School of Life Sciences
and Facility Management

Research Vegetation Ecology Research Group

Research foci

Evidence-based nature conservation

Measures against the dramatic loss of biodiversity often are less efficient than they could be, also because scientific findings are insufficiently taken into account or are lacking. The research group therefore develops nature conservation measures at the level of individual species, plant communities and habitat types and establishes monitoring schemes. Examples of projects are the ecological upgrading of forest edges, the control of invasive plants and the conservation biology of the flora of erratic boulders.

Plant diversity and its change

The understanding of species-rich and species-poor habitats is crucial for biodiversity conservation. The research group addresses this topic with field observations, experiments and the use of existing databases. In addition, the influence of global change (climate change, land use change, eutrophication, etc.) and the driving factors for change are of interest. One possibility is the resurvey of localizable historical vegetation plots.

 

Ecoinformatics and vegetation databases

Large vegetation databases such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) offer significant opportunities for research in ecology and nature conservation. In this way, new classifications of vegetation types can be created or the conditions under which species become invasive can be explored. One of the aims of the research group is to establish a Swiss national vegetation database as an EVA partner and at the same time to develop a Europe-wide, optimised system of ecological indicator values.

Publications

  • Talebi, Amir; Vynokurov, Denys; Attar, Farideh; Dengler, Jürgen; Naqinezhad, Alireza,

    2024.

    Vegetation of the southern slopes of Mt. Damavand, Iran : a comprehensive phytosociological classification.

    Vegetation Classification and Survey.

    5, pp. 301-328.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32234

  • Hähn, Georg J. A.; Damasceno, Gabriella; Alvarez-Davila, Esteban; Aubin, Isabelle; Bauters, Marijn; Bergmeier, Erwin; Biurrun, Idoia; Bjorkman, Anne D.; Bonari, Gianmaria; Botta-Dukát, Zoltán; Campos, Juan A.; Čarni, Andraž; Chytrý, Milan; Ćušterevska, Renata; de Gasper, André Luís; De Sanctis, Michele; Dengler, Jürgen; Dolezal, Jiri; El-Sheikh, Mohamed A.; Finckh, Manfred; Galán-de-Mera, Antonio; Garbolino, Emmanuel; Gholizadeh, Hamid; Golub, Valentin; Haider, Sylvia; Hatim, Mohamed Z.; Hérault, Bruno; Homeier, Jürgen; Jandt, Ute; Jansen, Florian; Jentsch, Anke; Kattge, Jens; Kessler, Michael; Khanina, Larisa; Kreft, Holger; Küzmič, Filip; Lenoir, Jonathan; Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Mucina, Ladislav; Naqinezhad, Alireza; Noroozi, Jalil; Pérez-Haase, Aaron; Phillips, Oliver L.; Pillar, Valério D.; Rivas-Torres, Gonzalo; Ruprecht, Eszter; Sandel, Brody; Schmidt, Marco; Schmiedel, Ute; Schnitzer, Stefan; Schrodt, Franziska; Šilc, Urban; Sparrow, Ben; Sporbert, Maria; Stančić, Zvjezdana; Strohbach, Ben; Svenning, Jens-Christian; Tang, Cindy Q.; Tang, Zhiyao; Vibrans, Alexander Christian; Violle, Cyrille; Waller, Donald; Wana, Desalegn; Wang, Hua-Feng; Whitfeld, Timothy; Zizka, Georg; Sabatini, Francesco Maria; Bruelheide, Helge,

    2024.

    Global decoupling of functional and phylogenetic diversity in plant communities.

    Nature Ecology & Evolution.

    9(2), pp. 237-248.

  • Guarino, Riccardo; Vynokurov, Denys; Dengler, Jürgen; Berastegi, Asun; Biurrun, Idoia; Garcia-Mijangos, Itziar; Janišová, Monika; Lonati, Michele; Nikolei, Robin; Mainetti, Andrea; Miskova, Olena; Sánchez-Carmona, Sara; Tyshchenko, Oksana; Nota, Ginevra,

    2024.

    (Re)discovery of four annual vascular plant species in dry grasslands in the Southwestern Alps (NW Italy).

    Palaearctic Grasslands.

    (62), pp. 28-33.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32226

  • Dengler, Jürgen; Biurrun, Idoia,

    2024.

    EDGG’s high-quality vegetation database GrassPlot calls for new data.

    Palaearctic Grasslands.

    (62), pp. 4-8.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32224

  • Dengler, Jürgen; Barandun, Marco; Borovyk, Dariia; Dembicz, Iwona; Frey, David; Vynokurov, Denys,

    2024.

    The overlooked diversity of dry grasslands in Ticino (Switzerland) – with impressions from the 19th EDGG Field Workshop.

    Palaearctic Grasslands.

