Niklaus E. Zimmermann
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nezimmermann.bsky.social
Niklaus E. Zimmermann
@nezimmermann.bsky.social

Scientist: #macroecology #biodiversity #biomes #plantscience #climatechange #plants #remotesensing #conservation #vegetation
⛰️🌳🌵🌴🔥💦🛰️
www.wsl.ch - tinyurl.com/3fb5n5dv - @wsl-dme

Environmental science 60%
Geography 16%
🚁🌳 We are collecting #biome data in #Ecuador using three types of #drones:

1️⃣ #LiDAR – to analyze vertical biomass distribution
2️⃣ Multispectral – to assess canopy leaf area
3️⃣ Photo – to capture leaf imagery
🌳 Towering trees (often >50 m), massive buttress roots and woody lianas are typical plant traits of tropical rainforests. 🌧
🌿Fieldwork in the #Yasuni National Park, #Ecuador.🦜
Our researchers are studying the structural and functional properties of #rainforests to better understand and define #biomes.🌳🔎
Where do species find suitable habitats in Switzerland? And how will habitat suitabilities change under future climate scenarios?
Here, we have modelled maps for more than 7500 swiss species:
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
SDMapCH: a Comprehensive database of >7,500 modelled species habitat suitability maps for Switzerland - Scientific Data
Scientific Data - SDMapCH: a Comprehensive database of >7,500 modelled species habitat suitability maps for Switzerland
doi.org

What a wonderful sunrise at Paso Papallacta (4063 m a.s.l.) before dropping down from the Andes into the Amazon rainforest. We are ready to start working. More soon!
A breathtaking sunrise with a view of the #Antisana volcano on the road from Quito to Yasuní National Park.☀️🌋
A breathtaking sunrise with a view of the #Antisana volcano on the road from Quito to Yasuní National Park.☀️🌋
The BIOME team explored the high-altitude city of #Quito (2,850 m) before heading deep into the Amazon rainforest for fieldwork. 🌳🌿
🌎 Our BIOME project team has just begun a 3.5-week research expedition in Ecuador! 🇪🇨 They’ll be conducting fieldwork across diverse landscapes to study how biomes have evolved and how to define them. 🔎🌿🏔️ Stay tuned for field updates! ✨
👉BIOME project: shorturl.at/RLQPw
🔊 New paper: first integration of population genetics🧬 and dynamic species distribution modeling🌐 using #KISSMig to reconstruct postglacial dynamics of wild black pepper, endemic to India’s Western Ghats. #macroecology #popgen #phylogeography #biogeography

👉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
This week, I presented my research on #BiomeConservatism at the @cpeg-cpb25.bsky.social in Zürich. 🌍 🌱 The analysis of 161 plant lineages across the globe provides clear evidence for biome conservatism and the mechanisms underlying current #biodiversity patterns and #biome dynamics. 💡
📱🌱 Plant identification apps are booming – but which one is the best? And how reliable are the results? 🤔 Our researchers collected over 5,000 photos of 560 Swiss plant species from 85 habitat types and tested the most popular apps.🔎 Here are the findings: shorturl.at/lD0Cl
At WSL @wslresearch.bsky.social we are hiring a "Postdoc in Regional Climate Downscaling" for a forest/climate project in Armenia funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (DEZA).
📍 Switzerland | 🕐 1.5 yrs | 📅 Start: Spring 2025
Details: apply.refline.ch/273855/1727/...
Please share widely.
@clechartre.bsky.social reimplemented #BIOME4 into a modular, high-performance #Julia version, enabling 1 km vegetation modeling 🌱 and integration of #CHELSA climate datasets. 🌦️ We can now simulate biome patterns across complex terrains ⛰️ and define biome boundaries with greater accuracy. 🎯
🌿 Join Our Team as Postdoctoral Researcher in Regional Climate Downscaling at the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL in Switzerland and lead the development of regional, highresolution climate scenarios for Armenia. @wslresearch.bsky.social @wsl-dme.bsky.social apply.refline.ch/273855/1747/...
The 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 has released a Special Feature on "𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻", including an insightful editorial by our scientists Silke Bauer & @nezimmermann.bsky.social.🌍⚡🌱 #energytransition #ecology #renewablenergy #greenenergy
Towards a sustainable energy transition
Combining the goals of energy transition and biodiversity protection is both necessary and possible. With the costs of inaction increasing rapidly, we need to remember that combatting climate change ....
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
🍁🌷🌼Interessiert an Tipps zur KI-basierten Pflanzenbestimmung mit FlorApp/FlorID der neuen Bestimmungstool für die #Flora der #Schweiz?🥀🌳

👉Dann melde dich an am "Festival der Natur"!

