The longevity of alpine plants could be a disadvantage, because it hinders the evolutionary adaptation to the changing climate. Inventory reductions are therefore often initiated by aging and thinning of individual populations. An international team of researchers from the Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research and from the University of Zurich developed a new model that takes into account ecological and evolutionary mechanisms. This allows more reliable predictions on the development of plant diversity. [read more] Olivier Cotto, Johannes Wessely, Damien Georges, Günther Klonner, Max Schmid, Stefan Dullinger, Wilfried Thuiller, and Frédéric Guillaume: "A dynamic eco-evolutionary model predicts slow response of alpine plants to climate warming." (Nature Communications, 8, 15399. Mai 5, 2017. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15399)