Botanica Sudalpina
20-21 November 2020
Natural History Museum of Canton Ticino, Lugano
Second
edition
Botanica Sudalpina Conference is in its second edition. It first took place in 2017 at the initiative of the Botanical Society of Ticino and has been made possible thanks to the collaboration of the Natural History Museum of Canton Ticino and Franklin University Switzerland, as well as the financial support of Info Flora, the Society of Natural Sciences of Cantone Ticino, and the Association Botanic Garden Islands of Brissago.
The event aims to serve as a platform for meeting and exchange among all those involved in scientific research (fundamental and applied) on the flora of the Southern Alps and, in particular, of Canton Ticino. It also aims to promote collaboration, provide an overview of the current situation, and eventually outline priorities and future prospects. The conference welcomes scientific work examining biogeography, conservation, diversity, ecology, evolution, physiology, floristics, and systematics of native and neophyte plant species. Anyone interested in these topics can submit an abstract or simply be part of the audience.
The 2020 conference will offer an even richer program than the first. In particular, some satellite events will be offered on the day preceding the main conference, while some local field trips will mark the end of the event.
Registration will open at the end of March 2020. Please subscribe to our newsletter so as to not miss out on any deadlines or updates.
Guest speakers
Willy Tinner
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research and Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern.
Prehistoric land-use change and its long-term legacy for future European vegetation dynamics.
Prehistoric land-use change and its long-term legacy for future European vegetation dynamics.
Prof. Dr. Willy Tinner
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research and Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern
Legacies comprise human and ecological memories or carryover of the ecosystem, they are effects of past events that influence extant ecosystems. In this lecture we consider four legacy examples that have wide consequences for European vegetation and its services to the society. First, we discuss if climate change, specifically the interglacial-glacial cycles have created empty niches in Europe, making the continent particularly susceptible to invasions of plant species coming from continents that are floristically more diverse. Second we assess the Vera hypothesis, a speculation that has been controversially debated in European ecosystem management. The question that can be checked by palaeoecological approaches is, whether (apart from the eastern steppes) European ecosystems would be naturally forested or kept open by megaherbivores such as elephants, hippos or ruminants. Third we discuss the course of biodiversity in and around the Alps, specifically the reasons and processes that shaped significant biodiversity declines in forests and biodiversity increases in open lands during the past 5000 years. Finally, we use palaeoecological and palaeoclimatic evidence as well as process-based dynamic modelling to address the question, whether humans changed the realized climatic niches of species during the past 5000 years, creating a continental disequilibrium of species distributions with current climatic conditions. On the basis of these four examples, we suggest the use of palaeo-validated process-based dynamic models to better assess future vegetation dynamics under global change conditions.
Simon Pierce
University of Milan, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Italy
What is the minimum viable population size for rare plant species?
Gabriele Carraro
Dionea SA, Locarno, Switzerland
The forest vegetation of the Onsernone Valley, 100 years ago, today and future trends.
The forest vegetation of the Onsernone Valley, 100 years ago, today and future trends.
Ing. forst. dipl. ETH Gabriele Carraro
Dionea SA, Locarno, Switzerland
It has been more than 100 years ago, that Johannes Bär studied and mapped the forest vegetation of the Onsernone valley (Ticino): rare, scientific work in our Alpine valleys, with great benefits for today’s understanding of evolutionary dynamics and for the management of forest ecosystems. For the comparison of the current state of vegetation with that of the past and for processing of future development scenarios, an updated mapping was required in addition to Bär’s map. A detailed mapping carried out solely by terrestrial surveys, in rough and partly inaccessible regions, which extends over 100 km2, is difficult and very costly. To overcome these difficulties, an alternative method was developed, based on existing terrestrial surveys and supplemented by trans-sectoral mapping over a total area of 10 km2. These assessments were the basis for an area-wide modelling using Random Forest Models. Considering the large number of forest types present in the valley (31), the model is able to forecast effectively. In an area with many newly formed forests, reliability of results could be increased by the evolutionary dynamics derived from historical maps. Hence, J. Bär’s map represents a valuable data set that contributes to a better understanding of the present vegetation distribution. Subsequently, results of the modelling and the quality of the forest vegetation map could be improved thanks to existing and additional terrestrial surveys and to the use of aerial photographs and drones for quality control. Based on these findings combined with contributions in the field of forest history, landscape studies, palynology and local climatic conditions, it was possible to reconstruct the dynamics of forest vegetation in the Onsernone valley with its evolutionary potential, considering also climate change scenarios.
Preliminary Program
FRIDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2020
Franklin University, Sorengo
Workshop
Organizer: Dr. David Frey, Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL and coordinator of fungi and lichen conservation, Canton Ticino, Switzerland.
Type of event: Short oral presentations and round-table discussion
The aim of this event is to provide an overview of cryptogam conservation initiatives in Switzerland, with a special focus on the Southern Alps. In addition, recent advances in the knowledge of cryptogam diversity and distribution will be presented. Conservation status (e.g. Red List) assessments of fungi, lichens and bryophytes are challenging. Challenges include poor knowledge of their distribution, taxonomic uncertainties and lack of experts. Thus, the short oral presentations and round-table discussion also serve as an exchange of ideas and experience on how to face these challenges, and to identify potential synergies in conservation among groups.
Cost for participants: free
Max. 30 participants, upon registration
Organizer: Corinne Huck, Info Flora Bern, Switzerland.
Type of event: Introductory oral presentation and group discussion
The last comprehensive mapping of the Swiss flora was carried out from 1967 to 1982 and resulted in the Atlas of Welten & Sutter. Since 1982, floristic mappings have only been carried out in some regions resulting in considerable differences of sampling intensity among regions. Consequently, the distribution of several species is not correctly known and the evolution of the flora is difficult to assess. To solve these problems, we need to ensure a minimum sampling intensity throughout Switzerland with a common methodology. Finding a common methodology is a real challenge, especially when it also has to be applied to remote and steep mountain areas where few botanists are living. Since 2015, Info Flora adopted an approach for its project “Mission Inventory” where the inventory at the resolution of 5x5km starts with a complete inventory of the central 1x1km-square. Based on the results, Info Flora decided to propose some strategic changes and is testing in 2020 a new approach based on 100x100m plots nested in 5x5km-squares. By the time of the event in November, results of the 2020 field tests will be available. We would like to use this event to present the method, to discuss it and to find together solutions for the biggest challenges of such a mapping project.
Cost for participants: free, upon registration
Organizer: Anna Probert and Giovanni Vimercati, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
Type of event: Workshop
Alien species cause a range of different environmental impacts through a variety of mechanisms. Until recently, understanding and evaluating these impacts across taxa was relatively difficult due to a lack of a standardised metric that could be applied across different invasion scenarios. To address this knowledge gap, the Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) was developed; this year, EICAT was adopted by the IUCN as an official classification system.
EICAT is a ranked classification scheme that works by assigning one of five impact magnitudes to individual records of impact collated from the literature. So far, the system has been applied to various taxa at both local and global scales, providing a key tool for invasion scientists, pest managers and other practitioners.
During this workshop, you will learn the key concepts of EICAT and then how to apply it using real impact records for various taxonomic groups. You will become equipped with the correct knowledge and understanding to apply EICAT under the IUCN standard.
Cost for participants: free
Max. 20 participants, upon registration
SATURDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2020
Natural history museum, Lugano
SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2020
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Organizing Committee
Scientific Committee
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