    (62), pp. 54-69.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32223

  • Cancellieri, Laura; Sperandii, Marta G.; Rosati, Leonardo; Bellisario, Bruno; Franceschini, Cinzia; Aleffi, Michele; Bartolucci, Fabrizio; Becker, Thomas; Belonovskaya, Elena; Berastegi, Asun; Biurrun, Idoia; Brunetti, Michele; Bückle, Christoph; Che, Rongxiao; Conti, Fabio; Dembicz, Iwona; Fanni, Stefania; Fantinato, Edy; Frank, Dieter; Frattaroli, Anna Rita; Garcia‐Mijangos, Itziar; Guglielmino, Adalgisa; Janišová, Monika; Maestri, Samuele; Magnes, Martin; Potenza, Giovanna; Primi, Riccardo; Sobolev, Nikolay; Tsarevskaya, Nadezda; Vacca, Andrea; Dengler, Jürgen; Filibeck, Goffredo,

    2024.

    Drivers of vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen richness in grasslands along a precipitation gradient (central Apennines, Italy).

    Journal of Vegetation Science.

    35(5), pp. e13305.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32244

  • Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    Determinants of citation impact.

    Vegetation Classification and Survey.

    5, pp. 169-177.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32368

  • Dengler, Jürgen; Vassilev, Kiril; Bergmeier, Erwin,

    2024.

    Proposal (39) to conserve the name Koelerietalia splendentis Horvatić 1973 as a nomen conservandum.

    Vegetation Classification and Survey.

    5, pp. 165-167.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32033

  • Leblanc, César; Bonnet, Pierre; Servajean, Maximilien; Chytrý, Milan; Aćić, Svetlana; Argagnon, Olivier; Bergamini, Ariel; Biurrun, Idoia; Bonari, Gianmaria; Campos, Juan A.; Čarni, Andraž; Ćušterevska, Renata; De Sanctis, Michele; Dengler, Jürgen; Garbolino, Emmanuel; Golub, Valentin; Jandt, Ute; Jansen, Florian; Lebedeva, Maria; Lenoir, Jonathan; Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Pérez‐Haase, Aaron; Pielech, Remigiusz; Šibík, Jozef; Stančić, Zvjezdana; Stanisci, Angela; Swacha, Grzegorz; Uogintas, Domas; Vassilev, Kiril; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Joly, Alexis,

    2024.

    A deep‐learning framework for enhancing habitat identification based on species composition.

    Applied Vegetation Science.

    27(3), pp. e12802.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32225

  • Khodosovtsev, Alexander; Darmostuk, Valerii; Dembicz, Iwona; Dengler, Jürgen; Moysiyenko, Ivan; Kuzemko, Anna,

    2024.

    Circinaria ucrainica sp. nov., a new species from sand dunes of the Lower Dnipro valley (Ukraine).

    The Lichenologist.

    56(4), pp. 159-167.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-32236

  • Rupf, Reto; Rohrer, Jürg; Riesen, Matthias; Schlegel, Jürg; Dengler, Jürgen; Kulli Honauer, Beatrice; Graf, Roland Felix; Forster, Stefan,

    2024.

    Umweltauswirkungen alpiner Photovoltaikanlagen : eine Praxisgrundlage zur wissenschaftlichen Projektbegleitung.

    Wädenswil:

    ZHAW Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31145

  • Boch, Steffen; Dembicz, Iwona; Keller, Christine; Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    Cladonia homosekikaica Nuno new to Sweden : a cup lichen found in the grey dunes of Gotland.

    Palaearctic Grasslands.

    2024(61), pp. 14-17.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31058

  • Riedel, Susanne; Widmer, Stefan; Bringuier, Orane; Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    Cover vs. biomass sampling in grassland vegetation plots.

    Tuexenia.

    44, pp. 261-275.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31055

  • Borovyk, Dariia; Dembicz, Iwona; Dengler, Jürgen; Guarino, Riccardo; Kuzemko, Anna; Moysienko, Ivan; et al.,

    2024.

    Plant species richness records in Ukrainian steppes.

    Tuexenia.

    44, pp. 225-239.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31056

  • Schindler, Meret; Seiler, Hallie; Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    The effects of sprinkler irrigation on semi-natural grasslands in Valais (Switzerland).

    Tuexenia.

    44, pp. 277-296.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31057

  • Skobel, Nadiia; Kozub, Łukasz; Dembicz, Iwona; Boch, Steffen; Bruun, Hans Henrik; Chusova, Olha; Golub, Valentin; Helm, Aveliina; Iakushenko, Dmytro; Pawlikowski, Paweł; Zaniewski, Piotr; Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    Nordic-Baltic Grassland Vegetation Database (NBGVD) – current state and future prospects.

    Vegetation Classification and Survey.

