarium informs nature conservation about particularly endangered habitats and possible causes of species decline.

Forests are under pressure and going through rapid changes. However, current inventorying and monitoring (IM) programs are often either disjointed, too narrow in their scope and/or do not operate at fine enough temporal resolutions, which may hinder scientific understanding, the timely supply of information, fast decision making, and may result in the sub-optimal use of resources. For these reasons, there is an urgent need for Advanced Forest Inventorying and Monitoring (AIM) programs to (i) achieve expanded relevance (by augmenting data/information across ecosystem properties and trophic levels), (ii) have increased temporal resolution (by tailored data collection frequency), and (iii) make use of technological advances (by incorporating novel tools and technologies). The Advanced Inventorying and Monitoring for Swiss Forests (SwissAIM) initiative was launched in 2020 to address these needs. SwissAIM builds upon the foundation offered by the existing programs (e.g., national forest inventory, long-term forest ecosystem research, biodiversity monitoring). It aims to offer a collaborative and adaptive framework to enable integrated data collection, evaluation, interpretation, analysis, and modeling. Ideally, it will result in a more responsive system with respect to current and predicted biotic/abiotic stressors that will challenge Swiss forests. Developing such a system implies identifying the information needs of different stakeholders (e.g., science, policy, practice), related technical requirements, and governance frameworks. Here, we present (i) the main features of the SwissAIM initiative (vision, scientific questions and variables, governance and engagement), (ii) the main outcomes of the participatory design process (measurements, sampling, and plot design), (iii) the potential transferability of AIM initiatives outside Switzerland (timing, relevance, practicability), and (iv) the key messages that emerged (i.e., need for advancement, integration and transdisciplinarity, statistical underpinning). Since similar needs related to forest inventorying and monitoring are emerging throughout Europe and elsewhere, the objective of this opinion paper is to share our experience and promote a dialog with those interested in developing AIM initiatives in other countries and regions.

Terrestrial ecosystems affect climate by reflecting solar irradiation, evaporative cooling, and carbon sequestration. Yet very little is known about how plant traits affect climate regulation processes (CRPs) in different habitat types. Here, we used linear and random forest models to relate the community-weighted mean and variance values of 19 plant traits (summarized into eight trait axes) to the climate-adjusted proportion of reflected solar irradiation, evapotranspiration, and net primary productivity across 36,630 grid cells at the European extent, classified into 10 types of forest, shrubland, and grassland habitats. We found that these trait axes were more tightly linked to log evapotranspiration (with an average of 6.2% explained variation) and the proportion of reflected solar irradiation (6.1%) than to net primary productivity (4.9%). The highest variation in CRPs was explained in forest and temperate shrubland habitats. Yet, the strength and direction of these relationships were strongly habitat-dependent. We conclude that any spatial upscaling of the effects of plant communities on CRPs must consider the relative contribution of different habitat types.

Aims: We introduce ReSurveyEurope — a new data source of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe, compiled by a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. We describe the scope of this initiative, provide an overview of currently available data, governance, data contribution rules, and accessibility. In addition, we outline further steps, including potential research questions.
Results: ReSurveyEurope includes resurveyed vegetation plots from all habitats. Version 1.0 of ReSurveyEurope contains 283,135 observations (i.e., individual surveys of each plot) from 79,190 plots sampled in 449 independent resurvey projects. Of these, 62,139 (78%) are permanent plots, that is, marked in situ, or located with GPS, which allow for high spatial accuracy in resurvey. The remaining 17,051 (22%) plots are from studies in which plots from the initial survey could not be exactly relocated. Four data sets, which together account for 28,470 (36%) plots, provide only presence/absence information on plant species, while the remaining 50,720 (64%) plots contain abundance information (e.g., percentage cover or cover–abundance classes such as variants of the Braun-Blanquet scale). The oldest plots were sampled in 1911 in the Swiss Alps, while most plots were sampled between 1950 and 2020.
Conclusions: ReSurveyEurope is a new resource to address a wide range of research questions on fine-scale changes in European vegetation. The initiative is devoted to an inclusive and transparent governance and data usage approach, based on slightly adapted rules of the well-established European Vegetation Archive (EVA). ReSurveyEurope data are ready for use, and proposals for analyses of the data set can be submitted at any time to the coordinators. Still, further data contributions are highly welcome.

