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FS 26.117

Evidence-based biodiversity protection in the Alps

Session status: Accepted

Content last updated: 2026-04-16 00:06:26

Online available since: 2026-01-13 13:56:47

Details

Full Title
Evidence-based biodiversity protection in the Alps
Scheduled
TBA
TBA
Chair
Rüdisser, Johannes
Co-chair(s)
Schönswetter, Peter; Sturmbauer, Christian; and Urbach, Davnah
Thematic Focus
Biodiversity, Conservation, Ecosystems, Monitoring
Keywords
Monitoring, Biodiversity, LTSER, Genetic diversity, Endemism

Abstract/Description

The content was (partly) adapted by AI

All across Europe, the Alps represent one of the most biodiversity-rich and climate-sensitive environments in Europe. For both its richness and sensitivity, and because of rapid climate change, land-use shifts, and increasing human pressures, mountain environments need robust, evidence-based approaches to biodiversity protection. However, steep environmental gradients, high habitat heterogeneity, endemism, and pronounced seasonality not only shape the unique biodiversity patterns specific of the Alps, but at the same time pose methodological challenges for the biodiversity assessment and long-term monitoring on which management decisions should be based on.

The session focuses on the specific ecological characteristics of ecosystems in the Alps and their implications for biodiversity studies, monitoring design, and data interpretation. We will address current practices in biodiversity monitoring and data collection in alpine regions, including genetic monitoring, remote sensing, automated monitoring, and citizen science, as well as challenges related to data quality, harmonization, accessibility, and long-term management.

A central objective of the session is to foster exchange between scientists and practitioners, including protected area managers and representatives of environmental authorities. Contributions that demonstrate successful collaborations, co-designed monitoring schemes, or practical applications of scientific results in conservation planning and management are especially encouraged.

The session further calls for contributions aimed at establishing common, interchangeable, and scalable approaches for biodiversity monitoring across the Alps. This includes harmonized indicators, standardized protocols, and interoperable data infrastructures that enable comparison across regions and support coordinated conservation strategies.

Finally, we invite contributions highlighting the role of Long-Term Ecosystem and socio-ecological Research (LTSER) in mountain environments. Studies using long-term datasets, long-term monitoring programs, adaptive monitoring and management approaches, and methodological advances that improve the detection of trends, or the evaluation of conservation measures under ongoing environmental change are particularly welcome.

Registered Abstracts

ID: 3.32

Archetypes for the sustainable management of European temperate mountain forests: ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation

Ignacio J. Diaz-Maroto

Abstract/Description

The archetypes for the management of temperate forests are both large-scale and small-scale. In those European countries where the forests are mostly private and belong to numerous owners, each of them owns a small area, usually divided into several plots, and there is a rigorous forest legislation. The legislation requires forest management in accordance with principles of sustainable yield, environmental protection and nature conservation. Current management methods use continuous forest inventories, digital cartography, satellite and aerial photographs, remote sensing, stand databases…, as support tools for sustainable forest management and planning. At the national level, most countries with an important forest area carry out regular national forest inventories. The traditional way to assess forest resources was to estimate data by using information from stand records covering the whole forest land. Most European temperate forests have been managed according to “classical” sustainable yield principles for a very long time, because these forests differ a lot with respect to ownership, management history and objectives. For this reason, they preserve an exceptional and unique biodiversity and, in general, the resilience of ecosystem services has been maintained over time. In Central Europe, clear-felling is usually restricted to a few hectares for numerous reasons (e.g., aesthetic, environmental, risks of erosion, etc.). The traditional forest schools manage a particular type of selective cutting −the “Plenterwald” (selection forestry) system. The archetype of this system is to create, conserve and develop mixed (often hardwood dominated) forest stands of uneven age, by harvesting single trees as they reach maturity. The Plenterwald system has attracted the attention of environmentalists who perceive it is a very eco-friendly forest management system and, therefore, ecologically better than even-aged forest management, because it is regarded as an aesthetically more acceptable system.

