PEOPLERoberta Bottarin

de en it

Roberta Bottarin

Vice Head of Institute
Institute for Alpine Environment

Deputy CEO
Head Office

T +39 0471 055 313

roberta.bottarin@eurac.edu

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6352-3699

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Scientific Publications

Journal article2025

A High-Resolution Climatic Water Balance for Eco-Hydrological Inference in the Upper Adige Catchment (Italy)

Tscholl S, Marsoner T, Bertoldi G, Bottarin R, Egarter Vigl L

Lukas Egarter Vigl, Giacomo Bertoldi, Thomas Marsoner, Roberta Bottarin, Simon Tscholl

Projekt: Eco-Hydrologie alpiner Einzugsgebiete

Mountain regions face unique challenges in managing water resources due to their complex topography, diverse climates and their role as water towers for the surrounding lowlands. Here, we present a spatially explicit, annual water balance dataset for the Upper Adige catchment in South Tyrol (Italy), covering the period from 1993 to 2022. The dataset is based on a distributed modelling approach and includes very high-resolution precipitation, evapotranspiration and land use data to compute the annual water balance. It captures both long-term trends and extreme conditions, taking into account gradients in terrain, slope and elevation using local correction factors. Modelled results are validated using stream gauge measurements from nine watersheds, achieving a correlation of over 0.9. This dataset provides a valuable resource for eco-hydrological studies and water resource management in alpine regions, offering detailed insights into the spatial variability and distribution of water availability.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.1002/gdj3.70007

Journal article2025

BioTIME 2.0: Expanding and Improving a Database of Biodiversity Time Series

Dornelas M, Antão LH, Bates AE, Brambilla V, Chase JM, Chow CFY, Fontrodona-Eslava A, Magurran AE,

Roberta Bottarin

Projekt: Ökologische Langzeituntersuchungen (LTSER) im Freilandlabor Matsch/Mazia

Motivation

Here, we make available a second version of the BioTIME database, which compiles records of abundance estimates for species in sample events of ecological assemblages through time. The updated version expands version 1.0 of the database by doubling the number of studies and includes substantial additional curation to the taxonomic accuracy of the records, as well as the metadata. Moreover, we now provide an R package (BioTIMEr) to facilitate use of the database.

Main Types of Variables Included

The database is composed of one main data table containing the abundance records and 11 metadata tables. The data are organised in a hierarchy of scales where 11,989,233 records are nested in 1,603,067 sample events, from 553,253 sampling locations, which are nested in 708 studies. A study is defined as a sampling methodology applied to an assemblage for a minimum of 2 years.

Spatial Location and Grain

Sampling locations in BioTIME are distributed across the planet, including marine, terrestrial and freshwater realms. Spatial grain size and extent vary across studies depending on sampling methodology. We recommend gridding of sampling locations into areas of consistent size.

Time Period and Grain

The earliest time series in BioTIME start in 1874, and the most recent records are from 2023. Temporal grain and duration vary across studies. We recommend doing sample-level rarefaction to ensure consistent sampling effort through time before calculating any diversity metric.

Major Taxa and Level of Measurement

The database includes any eukaryotic taxa, with a combined total of 56,400 taxa.

Software Format

csv and. SQL.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.1111/geb.70003

Conference proceedings article2025

Long-term monitoring of macroinvertebrate dynamics in response to climate and hydropower drivers in a glacier-fed Alpine stream

Vallefuoco F, Vanek M, Bottarin R

Francesca Vallefuoco, Magdalena Vanek, Roberta Bottarin

Projekt: Ökologische Langzeituntersuchungen (LTSER) im Freilandlabor Matsch/Mazia

Alpine riverine ecosystems are highly sensitive to climate change and anthropogenic pressures, yet they provide critical ecosystem services, including downstream water resources. Glacier-fed streams, such as the Saldur/Saldura stream in the Italian Central-Eastern Alps, are particularly vulnerable due to their dependence on snow and glacier melt. The Saldur/Saldura catchment (ca. 100 km²), one of the driest areas of the Alps and part of an LTSER platform, is a unique study area due to its dry conditions, low anthropogenic stressors, and the presence of a glacier that sustains the hydrology of this inner-Alpine valley. Since 2010, a long-term biomonitoring program has been assessing the effects of climate and anthropogenic factors - specifically the construction of a small run-of-river (ROR) hydropower plant in 2015 - on stream macroinvertebrate communities. Monthly monitoring during the snow-free period (April-September/October) was initially conducted at three altitudinal sampling sites and was expanded to six sites after the construction of the ROR hydropower plant. This high-resolution temporal dataset allowed us to analyse the spatial and temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate assemblages in response to natural and anthropogenic drivers.