Aims: The accurate classification of habitats is essential for effective biodiversity conservation. The goal of this study was to harness the potential of deep learning to advance habitat identification in Europe. We aimed to develop and evaluate models capable of assigning vegetation-plot records to the habitats of the European Nature Information System (EUNIS), a widely used reference framework for European habitat types.
Location: The framework was designed for use in Europe and adjacent areas (e.g., Anatolia, Caucasus).
Methods: We leveraged deep-learning techniques, such as transformers (i.e., models with attention components able to learn contextual relations between categorical and numerical features) that we trained using spatial k-fold cross-validation (CV) on vegetation plots sourced from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA), to show that they have great potential for classifying vegetation-plot records. We tested different network architectures, feature encodings, hyperparameter tuning and noise addition strategies to identify the optimal model. We used an independent test set from the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) to evaluate its performance and compare its results against the traditional expert systems.
Results: Exploration of the use of deep learning applied to species composition and plot-location criteria for habitat classification led to the development of a framework containing a wide range of models. Our selected algorithm, applied to European habitat types, significantly improved habitat classification accuracy, achieving a more than twofold improvement compared to the previous state-of-the-art (SOTA) method on an external data set, clearly outperforming expert systems. The framework is shared and maintained through a GitHub repository.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrate the potential benefits of the adoption of deep learning for improving the accuracy of vegetation classification. They highlight the importance of incorporating advanced technologies into habitat monitoring. These algorithms have shown to be better suited for habitat type prediction than expert systems. They push the accuracy score on a database containing hundreds of thousands of standardized presence/absence European surveys to 88.74%, as assessed by expert judgment. Finally, our results showcase that species dominance is a strong marker of ecosystems and that the exact cover abundance of the flora is not required to train neural networks with predictive performances. The framework we developed can be used by researchers and practitioners to accurately classify habitats.

The success of ponds constructed to restore ecological infrastructure for pond-breeding amphibians and benefit aquatic biodiversity depends on where and how they are built. We studied effects of pond and landscape characteristics, including connectivity, on metapopulation dynamics of 12 amphibian species in Switzerland. To understand the determinants of long-term occupancy (here summarized as incidence), environmental effects on both colonization and persistence should be considered. We fitted dynamic occupancy models to 20 years of monitoring data on a pond construction program to quantify effects of pond and landscape characteristics and different connectivity metrics on colonization and persistence probabilities in constructed ponds. Connectivity to existing populations explained dynamics better than structural connectivity metrics, and simple metrics (distance to the nearest neighbor population, population density) were useful surrogates for dispersal kernel-weighted metrics commonly used in metapopulation theory. Population connectivity mediated the persistence of conservation target species in new ponds, suggesting source–sink dynamics in newly established populations. Population density captured this effect well and could be used by practitioners for site selection. Ponds created where there were 2–4 occupied ponds within a radius of ∼0.5 km had >3.5 times higher incidence of target species (median) than isolated ponds. Species had individual preferences regarding pond characteristics, but breeding sites with larger (≥100 m²) total water surface area, that temporarily dried, and that were in surroundings with maximally 50% forest benefitted multiple target species. Pond diversity will foster amphibian diversity at the landscape scale.

Amphibien sind aus vielen Gründen stark gefährdet, sowohl global, national als auch lokal: Lebensräume gehen verloren und verlieren an Qualität, standortfremde Fische fressen Amphibienlarven, Pestizide beeinträchtigen die Populationen, auf der Wanderung zu den Laichgebieten stellen Straßen eine Gefahr dar, neue Krankheitserreger machen den Tieren zu schaffen, und das sich ändernde Klima führt zu Trockenheit - die Liste könnte noch erweitert werden. Trotz dieser negativen Faktoren ist wirkungsvoller Amphibienschutz möglich, wie die Ergebnisse des Weiherbauprogramms des Schweizer Kantons Aargau zeigen.

Der Bau von Weihern hat sich als wirksame Massnahme erwiesen, um die Bestände von Amphibien zu fördern und ihre Bestände zu stabilisieren. Im Kanton Aargau zeigen Ergebnisse aus zwei Jahrzehnten Weiherbau und begleitendem Monitoring, was eine funktionierende ökologische Infrastruktur für Amphibien ausmacht: Es braucht gut vernetzte Amphibienlaichgebiete aus mehreren Weihern mit grosser Wasserfläche.

L'aménagement d'étangs s'est révélé efficace pour promouvoir et stabiliser les populations de batraciens. Dans le canton d'Argovie, les résultats de deux décennies d'aménagement et de suivi d'étangs montrent ce qu'est une infrastructure écologique pour batraciens fonctionnelle: il faut que les sites de reproduction soient interconnectés et comprennent plusieurs étangs dotés d'une importante surface aquatique.