ID: 3.28

Collembola (springtails) and Oribatida (mites) as indicators of fine-scale environmental changes in high mountain ecosystems

Jacopo Breschi
Seeber, Julia; Steinwandter, Michael

Abstract/Description

As part of the long-term monitoring of ecosystem processes in Hohe Tauern National Park (Austria) the third sampling of the “Soil Mesofauna” module was conducted in 2024, following initial samplings in 2017 and 2022. The subproject is conducted on permanent transects spanning a few meters to capture fine-scale environmental gradients and their effects on soil mesofauna. Along gradients from typical snowbed communities to fully developed alpine grasslands, distinct organisms are expected to occur.

The study sites include Oberettes (Italy), Furka (Switzerland), and three sites within Hohe Tauern National Park (Innergschlöss, Seebachtal, Untersulzbachtal). Snowbed plots hosting specifically adapted plant communities were selected. Transects were defined based on biomass productivity and divided into three sectors: head (highest productivity, first snow-free), middle, and bottom (lowest productivity, longest snow cover). Species- and individual-rich mesofauna groups like springtails (Collembola) and mites (Oribatida) were sampled and identified, as they were considered suitable indicators of ecological changes in these microhabitats. The study combined quantitative (population density) and qualitative (species-level identification) approaches.

Results from the three sampling years showed no clear trend of mean Oribatida and Collembola densities along transects. Nonetheless, Oribatida densities were more closely linked to the studied gradient. Comparisons of species composition revealed strong similarities in abundant Oribatida species across years at individual sites, whereas Collembola showed greater interannual variation. Significant changes occurred among low-density species: 18 “new” adult Oribatida species were recorded in 2024, while 18 species from previous years were absent. In 2024, 51 Oribatida species (26–29 per site) and 32 adult Collembola species (21–24 per site) were recorded, indicating higher Oribatida richness and greater Collembola overlap among sites. In 2024, dominant Collembola species across sectors tended to be generalists, whereas Oribatida communities were more diverse and balanced, with a mix of generalists and specialists showing more sector-specific abundance patterns.

In conclusion, Collembola might be less suitable indicators of differences along the investigated fine-scale gradient, although monitoring hygrophilous species could be informative of environmental changes. Oribatida appeared more promising for tracking changes.

ID: 3.73

Long-term monitoring schemes of pollinating insects across the European Alps

Michela Corsini
Guariento, Elia; La Morgia, Valentina; Rüdisser, Johannes; König, Sebastian; Frühholz, Kilian; Cerrato, Cristiana; Bonelli, Simona; Paniccia, Chiara

Abstract/Description

Mountain ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to global changes, including climate and land-use changes. While habitats at lower elevations have been historically shaped by intense land-use change, those at higher elevations are now responding more rapidly to accelerated warming and the consequent shifts in traditional land management. Pollinating insects provide crucial ecosystem services and serve as an ideal model system for investigating climate and land-use change, particularly in mountainous regions. Indeed, pollinating insects’ responses may include phenological plasticity or shifts in spatial distribution towards favorable conditions. Despite their importance, long-term monitoring schemes in the European Alps remain scarce. In addition, existing monitoring initiatives show heterogeneous methodologies and protocols that further limit a comprehensive understanding of pollinating insect distribution and populations trends. To identify which (long-term) monitoring schemes exist across the European Alps, we integrated three complementary approaches: (i) a targeted online survey, (ii) structured phone interviews to entities responsible for biodiversity monitoring, and (iii) a comprehensive literature review. Preliminary results revealed that a large amount of ongoing long-term monitoring occurs below 2,000 m asl, indicating a limited understanding of high-elevation habitats compared with lowlands. Additionally, taxonomic coverage is uneven, with butterflies standing as one of the most monitored groups, whereas wild bees, hoverflies and moths receive comparatively less attention. We quantitatively and qualitatively mapped long-term pollinator monitoring initiatives across the European Alps. Our findings highlight an urgent need for harmonization of long-term monitoring protocols. Our overview of long-term monitoring schemes will integrate the European Pollinator Monitoring Scheme (EU PoMS) that will scarcely cover the alpine habitat. Results will aim at enabling cross-border coordination for an effective assessment of climate and land-use driven changes in mountain pollinator communities.