Our findings provide insights into the key dynamics shaping macroinvertebrate communities, highlighting the predominant influence of seasonal melting processes driven by snow and glacier dynamics on their structural and taxonomic characteristics. Increased runoff during peak melt periods corresponds to a decrease in faunal density, taxa richness and functional diversity. Longitudinal gradients also emerged, with taxa distribution patterns reflecting variations in temperature, discharge, and suspended sediment load along the stream. We also observed that seasonal glacial melt dynamics appeared to overshadow the potential impacts of hydropower operations, suggesting that the Saldur/Saldura stream's hydrology and benthic communities remain primarily shaped by climatic drivers.

This study highlights the value of long-term, high-resolution monitoring in disentangling the complex interplay between natural processes and anthropogenic factors in sensitive Alpine ecosystems. By combining long-term biomonitoring approaches with advanced statistical analyses, our work demonstrates the resilience of glacier-fed stream macroinvertebrate communities to localised human impacts, while emphasising their vulnerability to climate-induced changes in glacier and snowmelt dynamics. The results contribute to a broader understanding of the ecological implications of small hydropower plants in low-impacted valleys and highlight the importance of sustained monitoring efforts for effective management, conservation and future water scarcity scenarios in Alpine regions.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.3897/aca.8.e150534

Journal article2024

Global change experiments in mountain ecosystems: A systematic review

Dainese M, Crepaz H, Bottarin R, Fontana V, Guariento E, Hilpold A, Obojes N, Paniccia C,

Georg Niedrist, Veronika Fontana, Julia Seeber, Andreas Hilpold, Ulrike Tappeiner, Roberta Bottarin, Nikolaus Obojes, Michael Steinwandter, Chiara Paniccia, Harald Crepaz, Elia Guariento

Mountain ecosystems play an important role globally as centers of biodiversity and in providing ecosystem services to lowland populations, but are influenced by multiple global change drivers such as climate change, nitrogen deposition, or altered disturbance regimes. As global change is accelerating and the consequences for humans and nature are intensifying, there is an increasing demand for understanding and predicting the impacts and implications of global change on mountain ecosystems. Manipulation experiments are one of the major tools for testing the causal impacts of global change and establishing a mechanistic understanding of how these changes may transform the global biota from single organisms to entire ecosystems. Over the past three decades, hundreds of such experiments have been conducted in mountainous regions worldwide. To strengthen the experimental evidence for the possible ecological consequences of global change, we systematically reviewed the literature on global change experiments in mountains. We first investigated the spread of manipulation experiments to test the effects of different global change drivers on key biological and ecological processes from the organism to the ecosystem level. We then examined and discussed the balance of evidence regarding the impact of these global change drivers on biological and ecological processes, and outlined the possible consequences for mountain ecosystems. Finally, we identified research gaps and proposed future directions for global change research in mountain environments. Among the major drivers, temperature was manipulated most frequently, generally showing consistent strong impacts between biological and ecosystem processes, functional groups, and habitat types. There is also strong evidence suggesting that changes in water and nutrient availability have a direct impact on the life history and functioning of mountain organisms. Despite these important findings, there are several gaps that require urgent attention. These include experiments testing adult trees in tropical and boreal regions, assessing animal responses and biotic interactions, and investigating aquatic environments and soil systems more extensively. A broader approach that integrates experimental data with field observations and relies on international collaboration through coordinated experiments could help address these gaps and provide a more consistent and robust picture of the impacts of global change on mountain ecosystems.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1632

Database2024

High-resolution climatic water balance maps of the Upper Adige catchment (Italy)

Tscholl S, Marsoner T, Egarter Vigl L, Bottarin R, Bertoldi G

Lukas Egarter Vigl, Giacomo Bertoldi, Thomas Marsoner, Simon Tscholl, Roberta Bottarin

This dataset presents high-resolution (25 m) gridded maps of the annual water balance, precipitation, and evapotranspiration for the Autonomous Province of Bolzano – South Tyrol, a mountainous region in the European Alps, over the 30-year period from 1993 to 2022. The water balance is calculated as the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration, with evapotranspiration derived using the Thornthwaite method and adjusted based on detailed land use and topographic data. Precipitation inputs were corrected using observed runoff data from nine watersheds to ensure alignment with local hydrological conditions.