Soil properties influence plant physiology and growth, playing a fundamental role in shaping species niches in temperate forest ecosystems. Here, we investigated the impact of soil data quality on the performance of species distribution models (SDMs) of 41 woody plant species in Swiss forests. We compared models based on measured soil properties with those based on digitally mapped soil properties on regional (Swiss Forest Soil Maps) and global scales (SoilGrids). We first calibrated topo-climatic SDMs with measured soil data and plant species presences and absences from mature temperate forest stand plots. We developed further models using the same soil predictors, but with values extracted from digital soil maps at the nearest neighbouring plots of the Swiss National Forestry Inventory. The predictive power of SDMs without soil information compared to those with soil information, as well as measured soil information vs digitally mapped, was evaluated with metrics of model performance and variable contribution. On average, models with measured and digitally mapped soil properties performed significantly better than those without soil information. SDMs based on measured and Swiss Forest Soil Maps showed higher performance, especially for species with an ‘extreme’ niche position (e.g., preference for high or low pH), compared to those using SoilGrids. Nevertheless, if no regional soil maps are available, SoilGrids should be tested for their potential to improve SDMs. Moreover, among the tested soil predictors, pH, and clay content of the topsoil layers most improved the predictive power of SDMs for forest woody plants. In conclusion, we demonstrate the value of regional soil maps for predicting the distribution of woody species across strong environmental gradients in temperate forests. The improved accuracy of SDMs and insights into drivers of distribution may support forest managers in strategies supporting e.g. biodiversity conservation, or climate adaptation planning.

Europe's semi-natural grasslands support notably high levels of temperate biodiversity across multiple taxonomic groups. However, these ecosystems face unique conservation challenges. Contemporary agricultural practices have replaced historical traditional low-intensity agriculture in many regions, resulting in a spectrum of management intensities within these ecosystems, ranging from highly intensive methods to complete abandonment. Paradoxically, both extremes along this spectrum of management intensity can be detrimental to biodiversity of semi-natural grasslands. Moreover, while anthropogenic climate change is an overarching threat to these ecosystems, rapid changes in land use and its intensity often present more immediate pressures. Often occurring at a faster rate than climate change itself, these land-use changes have the potential to rapidly impact the biodiversity of these grasslands. Here, we divide the ecological processes, threats, and developments to semi-natural grasslands into three sections. First, we examine the different impacts of agricultural intensification and abandonment on these ecosystems, considering their different consequences for biodiversity. Second, we review seminal works on various evidence-based management practices and offer a concise summary that provides support for various conservation and management strategies. However, the socio-economic factors that drive both abandonment and intensification in semi-natural grasslands can also be used to develop solutions through strategic governmental and non-governmental interventions. Accordingly, we conclude with a way forward by providing several key policy recommendations. By synthesizing existing knowledge and identifying research gaps, this essay aims to provide valuable insights for advancing the sustainable management of semi-natural grasslands.

Extinction risk is not randomly distributed among species but depends on species traits, their relationship to climate and land use, and corresponding threats by global change. While knowledge of which factors influence extinction risk is increasingly available for some taxonomic groups, this is still largely lacking for bryophytes. Here, we used random forest models to study which biological and ecological traits and bioclimatic variables are important predictors for extinction risk in European bryophytes. We hypothesized that species with a high extinction risk have a short life span, low dispersal capacities, and are more likely specialists than generalists in terms of ecological traits and bioclimate. Overall, we found bioclimatic variables to be the most important predictors for extinction risk, most notably precipitation seasonality, and related ecological traits such as continentality and elevational range. Important biological traits were plant size, life strategy and sporophyte production. In general, species living at climatic extremes and/or those with a narrow environmental range are more likely to be threatened. In addition, small-sized species and/or species with low reproductive effort and/or larger spore size are more likely to be threatened. Our findings imply that climate change may become an important driver of bryophytes extinction risk and that biological and ecological traits will be most relevant for species in coping with future threats.

In der 18. Folge der ‚Beiträge zur bryofloristischen Erforschung der Schweiz' werden neue Fundorte von seltenen, gefährdeten oder anderweitig bemerkenswerten Moosen vorgestellt. Dabei handelt es sich um folgende Arten: Anomodon rostratus, Campyliadelphus elodes, Fissidens grandifrons, Scapania apiculata, Schistidium succulentum, Sphagnum affine.

