Colloques du Collège de France - Collège de France

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : European Initiatives for Pollinator Monitoring

Denis Michez

Laboratory of Zoology, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium

Résumé

Several studies have now shown at different spatial scale that certain species of the wild bee fauna are in decline in Europe. In response, some European countries and the European commission are implementing action plans to mitigate negative population trends. To evaluate the efficiency of these actions we need an accurate estimation of population. One of the first actions proposed is therefore an ambitious monitoring program, which involves the development of taxonomic recognition tools and training to use them. Several projects started in 2021 and concern the whole of European continent. We will present here the initiatives on taxonomy (ORBIT project) and on capacity building (SPRING project). ORBIT and SRPING are three-years projects commissioned by the General Directorate for Environment of the European Commission. Orbit aims to develop taxonomic resources for facilitating European bee inventory and monitoring. SPRING aims to strengthen the taxonomic capacity in EU Member States, and support preparation for the implementation of the EU Pollinator Monitoring Scheme "EU-PoMS", notably by organising training sessions for different level of expertise. The trainings aimed at 4 different levels: (i) identifying large pollinator groups, (ii) identifying bees and hoverflies to genus level, (iii) identifying bees or hoverflies to species group level, (iv) identifying bees or hoverflies to species level. Trainings at level (i) were developed at the national scale; levels (ii) and (iii) were covering multiple countries; and level (iv) considered the whole Europe. Moreover, the project created a series of e-learing materials on pollinator identification at different levels, focusing on the needs of people involved on the monitoring. All this material will be open to the public on the online portal 'Pollinator Academy', that will act as a hub to centralise information about already available tools related to pollinator identification (articles, online keys, books, interesting links, other courses, etc.).

Denis Michez

Je suis professeur de botanique et de zoologie à l'université de Mons où j'enseigne depuis 2008. Je développe des recherches sur les abeilles sauvages, leur taxonomie, leur distribution, leur écologie ou encore leur conservation. Je suis impliqué dans plusieurs projets européens, notamment sur le développement de liste rouge et sur l'impact des pesticides ou du changement climatique.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : European Policy Background for Pollinator Monitoring

Andreas Gumbert

European Commission - DG Environment, Brussels, Belgium

Résumé

In the framework of the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted political strategies that are of relevance for the monitoring of pollinators. The EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 establishes an objective to reverse the decline of pollinators by 2030. The EU Pollinator Initiative was revised in 2023, and it provides an action framework for (i) improving knowledge on pollinators (including monitoring), (ii) tackling the drivers of their decline, and (iii) for mobilising society and engage in strategic planning. The methodology for an EU-wide pollinator monitoring scheme is being developed, supported by a range of activities to enhance the taxonomic capacity on pollinators. The Commission aims at setting up an integrated monitoring framework, linking information about the status and trends of pollinator populations with drivers of their decline, in particular land use and habitat quality, as well as pesticide pressure. The Commission supports several monitoring initiatives in this regard (LUCAS, EMBAL, Insignia).

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : Plant Biodiversity Trends and Monitoring in Germany

Conférence élaborée avec Helge Bruelheide (German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany).

Ute Jandt

Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Institute of Biology / Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Halle (Saale), Germany

Résumé

In Germany (Central Europe) biodiversity has changed profoundly with respect to composition and spatial extent of ecosystems because of a multitude of environmental change drivers and a high human impact. Nevertheless, existing monitoring programmes in Germany only cover the last two decades and lack data, coverage and integration. The project "sMon – Analysing trends in German species data" initiated by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig has the aim to mobilize data from different sources to derive biodiversity trends. The data used comprise very different spatial and temporal grains, ranging from vegetation plot time series on a very few metres squared to grid cell mapping of whole Germany. The different types of data have a poor temporal or spatial coverage, but can provide important information on biodiversity change which goes beyond current programmes. The analysis at the coarse scale of 100km2-grid cells revealed losses in frequency of about 70% of all plant species in Germany. The spatial patterns in losses and gains differed between native species, archaeophytes and neophytes.

Ute Jandt

Dr. Institute of Biology, Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany.