The dataset is particularly valuable for its ability to represent spatial variability in water availability across the region, driven by factors such as elevation, temperature, and land use. Validation against observed streamflow data demonstrated a strong correlation (r > 0.9) and an overall underestimation of runoff by 10–13%, attributed to assumptions in the evapotranspiration calculations. These results confirm the dataset's reliability for hydrological and ecological applications.

Potential uses include modeling annual discharge at specific locations using flow accumulation and catchment delineation tools, as well as supporting ecological studies such as species distribution modeling and the delineation of dry or humid areas. Users should note that the dataset is based on potential evapotranspiration, which may slightly overestimate water demand in regions with limited soil moisture. Additionally, the static land use map may not capture temporal changes in land management.

This dataset offers a robust resource for researchers and practitioners in hydrology, ecology, and environmental management, providing critical insights into water availability in complex alpine terrains.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.14512325

Journal article2024

Quantification of large-spatial scale and in-stream factors affecting the structure of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in mountain streams

Vallefuoco F, Vanek M, Bottarin R, Scotti A

Francesca Vallefuoco, Magdalena Vanek, Roberta Bottarin

Projekt: Biodiversitätsmonitoring Südtirol

Habitat diversity plays a crucial role in shaping the structure and distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate communities. However, few studies have investigated the concurrent effects of such drivers operating at different spatial scales in mountain streams. Here, we assessed which environmental factors at different spatial scales, related to stream/river type and substrate, influence the diversity of benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in mountain streams and rivers. Within the framework of the aquatic investigations of the Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol (BMS) – a newly-established, regional-based, long-term biodiversity monitoring program – benthic macroinvertebrates and a set of environmental factors describing water quality, stream/river hydromorphology and in-stream habitat characteristics were collected and analysed. The variation in total density, taxonomic richness, Shannon evenness and % Ephemeroptera–Plecoptera–Trichoptera taxa of stream benthic macroinvertebrates was assessed at multi-scale habitat levels, in 48 sampling sites across the mountainous region of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen (Italy). The effects of stream/river type, substrates and different environmental factors on community composition of benthic macroinvertebrates were quantified, using a stepfoward Redundancy Analysis (RDA) and generalized additive models (GAMs). In addition, we performed an Indicator Value analysis to detect taxa that were significantly associated with a specific substrate and/or stream/river type. Overall, we observed significant differences in benthic biological metrics among both stream/river and substrate types. We also found at least one indicator taxa for each stream/river type, with environmental factors acting at reach and large-spatial scale – temperature, stream channel stability, elevation – being the key drivers in shaping macroinvertebrate distribution patterns in the analysed mountain rivers. While significant differences in macroinvertebrate community structures were found among substrates, the influence of stream/river type conditions was particularly evident. Apart from ranking environmental variables worth including in a long-term aquatic biodiversity monitoring program in mountain areas, our study provides a baseline for practical applications. For instance, depending on the desired outcome of habitat heterogeneity restoration, it can suggest the optimal scale (landscape vs. reach vs. patch) for prioritizing in-field interventions.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.1016/j.limno.2024.126172

Journal article2024

Rock glacier springs: cool habitats for species on the edge

Martini J, Brighenti S, Vanek M, Schwingshackl T, Vallefuoco F, Scotti A, Lencioni V, Bottarin R

Roberta Bottarin, Francesca Vallefuoco, Magdalena Vanek

Projekt: PNRR iNEST - Vernetztes Nord-Ost-Innovations-Ökosystem, Biodiversitätsmonitoring Südtirol

Under climate change, glacier recession and the loss of cold habitats are major threats to aquatic biodiversity. In mountain areas, streams originating from rock glaciers, called “icy seeps”, may represent climate refugia for cold-adapted organisms, given the major persistence of cold waters from these landforms even in unfavourable climates. During late summer 2021, we investigated discharge, turbidity, water chemistry (major ions and trace elements), stable water isotopes (δ¹⁸O, δ²H), and macroinvertebrate communities of five rock glacier springs (icy seeps), five glacier springs (glacier springs) and five non-glacial springs (spring brooks) in catchments of the Eastern Italian Alps. In icy seeps, meltwater contribution to runoff (estimated with end-member mixing models) was intermediate between those of the other two spring types. Icy seeps had very cold waters (< 1.5 °C) that were enriched in trace elements, like glacier springs, whereas discharge and turbidity were low, like in spring brooks. Community composition, diversity, and species associations of icy seeps were strongly related to a gradient of chemical harshness (built using trace element concentrations), with less contaminated springs hosting communities like those dwelling in spring brooks. Like glacier springs, those icy seeps with the harshest water chemistry (particularly because of Ni concentrations) and higher meltwater contribution hosted species (e.g., Diamesa steinboecki) that are currently in decline due to glacier loss. This suggests a high conservation value for icy seeps. The protection of these habitats, nowadays overlooked, will be fundamental under the progressive warming and dry-out risk of alpine springs.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.1007/s10531-024-02937-3