The 18th issue of the series 'Contributions to the bryofloristic exploration of Switzerland' comprises descriptions of new sites of rare, threatened or other remarkable bryophyte species. The following species are included: Anomodon rostratus, Campyliadelphus elodes, Fissidens grandifrons, Scapania apiculata, Schistidium succulentum, Sphagnum affine.

Moore erbringen verschiedene Ökosystemdienstleistungen. Sie stehen jedoch unter Druck: Moore trocknen aus, typische Arten gehen verloren und Ökosystemleistungen können nicht mehr erbracht werden. Sollen Moore langfristig erhalten werden, braucht es Pflege- und Renaturierungsmassnahmen sowie die Wiederherstellung von vernetzten Feuchtlebensräumen.

Wiederholungen von Vegetationserhebungen sind wichtig, um zeitliche Veränderungen der biologischen Vielfalt und der Umweltbedingungen zu erfassen. Vegetationserhebungen sind jedoch anfällig für verschiedene Fehlerquellen. Diese gilt es zu minimieren und alternative Ansätze für die Analyse der Daten zu finden. Anhand eines Datensatzes von 224 doppelt erhobenen Dauerflächen in der Schweiz untersuchten wir die häufigste Fehlerquelle bei Vegetationserhebungen: die Unterschiede zwischen den Bearbeitenden. Unsere Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Artenlisten von Untersuchungsflächen, die am selben Tag von verschiedenen Bearbeitenden erstellt wurden, voneinander abweichen (28,5 % Unterschied) − hauptsächlich weil Arten mit geringer Häufigkeit von jeweils einem der beiden Bearbeitenden übersehen wurden. Wir konnten zeigen, dass sich der Fehler durch Aggregierungen bestimmter Einträge in den ursprünglichen Artenlisten (z. B. Unterarten auf Artniveau zusammenfassen oder Arten zu Aggregaten zuordnen) reduzieren lässt und dass mittlere ökologische Zeigerwerte robust gegenüber Unterschieden zwischen Bearbeitenden sind. Mittels der genannten Aggregierungen in den Artenlisten und durch Verwendung mittlerer Zeigerwerte können somit zeitliche Veränderungen der Vegetation und von Umweltbedingungen verlässlich erfasst werden.

Resurveys of vegetation plots are important for capturing temporal changes in biodiversity and environmental conditions. However, vegetation
surveys are prone to several error sources. It is important to minimise these and to find alternative approaches for analysing the data. Using a
dataset of 224 double-surveyed permanent plots in Switzerland, we investigated the most common source of error in vegetation surveys, namely
differences between observers. Our results show that species lists sampled by two different observers independently on the same day differ from
each other (28.5 % difference), mainly because species with low abundance were overlooked by one or the other of the two observers. We showed
that by applying simple aggregation steps to the original species lists, the error can be reduced (e. g. setting subspecies to species level or assigning species to aggregates) and that mean ecological indicator values are robust to differences among observers. Thus, by aggregating certain entries in the original species lists and using mean indicator values, temporal changes in vegetation and environmental conditions can be recorded reliably.

The European biodiversity and forest strategies rely on forest sustainable management (SFM) to conserve forest biodiversity. However, current sustainability assessments hardly account for direct biodiversity indicators. We focused on forest multi-taxon biodiversity to: i) gather and map the existing information; ii) identify knowledge and research gaps; iii) discuss its research potential. We established a research network to fit data on species, standing trees, lying deadwood and sampling unit description from 34 local datasets across 3591 sampling units. A total of 8724 species were represented, with the share of common and rare species varying across taxonomic classes: some included many species with several rare ones (e.g., Insecta); others (e.g., Bryopsida) were represented by few common species. Tree-related structural attributes were sampled in a subset of sampling units (2889; 2356; 2309 and 1388 respectively for diameter, height, deadwood and microhabitats). Overall, multi-taxon studies are biased towards mature forests and may underrepresent the species related to other developmental phases. European forest compositional categories were all represented, but beech forests were over-represented as compared to thermophilous and boreal forests. Most sampling units (94%) were referred to a habitat type of conservation concern. Existing information may support European conservation and SFM strategies in: (i) methodological harmonization and coordinated monitoring; (ii) definition and testing of SFM indicators and thresholds; (iii) data-driven assessment of the effects of environmental and management drivers on multi-taxon forest biological and functional diversity, (iv) multi-scale forest monitoring integrating in-situ and remotely sensed information.