ID: 3.78

Introducing Cryptocalciella gen. nov. – a novel genus from Alpine glacier forefields

Sophie Szedlacsek
Mandolini, Edoardo; Abramczyk, Beniamin; Szucs, Attila; Staykova, Anastasiya; Seybold, Anna; Knapp, Magdalena; Pawłowska, Julia; Ladurner, Peter; Peintner, Ursula

Abstract/Description

Mortierellaceae are a family of filamentous, soil-inhabiting fungi, occurring in almost all terrestrial habitats and are an essential part of the core soil microbiome. In recent years, the diversity and distribution of Mortierellaceae in alpine habitats is becoming an increasing research focal point. Many species within the Mortierellaceae family can inhabit harsh, highly exposed, and nutrient-depleted environments including glacier forefields. These fungi are proposed to play a crucial role in habitat succession and soil development in the earliest stages. However, the ecological diversity of Mortierellaceae in the European Alps largely remains undescribed and further research is necessary in order to characterize and preserve life that is threatened by vanishing environments.

In our study, we could isolate multiple fungal strains belonging to a previously unknown Mortierellaceae taxon from two recently deglaciated calcareous glacier forefields (Italy: Marmolada, Austria: Dachstein). This novel taxon was comprehensively investigated via physiological tests, the detection of associated bacteria, macroscopical, and microscopical characterization (e.g., light, fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy). Whole-genome sequencing and phylogenomic analyses were used to position this taxon within the Mortierellaceae family.

We could show that the isolated strains represent a novel species within a so far undescribed genus, exhibiting very distinct morphological traits. Due to the ability of this lineage to live hidden in calcareous sediments of the earliest soil developmental stages at glacier forefields, we propose the name Cryptocalciella humilis Mandolini, Szedlacsek & Peintner.

ID: 3.92

Mapping biodiversity patterns and conservation priorities across the Alps

Elena Tello García
Rossi, Christian; Marsoner, Thomas; Frühholz, Kilian; König, Sebastian; Rüdisser, Johannes; Paniccia, Chiara; Leitinger, Georg

Abstract/Description

The European Alps host an exceptional diversity of species and habitats, at the same time, ecosystems are under growing pressure from human land use and the accelerating impacts of climate change. Although many initiatives have been launched to protect Alpine biodiversity, conservation actions remain uneven and poorly integrated across national borders. Multi-scale biodiversity monitoring (including field-based, remote-sensing, automated and molecular approaches), citizen science and research projects across the Alps have generated a large and growing volume of biodiversity data. These data are sometimes openly shared via platforms like GBIF for public provision and support applications such as ecological modeling. However, these data are scattered across different platforms and span different spatial and thematic scales, making it difficult and time-consuming to obtain a comprehensive and coherent picture of biodiversity across the Alps.

Within the Interreg Alpine Space project AlpsLife, we aim to compile spatial data from across the Alps to assess biodiversity status and identify areas requiring conservation action. To this end, we are integrating existing biodiversity data at both European and Alpine scales. Spatial analyses of these data will support the identification of biodiversity hotspots in need of protection, highlight potential ecological corridors suitable for a wide range of species, and identify areas with potential for ecological restoration. By combining evidence-based data with stakeholder knowledge and engagement, we aim to generate a robust and reliable assessment of biodiversity status in the Alps and to identify priority areas for action, particularly in transboundary regions, while ensuring that proposed conservation measures are both scientifically sound and practically feasible. Ultimately, the project seeks to translate research outcomes into long-term management strategies and strengthen international cooperation for the preservation of Alpine biodiversity.