shorturl.at/1fEEv
festivaldernatur.ch

#Natur #Biodiversität #FestivalderNatur #PflanzenBestimmen
Sicher bestimmen im Feld – mit KI zur Zweitmeinung
Schwierig zu bestimmende Pflanzen? Da hilft ein unabhängiger Blick. Das neue Tool FlorID der WSL bietet genau das: eine verlässliche Zweitmeinung – direkt im Feld. FlorID nutzt KI der neuesten Genera...
shorturl.at
🔉Version 2.0 of our #KISSMig #Rstats package for #SpeciesMigration modeling is now live on #CRAN. 🎉 Together with Dominik Landolt we boosted performance by implementing parallel computing—making this simple dynamic #SDM faster than ever. Learn more about KISSMig here 👉 purl.oclc.org/wsl/kissmig
What an amazing week at #EGU25 in Vienna! 🌍✨ We had a fantastic time connecting with fellow scientists from diverse fields, sharing our research and diving into inspiring discussions.💡 Grateful for the experience and already looking forward to next year! ❤️🚀
What drives the iconic buttress roots in tropical forests—mechanics or nutrients?🌳 At #EGU25, @haozhima.bsky.social presented his research on “The biogeography & functional understanding of buttress roots in tropical forests”. He’s part of our SNSF Advanced Grant project "BIOME.cc"🌎: rb.gy/r8vy1l
@clechartre.bsky.social held a session on "HP computing for mechanistic prediction of biome distribution" at #EGU25. She presented BIOME4.jl—a hi-res #Julia reimplementation of #BIOME4 to improve performance, modularity & scalability, enabling the simulation of biome dynamics in complex terrains.🌍🖥️
Mountain species are at risk of extinction as global temperatures rise—but how these risks will manifest remains unclear. 🌱🏔️ Bert Wuyts's research sheds light on this by exploring how habitats become fragmented & isolated as populations shift to higher elevations. He presented his results at #EGU25.
Elena Plekhanova gave an excellent talk on "SeCo-Eco: Global multiband seasonal pre-training dataset and self-supervised model for ecological applications" at the #EGU25. 🌍🛰️

🔗More information & presentation slides are available here:
plekhanovaelena.github.io/ssl4eco/
Thrilled to share that we will be participating in the European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2025 #EGU25 in #Vienna — with four sessions led by our scientists!🚀 Don’t miss the chance to join their talks and meet them in person for insightful discussions & future collaborations!💡🌱

Great opportunity, cool topic. Apply, if interested!
At WSL @wslresearch.bsky.social we are hiring a "Postdoc in Regional Climate Downscaling" for a forest/climate project in Armenia funded by the Swiss Development Cooperation (DEZA).
📍 Switzerland | 🕐 1.5 yrs | 📅 Start: Spring 2025
Details: apply.refline.ch/273855/1727/...
Please share widely.

Well done, Yaquan!

Very honored to have contributed a keynote to the 25th Swiss Global Change Day #SGDC25, and very happy to have attended excellent talks and discussions, and having met many interesting persons from many different fields. A great anniversary!
@scnat.ch @wsl-dme.bsky.social
scnat.ch SCNAT @scnat.ch · Apr 9
🏞️ «Biodiversity is an insurance against risks from #climate extremes»: @nezimmermann.bsky.social (@wslresearch.bsky.social) is now sharing insights on conserving #biodiversity. Enhancing connectivity between habitants and developing joint solutions are key, he adds #SGCD25
SCNAT @scnat.ch · Apr 9
🏞️ «Biodiversity is an insurance against risks from #climate extremes»: @nezimmermann.bsky.social (@wslresearch.bsky.social) is now sharing insights on conserving #biodiversity. Enhancing connectivity between habitants and developing joint solutions are key, he adds #SGCD25
Last week, we gathered for a 3-day retreat in the stunning medieval castle of #Burgdorf🏰✨ – an inspiring setting and a fantastic opportunity for deep discussions, strategic planning, vison alignment, team building and lots of fun with hiking and VR game.❤️🥾🎮 Excited for what’s to come!🚀
We are excited to be a part of the Winter School & Symposium 2025: Harnessing #MachineLearning for Breakthroughs in Plant and Environmental Sciences @ethzurich.bsky.social !🤖🌱 Looking forward to inspiring discussions and collaborations!💡🚀
More information & registration: shorturl.at/PqT9c
1/ How often does a major droughts hit the Alps? A deep dive into the data. 🌍

Having free and accessible drought data makes it easy to check how climate change has already impacted a region. Using our global drought dataset envidat.ch#/metadata/gl..., I took a closer look at the Alps. 🧵👇
Envidat
envidat.ch