Work experience:

2004-today: Senior researcher at the Institute of Biology / Geobotany and Botanical Garden, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany

www.uni-halle.de/botanik

Vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, vegetation science, nature conservation and protection, vegetation databases, biodiversity research, community assembly

Business or sector Research and Education:

2020-today: Senior researcher in EuropaBON, Monitoring ecosystems through research, innovation and technology

2012-today: Member of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)

Education and training:

1999: Doctoral degree in Ecology (Dr. rer. nat.), University of Göttingen

1991-1992: Diploma thesis in vegetation, University of Göttingen

1985-1991: Biology at the University of Göttingen

1984: Abitur Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg-Gesamtschule in Göttingen

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : forestREplot: A Database of Forest Herb Layer Resurvey Plots

Pieter de Frenne

Forest & Nature Lab, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

Résumé

Resurveys of historical vegetation plots are invaluable to document patterns of change in community composition and diversity. They are also useful to better understand impacts of multiple and interacting global-change drivers. The relevance of resurveys is particularly high for communities exhibiting slow dynamics, such as herb layers in temperate forests. Furthermore, herb layers in temperate forests typically comprise a large fraction of the vascular plant diversity and are known to be strongly affected by various global-change drivers, including past land use, increased atmospheric deposition and changing management. forestREplot is a database of forest herb layer resurvey plots, spread across the temperate zones of the globe. The database is used to quantify changes in herb layer composition and forest functioning, and to assess the effects of global environmental changes such as nitrogen deposition and climate change. The total number of plots in the database is now 5,524 plots representing not less than 14,185 relevees. The just released forestREplot 3.0 (January 2024) is now based on the World Flora Online (WFO) as new taxonomic standard. We have now 79 data sets with 1 resurvey, 9 with 2 resurveys, 2 with 3 resurveys, 3 with 4 resurveys, and 2 with 5 resurveys.

Pieter De Frenne

Full professor of applied botany.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : Long-Term Changes in Forest Plant Communities Have Affected Species' Abundances and Pollinator Resources

Donald M. Waller

American datasets from forestREplot, Madison, USA

Résumé

Baseline surveys are essential to assess long-term shifts in plant communities. In the early 2000s, we re-surveyed 293 sites of six forest types in Wisconsin, USA. Data from these sites, first surveyed in the 1950s, allowed us to infer long-term shifts in diversity and abundance of 292 species. Statewide, more species decreased in abundance (63%, and 68% of native species) than increased (37% of species, including most non-native species). Native species declined, on average, by 41% while non-native species increased by 584%. Many animal-pollinated wildflowers declined conspicuously, while abiotically pollinated graminoids and some ferns tended to increase. Among native species, those with zygomorphic flowers (specialized pollinators) declined more in abundance. Among non-native species, those with abiotic pollination showed smaller increases. Declines were greater in smaller, more fragmented southern upland forest patches, reflecting a continuing extinction debt. Small remnant grasslands experienced even higher species losses and stronger area effects. Larger, more continuous forests in northern Wisconsin retained plant diversity better but deer herbivory has shifted their composition. Understanding how diversity and traits shifted across sites and communities helps illuminate the mechanisms driving changes in diversity and pollinator resources in temperate forests.

Donald M. Waller

Prof. Waller taught ecology, evolution, and conservation biology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison as the Curtis Professor of Botany & Environmental Studies. His interests include plant population dynamics; plant reproductive ecology; effects of habitat fragmentation; monitoring long-term ecological change to identify drivers (e.g., forestREplot); and how ungulates and N-deposition affect forest plant communities. He served as Associate Editor of Ecology Letters, Editor-in-Chief of Evolution, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Palme Academique recipient, and President of the Society for the Study of Evolution. He co-authored Wild Forests: Conservation Biology and Public Policy (Island Press) and edited The Vanishing Present: Shifts in Wisconsin's lands, waters, and wildlife (Univ. of Chicago Press). Dr Waller works to apply his expertise to improve forest, wildlife, and habitat management.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : Structured Monitoring of Wild Flora in France Demonstrates 15 Years of Plant Community Changes Related to Climate Change and Pollinator Loss

Gabrielle Martin

Enseignante-chercheuse à l'université de Toulouse III Paul Sabatier et au Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE)

Résumé

Standardised long-term biodiversity monitoring schemes, based on repeated visits to fixed sites, offer the possibility of comparing biodiversity in space and time, while avoiding most of the biases associated with opportunistic data, particularly when the monitored sites are a representative (random) sample of ecosystems. When information on abundance is collected, standardised monitoring enables the detection of subtle temporal changes in populations, species and communities.