    5, pp. 75-84.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31059

  • Vassilev, Kiril; Bergmeier, Erwin; Boch, Steffen; Pedashenko, Hristo; Sopotlieva, Desislava; Tsiripidis, Ioannis; Apostolova, Iva; Fotiadis, Georgios; Ganeva, Anna; Genova, Beloslava; Natcheva, Rayna; Pirini, Chrisoula; Shivarov, Veselin; Tichý, Lubomír; Vrahnakis, Michael; Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    Classification of the high‐rank syntaxa of the Central and Eastern Balkan dry grasslands with a new hierarchical expert system approach.

    Applied Vegetation Science.

    27(2), pp. e12779.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31060

  • Wamelink, G.W.W.; Goedhart, P.W.; Roelofsen, H.D.; Bobbink, R.; Posch, M.; van Dobben, H.F.; Biurrun, I.; Bonari, G.; Dengler, J.; Dítě, D.; Garbolino, E.; Jansen, J.; Jašková, A.K.; Lenoir, J.; Peterka, T.,

    2024.

    A novel method to estimate the response of habitat types to nitrogen deposition.

    Environmental Pollution.

    349(123844).

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31061

  • Vynokurov, Denys; Aleksanyan, Alla; Becker, Thomas; Biurrun, Idoia; Borovyk, Dariia; Fayvush, George; García-Mijangos, Itziar; Magnes, Martin; Palpurina, Salza; Becker, Ute; Berastegi, Asun; Cykowska-Marzencka, Beata; Dembicz, Iwona; Frank, Dieter; Hilpold, Andreas; Kirschner, Philipp; Mayrhofer, Helmut; Oganesian, Marine; Vasheniak, Iuliia; Dengler, Jürgen,

    2024.

    Dry grasslands and thorn-cushion communities of Armenia : a first syntaxonomic classification.

    Vegetation Classification and Survey.