ID: 3.110

AlpsLife – Protect Alpine Life by monitoring and managing Alpine biodiversity for the future: Observing globally, acting locally.

Elena Tello García
Rüdisser, Johannes; Corsini, Michela; Marsoner, Thomas; Paniccia, Chiara; Guerini, Michele; Plassmann, Guido; Öllös, Hanna; Salzger, Janin; Dietachmair, Jakob; Leitinger, Georg

Abstract/Description

AlpsLife is an Interreg Alpine Space project aiming to foster transnational strategies for biodiversity conservation and restoration by improving the assessment, integration and application of biodiversity data at Alpine scale. The Alpine region represents a global biodiversity hotspot facing intensifying pressures from climate and land-use changes. Despite the ecological interconnectedness of the region, biodiversity conservation remains largely shaped by national and regional frameworks. Differences in protected area management, monitoring schemes, and data collection methods have led to fragmented biodiversity knowledge and have limited the development of coherent, large-scale conservation strategies. Addressing these limitations requires a coordinated, transnational assessment of biodiversity patterns to develop the definition of shared conservation priorities aligned with EU-level and Alpine policy instruments. This approach improves understanding of biodiversity state and trends while ensuring their relevance for decision-making at multiple governance levels.

AlpsLife aims to establish a common framework for harmonised biodiversity indicators and interoperable data across the Alpine region. EU-relevant ecological indicators are adapted to the Alpine context, tested, and evaluated. Existing long-term monitoring schemes are qualitatively and quantitatively characterized and spatially located. Scattered biodiversity datasets are progressively integrated through a common baseline to develop a shared understanding of spatial biodiversity status and trends, while ensuring alignment with the policy needs of the Alpine countries, such as strategic planning, conservation, restoration and connectivity prioritisation, and the implementation of a cross-border early warning system for biodiversity loss.

This poster presents preliminary results, illustrates initial approaches and highlights key challenges associated with handling heterogeneous biodiversity data. By presenting early outcomes and lessons learned, the poster aims to provide a platform for exchange and discussion on both the opportunities and limitations of data integration, interoperability, and transnational analyses, and to foster dialogue with other researchers and practitioners engaged in Alpine biodiversity research and conservation.

ID: 3.135

Two Decades of Declines in Alpine Snowbed Plant Populations in the Northeastern Calcareous Alps of Austria

Roman Müller
Hörmann, Georg; Dullinger, Stefan; Hülber, Karl

Abstract/Description

Snowbeds represent a unique habitat for specialist plant species characterised by a relatively good water and nutrient supply but a short growing season due to the long-lasting snow cover. Consequently, snowbed vegetation is expected to be strongly affected by ongoing changes in temperature and precipitation regimes. In this study, we assessed the development of six snowbed species (Achillea atrata, Achillea clusiana, Arabis caerulea, Gnaphalium hoppeanum, Saxifraga stellaris and Sedum atratum) over a period of 20 years in 210 snowbed patches of four mountains in the northeastern Calcareous Alps of Austria. The eclined significantly for all species except for the endemic A. clusiana, with small populations being most at risk of extirpation. Consistently, a substantial reduction in population sizes was observed for all species apart from A. clusiana. Thereby, A. caerulea completely disappeared from the observed snowbeds. These patterns were primarily driven by declining snow cover and increasing vegetation density (NDVI). Conversely, the establishment of. Without effective mitigation of climate change, the observed massive population decline is likely to be intensified in upcoming decades, posing a severe threat to specialist snowbed plants because upward migration is impeded by the restricted altitudes of the northeastern calcareous Alps.