In France, Vigie-flore is such a standardised monitoring scheme targeting wild flora launched in 2009, involving amateur and professional botanists to survey plant communities across all habitat types. The monitoring data have revealed an ongoing, nationwide reshuffling of plant communities in response to climate change, but also a decline of common insect-pollinated species over the last decade, with consequences for community composition. These studies contribute to highlighting rapid changes in wild flora on a national scale and identifying plausible mechanisms. We will discuss the direct implications for conservation and the perspectives of this plant monitoring scheme.

Gabrielle Martin

I am an associate professor in botany and plant community ecology at Toulouse University and at the Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement since 2021. Previously a post-doctoral researcher in plant community ecology at the Centre des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO) at the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle and at the Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Ecologie after a PhD in ecology (MNHN). I study how, and with what intensity, the various components of global change affect the composition of plant communities and changes in species abundance, using trait-based approaches and spatio-temporal analyses. My current research focuses on the impacts of global change on wild flora, the links between temporal trends in species and plant life history traits, the detection of syndromes in the response of species and groups of species, and the identification of the spatial heterogeneity of threats to flora. I am teaching botany, plant biology and plant ecology at university at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : NOVANA – Monitoring Danish Terrestrial Habitats

Bodil Ehlers

Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark

Christian Damgaard

Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Denmark

Résumé

Résumé

The Danish monitoring program NOVANA has recorded the community composition of higher plants and selected soil chemical variable in terrestrial habitats since 2004. The monitoring program was developed as a response to the EU habitat directive and covers 32 open habitats (dunes, heathlands, grasslands, bogs) and 10 forest habitat types in two bioregions (Atlantic and Continental). The data consists of a total of 2,722 sites, 26,606 plots, and 70,481 plots*year combinations. Selected results will be presented.

Bodil Ehlers

Phd in 2000. Has for the last ten years worked as senior scientist at the department of Ecoscience, University of Aarhus. Main research area is Plant Evolutionary and Community Ecology with a specific focus on understanding the role of plant secondary compounds and functional traits for plant-plant interactions, and plants adaptation to the abiotic and biotic environment.

Christian Damgaard

Dr. Scient., Professor at the Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University. CD's interests cover plant population and community ecology, where he has developed empirical ecological models that have been applied to ecological data using advanced statistical methodology.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : Biodiversity Monitoring in Switzerland: Current State and Insights into Plant-Pollinator Interactions

Jérôme Frei

Senior Policy Advisor, Federal Office for the Environment

Tobias Roth

Senior scientists, Hintermann & Weber AG / University of Basel

Résumé

Switzerland's biodiversity is systematically surveyed by an array of programs, each designed to cover distinct facets of biodiversity across spatial scales as well as policy evaluation needs.

Although each initiative has discrete aims, collectively, they form a complementary set of programs that collect data, when analyzed in combination, offer significant added value to document and understand biodiversity trends. One of these programs is the Swiss Biodiversity Monitoring (BDM) which focuses on the collection of data on common and widespread species, thereby illuminating developments in the normal landscapes outside protected areas. Special attention is paid to vascular plants and butterflies, which are recorded on the same study plots. Since the start of the program in the early 2000s, an increase in common species diversity has been observed for both groups. While a large portion of this increase can be attributed to climate change, other factors such as agricultural promotion measures contributed as well. However, only a subset of species benefited from these changes, and over time, species communities of both plants and butterflies became more homogeneous, indicating biotic homogenization. It is likely that these changes also impacted plant-pollinator interactions. For example, the overall increase in plant species richness was mostly driven by wind-pollinated species. In contrast, species with complex flowers, which are essential for specialized groups of flower-visiting insects profited less. The presentation will end with a look forward, identifying current gaps in the Swiss monitoring system and discussing approaches to address these gaps.

Jérôme Frei

Jérôme Frei is a scientific employee at the Federal Office for the Environment in the division Biodiversity and Landscape (section biodiversity policy) where he is responsible for the major national monitoring and evaluation biodiversity programs of Switzerland (BDM, WBS, ALL-EMA and MHB). His tasks include promoting collaboration and coordination between the different programs. He promotes research work on biodiversity data and facilitates the communication of results of the different monitoring and evaluation programs to policy-makers and decision-makers. He holds a PhD in biology and a master in sustainable development. Previously, he worked at the Federal Office for Agriculture where he we was in charge for the agri-environmental monitoring and was involved in the development of agrienvironemntal schemes to promote biodiversity in farmland.