    2024(5), pp. 39-73.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31033

  • Knollová, Ilona; Chytrý, Milan; Bruelheide, Helge; Dullinger, Stefan; Jandt, Ute; Bernhardt‐Römermann, Markus; Biurrun, Idoia; de Bello, Francesco; Glaser, Michael; Hennekens, Stephan; Jansen, Florian; Jiménez‐Alfaro, Borja; Kadaš, Daniel; Kaplan, Ekin; Klinkovská, Klára; Lenzner, Bernd; Pauli, Harald; Sperandii, Marta Gaia; Verheyen, Kris; Winkler, Manuela; Abdaladze, Otar; Aćić, Svetlana; Acosta, Alicia T. R.; Alignier, Audrey; Andrews, Christopher; Arlettaz, Raphaël; Attorre, Fabio; Axmanová, Irena; Babbi, Manuel; Baeten, Lander; Baran, Jakub; Barni, Elena; Benito‐Alonso, José‐Luis; Berg, Christian; Bergamini, Ariel; Berki, Imre; Boch, Steffen; Bock, Barbara; Bode, Frank; Bonari, Gianmaria; Boublík, Karel; Britton, Andrea J.; Brunet, Jörg; Bruzzaniti, Vanessa; Buholzer, Serge; Burrascano, Sabina; Campos, Juan A.; Carlsson, Bengt‐Göran; Carranza, Maria Laura; Černý, Tomáš; Charmillot, Kévin; Chiarucci, Alessandro; Choler, Philippe; Chytrý, Kryštof; Corcket, Emmanuel; Csecserits, Anikó; Cutini, Maurizio; Czarniecka‐Wiera, Marta; Danihelka, Jiří; de Francesco, Maria Carla; De Frenne, Pieter; Di Musciano, Michele; De Sanctis, Michele; Deák, Balázs; Decocq, Guillaume; Dembicz, Iwona; Dengler, Jürgen; Di Cecco, Valter; Dick, Jan; Diekmann, Martin; Dierschke, Hartmut; Dirnböck, Thomas; Doerfler, Inken; Doležal, Jiří; Döring, Ute; Durak, Tomasz; Dwyer, Ciara; Ejrnæs, Rasmus; Ermakova, Inna; Erschbamer, Brigitta; Fanelli, Giuliano; Fernández‐Calzado, María‐Rosa; Fickert, Thomas; Fischer, Andrea; Fischer, Markus; Foremnik, Kacper; Frouz, Jan; García‐González, Ricardo; García‐Magro, Daniel; García‐Mijangos, Itziar; Gavilán, Rosario G.; Germ, Mateja; Ghosn, Dany; Gigauri, Khatuna; Gizela, Jaroslav; Golob, Aleksandra; Golub, Valentin; Gómez‐García, Daniel; Gowing, David; Grytnes, John‐Arvid; Güler, Behlül; Gutiérrez‐Girón, Alba; Haase, Peter; Haider, Sylvia; Hájek, Michal; Halassy, Melinda; Harásek, Martin; Härdtle, Werner; Heinken, Thilo; Hester, Alison; Humbert, Jean‐Yves; Ibáñez, Ricardo; Illa, Estela; Jaroszewicz, Bogdan; Jensen, Kai; Jentsch, Anke; Jiroušek, Martin; Kalníková, Veronika; Kanka, Róbert; Kapfer, Jutta; Kazakis, George; Kermavnar, Janez; Kesting, Stefan; Khanina, Larisa; Kindermann, Elisabeth; Kotrík, Marek; Koutecký, Tomáš; Kozub, Łukasz; Kuhn, Gisbert; Kutnar, Lado; La Montagna, Dario; Lamprecht, Andrea; Lenoir, Jonathan; Lepš, Jan; Leuschner, Christoph; Lorite, Juan; Madsen, Bjarke; Ugarte, Rosina Magaña; Malicki, Marek; Maliniemi, Tuija; Máliš, František; Maringer, Alexander; Marrs, Robert; Matesanz, Silvia; Metze, Katrin; Meyer, Stefan; Millett, Jonathan; Mitchell, Ruth J.; Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Moiseev, Pavel; di Cella, Umberto Morra; Mudrák, Ondřej; Müller, Frank; Müller, Norbert; Naaf, Tobias; Nagy, Laszlo; Napoleone, Francesca; Nascimbene, Juri; Navrátilová, Jana; Ninot, Josep M.; Niu, Yujie; Normand, Signe; Ogaya, Romá; Onipchenko, Vladimir; Orczewska, Anna; Ortmann‐Ajkai, Adrienne; Pakeman, Robin J.; Pardo, Iker; Pätsch, Ricarda; Peet, Robert K.; Penuelas, Josep; Peppler‐Lisbach, Cord; Pérez‐Hernández, Javier; Pérez‐Haase, Aaron; Petraglia, Alessandro; Petřík, Petr; Pielech, Remigiusz; Piórkowski, Hubert; Pladevall‐Izard, Eulàlia; Poschlod, Peter; Prach, Karel; Praleskouskaya, Safiya; Prokhorov, Vadim; Provoost, Sam; Pușcaș, Mihai; Pustková, Štěpánka; Randin, Christophe François; Rašomavičius, Valerijus; Reczyńska, Kamila; Rédei, Tamás; Řehounková, Klára; Richner, Nina; Risch, Anita C.; Rixen, Christian; Rosbakh, Sergey; Roscher, Christiane; Rosenthal, Gert; Rossi, Graziano; Rötzer, Harald; Roux, Camille; Rumpf, Sabine B.; Ruprecht, Eszter; Rūsiņa, Solvita; Sanz‐Zubizarreta, Irati; Schindler, Meret; Schmidt, Wolfgang; Schories, Dirk; Schrautzer, Joachim; Schubert, Hendrik; Schuetz, Martin; Schwabe, Angelika; Schwaiger, Helena; Schwartze, Peter; Šebesta, Jan; Seiler, Hallie; Šilc, Urban; Silva, Vasco; Šmilauer, Petr; Šmilauerová, Marie; Sperle, Thomas; Stachurska‐Swakoń, Alina; Stanik, Nils; Stanisci, Angela; Steffen, Kristina; Storm, Christian; Stroh, Hans Georg; Sugorkina, Nadezhda; Świerkosz, Krzysztof; Świerszcz, Sebastian; Szymura, Magdalena; Teleki, Balázs; Thébaud, Gilles; Theurillat, Jean‐Paul; Tichý, Lubomír; Treier, Urs A.; Turtureanu, Pavel Dan; Ujházy, Karol; Ujházyová, Mariana; Ursu, Tudor Mihai; Uziębło, Aldona K.; Valkó, Orsolya; Van Calster, Hans; Van Meerbeek, Koenraad; Vandevoorde, Bart; Vandvik, Vigdis; Varricchione, Marco; Vassilev, Kiril; Villar, Luis; Virtanen, Risto; Vittoz, Pascal; Voigt, Winfried; von Hessberg, Andreas; von Oheimb, Goddert; Wagner, Eva; Walther, Gian‐Reto; Wellstein, Camilla; Wesche, Karsten; Wilhelm, Markus; Willner, Wolfgang; Wipf, Sonja; Wittig, Burghard; Wohlgemuth, Thomas; Woodcock, Ben A.; Wulf, Monika; Essl, Franz,

    2024.

    ReSurveyEurope : a database of resurveyed vegetation plots in Europe.

    Journal of Vegetation Science.

    35(2), pp. e13235.

    Available from: https://doi.org/10.21256/zhaw-31062