Journal article2023

Effect of management strategies and substrate composition on functional and taxonomic macroinvertebrate communities in lowland ditches of Alto Adige/Südtirol

Vallefuoco F, Vanek M, Scotti A, Bottarin R

Roberta Bottarin, Francesca Vallefuoco, Magdalena Vanek

Projekt: Biodiversitätsmonitoring Südtirol

Ditches could represent a tool for biodiversity enhancement and preservation in agricultural environments, also in Alpine regions. Macroinvertebrates and environmental factors describing water quality, substrate composition, hydrology, and geomorphology were collected in 10 ditches located in the Adige Valley, within the Biodiversity Monitoring program of South Tyrol. This study investigates the effects of ditch maintenance strategies operated in situ by the consortia (i. e., within an area of none, low and
medium intensity) on taxonomic and functional macroinvertebrate diversity. We observed significant differences between management strategies in terms of both biological assemblages and environmental parameters. According to our results, these lowland ditches were mainly characterised by low substrate heterogeneity and dominated by fine organic sediments, with filamentous algae occurring only in managed sites. High concentrations of water nutrients, temperature and conductivity were asso-
ciated with high intensities and frequencies of ditch maintenance. A significantly higher Shannon evenness index was found in low intensity management sites than in those with no or more intensive management. Furthermore, a decrease in %EPT and functional divergence was observed with increasing management intensity. Therefore, a sustainable management plan for ditch functioning is crucial to secure and improve both agricultural purposes and its biodiversity conservation potential in Alto Adige/
Südtirol.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.10116145

Book2023

Handbook Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol

Hilpold A, Anderle M, Guariento E, Marsoner T, Mina M, Paniccia C, Plunger J, Rigo F,

Julia Strobl, Julia Seeber, Andreas Hilpold, Julia Plunger, Thomas Marsoner, Ulrike Tappeiner, Roberta Bottarin, Michael Steinwandter, Marco Mina, Matteo Anderle, Chiara Paniccia, Magdalena Vanek, Elia Guariento

Projekt: Biodiversitätsmonitoring Südtirol

On initiative of the government of the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Südtirol (Province Bolzano-Südtirol, Region Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy) a biodiversity monitoring program was established, starting with sampling on terrestrial sites in 2019 and on running water sites in 2021. The Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol (BMS in short) is a long-term project with repetitions on a regular basis. The BMS was launched and is conducted by the Institute for Alpine Environment of Eurac Research in collaboration with the Museum for Nature South Tyrol and the province of South Tyrol’s Nature Conservation Department, as well as the Department for Agriculture. BMS surveys biodiversity throughout the area of South Tyrol and within the most important habitat types, including near-natural, agricultural, and urban habitats. BMS spans sites from the planar zone up to the high alpine zone. At the center of the monitoring are specified monitoring sites; all surveys are conducted in or directly around these sites. In total, we investigate 320 terrestrial survey sites over a period of five years, which is 64 single sites per year. For the monitoring of running waters (in short aquatic BMS) we investigate 120 sites in total over a period of four years.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.57749/2qm9-fq40

Journal article2023

The recovery of European freshwater biodiversity has come to a halt

Haase P, Bowler DE, Baker NJ, Bonada N, Domisch S, Garcia Marquez JR, Heino J, Hering D,

Roberta Bottarin

Owing to a long history of anthropogenic pressures, freshwater ecosystems are among the most vulnerable to biodiversity loss¹. Mitigation measures, including wastewater treatment and hydromorphological restoration, have aimed to improve environmental quality and foster the recovery of freshwater biodiversity². Here, using 1,816 time series of freshwater invertebrate communities collected across 22 European countries between 1968 and 2020, we quantified temporal trends in taxonomic and functional diversity and their responses to environmental pressures and gradients. We observed overall increases in taxon richness (0.73% per year), functional richness (2.4% per year) and abundance (1.17% per year). However, these increases primarily occurred before the 2010s, and have since plateaued. Freshwater communities downstream of dams, urban areas and cropland were less likely to experience recovery. Communities at sites with faster rates of warming had fewer gains in taxon richness, functional richness and abundance. Although biodiversity gains in the 1990s and 2000s probably reflect the effectiveness of water-quality improvements and restoration projects, the decelerating trajectory in the 2010s suggests that the current measures offer diminishing returns. Given new and persistent pressures on freshwater ecosystems, including emerging pollutants, climate change and the spread of invasive species, we call for additional mitigation to revive the recovery of freshwater biodiversity.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06400-1