ID: 3.134

Austrian protected areas in the context of the European Biodiversity Strategy

Christina Pichler-Koban
Kirchmeir, Hanns; Huber, Michael

Abstract/Description

The European Biodiversity Strategy stipulates that Member States should place 30% of their land and marine areas under protection and 10% under strict protection. Member States are called upon to submit information on the status of existing protected areas and a list of proposals for improving and expanding the network of protected areas to the European Commission. Austria has incorporated the European targets into its national biodiversity strategy, but has not yet submitted a pledge report to the European Commission. Around 29% of Austria’s land area is under some form of protection, with approximately 3% under strict protection. The overlap between different categories of protected areas makes it difficult to assess which areas are actually effectively protected for biodiversity conservation and how suitable they are for contributing to the 30/10 target.

The European Commission and IUCN have defined criteria for the quality of protected areas, but no such criteria exist for Austria. The study presented in the conference lecture, commissioned by WWF Austria and conducted by E.C.O. Institute for Ecology, addresses this issue. It provided the methodological basis and criteria for assessing the suitability of existing protected areas in the Austrian Alps as a contribution to the objectives of the European Biodiversity Strategy. To this end, existing collections of methods and evaluation systems (e.g. IUCN Greenlist) were analysed. The criteria relevant to the specific issue were adopted and further developed. The result is an evaluation framework that allows for a quick initial assessment without the need for time-consuming data research.

The study evaluated 203 existing protected areas in Austria. The results suggest that only a small proportion of them meet European standards for modern and efficient protected area management. In contrast, the vast majority of the areas examined require significant action if they are to contribute to the objectives of the European Biodiversity Strategy. The limitations of the assessment procedure were particularly evident where there was insufficient publicly available information. Applied to the whole of Austria, this could therefore reveal not only an initial assessment of Austria’s contribution to the biodiversity targets, but also the relevant data deficits.

ID: 3.140

How do we get from scientific findings to recommendations for action? Experiences from seven years Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol

Andreas Hilpold
Anderle, Matteo; Guariento, Elia; Paniccia, Chiara; Seeber, Julia; Vanek, Magdalena; Tappeiner, Ulrike

Abstract/Description

Biodiversity monitoring programs are of increasing importance in both lowland and mountain regions. They generate continuous, large-scale, standardized datasets on the effects of land-use and climate change and allow the assessment of ecosystem conservation status at local and regional scales. However, a key challenge remains in translating these scientific outputs into effective policy action and decision-making processes.

In 2019, the government of the Autonomous Province of South Tyrol (Italy), in collaboration with Eurac Research, established a permanent, standardized long-term biodiversity monitoring program. This project involves interdisciplinary experts responsible for systematic data acquisition and for the dissemination of results to scientific and institutional stakeholders. The monitoring sites are distributed across the region based on a stratified random sampling design and cover a broad range of habitat types, including near-natural habitats such as high-mountain grasslands, alpine streams, and forests, as well as habitats subject to stronger anthropogenic influence, including meadows, vineyards, and urban areas. The surveyed taxa include vascular plants, cryptogams, birds, bats, and invertebrates, such as grasshoppers, butterflies, and soil-dwelling and freshwater macro-invertebrates. In addition, abiotic factors and landscape variables are collected at each site.

After seven years of monitoring, the resulting dataset supports a wide range of ecological analyses. In recent years, these have also resulted in a series of publications, which, in turn, provide the scientific basis for evidence-based recommendations to public authorities. For example, our results indicate that regional agri-environmental schemes effectively sustain high levels of biodiversity in meadows. Natural structural elements and an increased landscape heterogeneity enhance the richness and activity of highly mobile taxa, such as birds and bats, within agricultural and intensively cultivated landscapes. In lowland ditches, aquatic macroinvertebrate communities decline with increasing riparian management intensity, leading to the loss of sensitive species. These and other findings have been translated into practical guidelines for local practitioners, policy makers, protected area managers, and other stakeholders involved in conservation at the local level.

The presentation provides an overview of the project and presents the findings from the first seven years of implementation, highlighting concrete results and policy-relevant, evidence-based recommendations derived from the project outcomes.

