Dr. Florian Zellweger
Function
scientific staff member
Contact
+41 44 739 26 77
Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL
Zürcherstrasse 111
8903 Birmensdorf
Site
Birmensdorf Bi HP D 58
Research
My research is centred on using high-resolution remote sensing data and large field databases to understand how forests and biodiversity are responding to climate change and land management. Key research topics include (1) understanding how microclimates are shaping the response of biodiversity to climate change, (2) how monitoring of forest diversity is affected by sampled area and environmental heterogeneity, and (3) using georeferenced species occurrence data to model biodiversity dynamics in space and over time. To increase the impact of this research I am collaborating with industry partners to develop evidence-based and innovative solutions for biodiversity and natural capital monitoring. I am working towards strengthening the link between ecology and the digitalisation of natural resources, to help manage ecosystems sustainably and safeguard the provisioning of ecosystem services to future generations.
Education & Employment
| 11/2019 – present | Scientific staff member, WSL, Forest Resources and Management, Birmensdorf |
| 02/2019 – present | Associate, Natural Capital Research Ltd., Oxford, UK |
| 09/2017 – 11/2019 | SNF Postdoc Mobility Fellow, University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences, Cambridge, UK, advisor: Prof. David Coomes |
| 05/2016 – 08/2017 | Postdoc, WSL, Land Change Science, Birmensdorf |
| 07/2013 - 03/2016 | Ph.D., Ecology (Biodiversity and Remote Sensing), ETH Zurich |
| 2012 – 2013 | Scientific assistant, WSL, Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, Birmensdorf |
| 2006 – 2012 | B.S. and M.S., Geography (GIScience, Biogeography, Forest and Landscape Management), University of Zurich |
| 2002 – 2006 | Claims Manager, SwissRe, Division Property and Casualty, Zurich |
| 1999 – 2010 | Several projects in mountain forest management and in the Swiss National Park (civil service) |
Selected publications
Zellweger, F., De Frenne, P., Lenoir, J., Vangansbeke, P, Verheyen, K., Bernhardt-Römermann, M., ... Coomes, D. (2020). Forest microclimate dynamics drive plant responses to warming. Science, 368, 772–775. (link to pdf).
Zellweger, F., De Frenne, P., Lenoir, J., Rocchini, D., & Coomes, D. (2019). Advances in microclimate ecology arising from remote sensing. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34(4), 327–341.
De Frenne, P., Zellweger, F., Rodríguez-Sánchez, F., Scheffers, B., Hylander, K., Luoto, M., … Lenoir, J. (2019). Global buffering of temperatures under forest canopies. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 744–749.
Zellweger, F., Roth, T., Bugmann, H., & Bollmann, K. (2017). Beta diversity of plants, birds and butterflies is closely associated with climate and habitat structure. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 26(8), 898–906.
Zellweger, F., Baltensweiler, A., Ginzler, C., Roth, T., Braunisch, V., Bugmann, H., & Bollmann, K. (2016). Environmental predictors of species richness in forest landscapes: abiotic factors versus vegetation structure. Journal of Biogeography, 43(6), 1080–1090.