Tobias Roth

My research is centred on using data from large-scale field surveys such as the Biodiversity Monitoring Switzerland, to better understand how biodiversity responds to global change such as nitrogen deposition, land-use, or climate-change. I focus on the human-dominated landscapes in Switzerland and aim to provide information that can be used in biodiversity conservation.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : Tracking Plant Population Dynamics with a Citizen Science Network

María Begoña García

Researcher, Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), Spain

Résumé

Long-term monitoring is a crucial tool for anticipating population collapse, which is particularly important in the case of priority species (rare, endangered or threatened). The 'Adopt a plant' programme was launched in 2013 as a collaborative network for monitoring plant populations in a heterogeneous landscape in northeastern Spain. Coordinated by scientists, participants (volunteers and rangers) estimate population sizes, record disturbances and follow rigorous sampling methods to track plant abundance year after year. This information allows us to estimate the long-term trend and temporal variation of nearly 300 populations. Regardless of the method used, we produce standardised indices of abundance change and, interestingly, stability resulted to be the dominant trend, particularly for priority species. Such information is crucial for reporting the conservation status of threatened plants and plants of Community interest (Habitats Directive). Our unexpected finding also highlights the importance of collecting large-scale information in order to refine conservation priorities and achieve a more comprehensive assessment of the vulnerability of the flora.

María Begoña García

I work in Conservation Ecology, and more specifically in the "long-term dynamics of biodiversity". I conduct studies that combine field data with new technologies in order to develop efficient monitoring systems, develop methods and models to support decision making on conservation problems, produce reliable indicators of biodiversity change, and generate early warning signals. I work in Conservation Ecology, and more specifically in the "long-term dynamics of biodiversity". I conduct studies that combine field data with new technologies in order to develop efficient monitoring systems, develop methods and models to support decision making on conservation problems, produce reliable indicators of biodiversity change, and generate early warning signals I work in Conservation Ecology, and more specifically in the "long-term dynamics of biodiversity". I conduct studies that combine field data with new technologies in order to develop efficient monitoring systems, develop methods and models to support decision making on conservation problems, produce reliable indicators of biodiversity change, and generate early warning signals. Since 2013 I coordinate a citizen science network involving more than 200 volunteers and rangers, who monitor plant populations over an ample environmental gradient in NE of the Iberian Peninsula. More than 300 plant populations are censused yearly to obtain population trends.

Emmanuelle Porcher

Collège de France

Biodiversité et écosystèmes

Année 2023-2024

Colloque - Nouvelles approches pour le suivi des plantes, des pollinisateurs et de leurs interactions dans un monde en changement : The National Plant Monitoring Scheme, a New Direction for UK Plant Recording?

Oliver L. Pescott

Plant Ecologist, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Wallingford, UK

Résumé

Volunteer-based plant monitoring in the UK has focused historically on distribution mapping, with less emphasis on the collection of data on plant communities and habitats. However, abundance monitoring for other groups of organisms is well-established, e.g. for birds and butterflies, and UK conservation agencies have long desired comparable schemes for plants. We describe the first nine years of a new plant citizen science scheme for the UK, the 'National Plant Monitoring Scheme'. Scheme development emphasised volunteer flexibility through co-creation and feedback, whilst retaining a rigorous approach to sampling design. Comparisons with professional surveys have allowed for an understanding of the likely biases inherent to our approach, and model-based adjustments for these are being explored. Understanding the strengths and limitations of the NPMS will guide development, increase trust in outputs, and direct efforts for maintaining volunteer interest, as well as providing a set of ideas for other countries to experiment with.

Oliver L. Pescott

Oli is a plant ecologist who specialises in the design, management and analysis of volunteer-collected botanical datasets ("citizen science"). Within this area he has been instrumental in highlighting and addressing issues of bias, and has recently published the first ever "risk-of-bias" tool for descriptive inference in ecology ("ROBITT"). His botanical experience covers both the field- and desk-based ends of plant ecology; for example, he contributed to the recent Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's (BSBI) Plant Atlas 2020 as a surveyor, analyst and editor. He is also the current Recording Secretary for the British Bryoloical Society, the referee for alien grasses for the BSBI, and the local bryophyte recorder for Oxfordshire. His other interests include invasive non-native species, the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity, and the communication and presentation of uncertainty in biodiversity trend analyses.