ID: 3.198

Same Sample, Different Story? How Methodological Details Influence Metabarcoding Results

Johannes Schlagbauer
Kaufmann, Alexandra; Gruber, Melissa; Krisai-Greilhuber, Irmgard; Sonnleitner, Michaela; Szucsich, Nikola; Thalinger, Bettina; Tribsch, Andreas; Meimberg, Harald; Hahn, Christoph; Sturmbauer, Christian

Abstract/Description

The condition of an ecosystem, and thus its services, shapes the well-being of all organisms, including humans. Accordingly, preserving or restoring ecosystem resilience is a major goal of initiatives such as the EU and Austrian Biodiversity Strategy 2030+. These initiatives assess biodiversity status through multiple methods because it determines ecological richness, stability and resilience. Traditional methods are labour-intensive and difficult to scale up, whereas metabarcoding has emerged as a biomonitoring tool, capable of identifying multiple species simultaneously from complex environmental or bulk samples. As a result of its efficiency, a variety of laboratory protocols and bioinformatic pipelines have emerged. This has created a complex process with many decision points on how to apply cutting-edge methods, each of which influences how biodiversity is ultimately represented. Consequently, the need for stringent standardisation has been recognised. This work is part of the consortial project GeMonA+, supported by the Biodiversity Fund, which aims to develop a robust monitoring concept for insects using metabarcoding for Malaise trap, sweep netting, and eDNA trace samples. Across two annual cycles, the project sampled seven locations throughout Austria, including alpine ecosystems, to build a foundation for reliable and scalable biodiversity assessment. Within this broader framework, we compared metabarcoding outcomes generated by two commercial and two academic institutions from powdered aliquots of the same 20 Malaise trap bulk samples. Our results indicate strong influence of bioinformatic pipelines compared to laboratory practices, and point to a robust overlap in the species spectrum, except for very rare species. We emphasise that rigorous harmonisation and standardisation of lab and analysis protocols are needed to minimise variation in species detection. We consider this as a prerequisite for utilising metabarcoding in decision-making contexts.

ID: 3.206

How Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research supports evidence-based decisions – now and in the future

Veronika Gaube
Schallhart, Klaus; Bertsch-Hörmann, Bastian; Egger, Claudine; Leitinger, Georg

Abstract/Description

Long-Term Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) within the European Long-Term Ecosystem, Critical Zone and Socio-Ecological Research Infrastructure (eLTER RI) provides the longitudinal, integrative evidence base required for robust decision-making in the context of accelerating environmental and societal change. By combining harmonised biophysical and socio-ecological monitoring, social enquiry and participatory co-design, eLTER links processes across scales — from plots to regions and from seasons to decades — translating biodiversity observations into actionable knowledge for policy, planning and management. This abstract highlights how the Austrian alpine LTSER platforms Eisenwurzen and Austrian Central Alps exemplify this approach and demonstrate its value for current and future decision-making. In Eisenwurzen, an area characterised by mountains, forests, and rivers, LTSER integrates hydrology, geomorphology, forest ecology, and community perspectives, as well as rural development. In the Austrian Central Alps, LTSER couples high-elevation climate, cryosphere, water resources and biodiversity with stakeholder knowledge to address climate adaptation and land use trade-offs. Snow cover dynamics, phenology, and species distribution observations are integrated with socio-economic scenarios to inform decisions regarding protection against natural hazards, water allocation, ski area diversification, and conservation connectivity. Across both platforms, co-produced indicators will assist municipalities and regional authorities in assessing the costs, benefits and co-benefits of interventions in changing conditions. The platforms act as living laboratories where interventions are tested, monitored and iteratively refined. By embedding science in place-based partnerships and aligning with European policy frameworks, eLTER converts sustained observation into timely, credible and actionable evidence. This supports resilient decision-making today while anticipating the risks, opportunities and societal priorities of tomorrow. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of how the LTSER concept is implemented within the eLTER research infrastructure. Drawing on research highlights, we will emphasise how LTSER platforms can promote evidence-based decision-making in alpine regions.

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FS 26.117

Evidence-based biodiversity protection in the Alps

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