Journal article2022

Small hydropower - Small ecological footprint? A multi-annual environmental impact analysis using aquatic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators. Part 1: Effects on community structure

Scotti A, Jacobsen D, Stefan V, Tappeiner U, Bottarin R

Ulrike Tappeiner, Roberta Bottarin

The increasing incentives stemming from many international initiatives that target sustainable energy production have led to the global success of small hydropower plants. However, there is a growing debate about the actual environmental impact these structures have on riverine ecosystems, to the extent that some researchers argue that they could have a proportionally greater impact than large hydropower plants; nevertheless, an empirical evaluation applying a long-term true “Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI)” approach has never been conducted. In a true “BACI” experiment applying generalized linear mixed models, we assessed changes in benthic macroinvertebrate communities—taxonomic composition, spatial and temporal β-diversity, and possible indicator taxa—along 6 sites located in a glacier-fed stream in the Italian Alps before and after the installation of a small “run-of-river” hydropower plant. The “BACI” results over the 5-year study showed no significant variation in the benthic macroinvertebrate communities stemming from the activity of the hydropower plant. Moreover, spatial β-diversity showed, in relation to the “control” site, a constant dissimilarity pattern throughout all the sampling years, exhibiting a constant increase proceeding downstream. On the other hand, temporal β-diversity showed changes in the benthic macroinvertebrate communities, but these changes were largely caused by variation in densities and not by the appearance or disappearance of new taxa. In summary, we were unable to detect a significant impact of the small “run-of-river” hydropower plant on the benthic macroinvertebrate communities of the glacier-fed stream under study. Despite the need of further studies that consider the different features and operational measures of small hydropower plants, our findings illustrate that, when correctly managed, small hydropower plants and the energy they produce may represent an added resource for strategic debates on energy planning processes, especially in light of the commitments at the international level of many countries in developing strategies toward a “carbon-neutral” energy sector.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.902603

Journal article2022

Small hydropower - Small ecological footprint? A multi-annual environmental impact analysis using aquatic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators. Part 2: Effects on functional diversity

Scotti A, Jacobsen D, Bottarin R

Roberta Bottarin

Currently, across the entire European river network, there are an estimated 0.74 barriers per kilometer of river length, with hydropower production being the main cause of riverine habitat fragmentation. On the one hand, policy actions have been proposed by different institutions to limit this impact. On the other hand, the compelling need to produce energy from renewable/sustainable resources is further boosting the impoundment of rivers, since, globally, small hydropower plants are expected to contribute greatly to future energy needs. While a few studies have already analyzed the environmental impact of small hydropower plants by researching the structural communities of benthic macroinvertebrates, none have thus far assessed the potential impacts related to the functional diversity of these communities. Here, following a “Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI)” scheme, we implemented different methodologies to study the functional diversity of benthic communities sampled across 4 sites in a fish-free, glacier-fed stream of the Italian Central-Eastern Alps for 5 consecutive years. More specifically, the sampling sites were chosen in an area near the weir of a small “run-of-river” hydropower plant, which constituted the structure from which water was diverted to the turbine. Specific goals were to assess the potential variation in the functional traits of benthic macroinvertebrates in relation to the weir’s presence, investigate whether a variation in trait distribution was caused by alterations in the abundances of common and rare taxa, and quantify functional diversity in space and time through the application of specific indices. Our initial hypothesis of finding significant differences among the sampling sites after the start-up of the hydropower plant was not confirmed by our results, since the benthic communities at all sites continued to exhibit a largely similar set of traits and, consequently, functional diversity. Our results highlighted the need for a better understanding of the relationships between effect traits and ecological processes to establish thresholds from which a shift in these processes may occur. Hence, a better understanding of the assets and liabilities of already established small hydropower plants may be a guide for more conscious decisions concerning the establishment of new ones and/or changes in the management of already existing ones.

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.3389/fenvs.2022.904547

Conference proceedings article2025

Long-term monitoring of macroinvertebrate dynamics in response to climate and hydropower drivers in a glacier-fed Alpine stream

Vallefuoco F, Vanek M, Bottarin R

Francesca Vallefuoco, Magdalena Vanek, Roberta Bottarin

Projekt: Ökologische Langzeituntersuchungen (LTSER) im Freilandlabor Matsch/Mazia

DOI Quelle

DOI: 10.3897/aca.8.e150534

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