Journal article2025
A global database of olive oil geographical indications and their properties
Candiago S, Marsoner T, Tscholl S, Fraga H
DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1641032
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Meine Cookie EinstellungenCandiago S, Marsoner T, Tscholl S, Fraga H
DOI: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1641032
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: 10.1002/gdj3.70007
Pecher C, Marsoner T, Tasser E
Projekt: Globaler Wandel im Berggebiet
Healthy diets are a lever for improving human health and the sustainability of the food system. They are part of the European Green Deal, together with the aim of shortening food supply chains. This study aims to explore the impact of a shift towards healthy diets on the potential for regional food production and the achievement of selected European Green Deal targets by 2030 in the European Alpine Space. We first identify and compare the amounts of plant and animal raw products required for current and healthy food consumption based on national dietary guidelines, test their level of uncertainty and compare them to the EAT Lancet healthy reference diet. We develop three scenarios and assess their land use and environmental impacts: (a) a baseline scenario for 2030 with current dietary patterns, (b) a 2030 scenario with current dietary patterns, but assuming implementation of Green Deal land use policy measures, and (c) a 2030 scenario assuming healthy diets and implementation of Green Deal land use policy measures. The results suggest that healthy diets could reduce the land footprint by more than 45 % by reducing the need for cropland and grassland, freeing up space for other uses. In combination with land use policies, they could also reduce per capita greenhouse gas emissions (−45 %), eutrophication emissions (−42 %), freshwater withdrawals (−33 %), and food waste footprint (−38 %), while increasing food waste (+21 %) and carbon stock (+18 %). This study highlights the importance of coordinated policy action to achieve the environmental objectives of the European Green Deal.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.146181
Scotti A, Klotz J, Marsoner T
While application of salt for de-icing purposes has been extensively studied in urban areas of North America, little attention has been paid to it in Europe, particularly in mountain areas. Here, after assessment of baseline salinity, and through applying different approaches (i.e., univariate statistical techniques, Multivariate Regression Trees, multivariate regressions), we investigated the potential changes in water chemistry and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure caused by the application of de-icing salt over an entire winter season, in a mountain catchment located in the Italian Alps (N 46°, E 11°). Concurrently, we tested and compared the application of three different benthic macroinvertebrate indices used to assess salinisation impacts. Overall, we identified a constant level of baseline salinity across a 13-year period, accompanied by a strong seasonality factor. Despite an application rate comparable to those of large North American cities, macroinvertebrate communities showed little evidence of change. However, chemical ions whose concentrations are known to be influenced by de-icing salt (e.g., Na+, Cl−) were identified as the structuring drivers of the macroinvertebrate communities, thus suggesting that the studied riverine environment show a high potential for change in relation to salinity. In conclusion, we caution against the simple evaluation of application rates to assess the risk/level of salinisation within a catchment, and encourage further specific analysis and study of salinisation in mountain areas: they appear as sensitive habitats to potential variations in salinity, and stressors such as increased urbanisation and climate change will further exacerbate the risk of increasing salinisation in mountain freshwaters.
DOI: 10.1002/rra.4393
Tscholl S, Candiago S, Marsoner T, Fraga H, Giupponi C, Egarter Vigl L
Over centuries, European vintners have developed a profound knowledge about grapes, environment, and techniques that yield the most distinguishable wines. In many regions, this knowledge is reflected in the system of wine geographical indications (GI), but climate change is challenging this historical union. Here, we present a climate change vulnerability assessment of 1085 wine GIs across Europe and propose climate-resilient development pathways using an ensemble of biophysical and socioeconomic indicators. Results indicate that wine regions in Southern Europe are among the most vulnerable, with high levels also found in Eastern Europe. Vulnerability is influenced by the rigidity of the GI system, which restricts grape variety diversity and thus contributes to an increased sensitivity to climate change. Contextual deficiencies, such as limited socioeconomic resources, may further contribute to increased vulnerability. Building a climate-resilient wine sector will require rethinking the GI system by allowing innovation to compensate for the negative effects of climate change.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50549-w
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: 10.5281/zenodo.14512325
Stritih A, Senf C, Marsoner T, Seidl R
Mountain forests play an essential role in protecting people and infrastructure from natural hazards. However, forests are currently experiencing an increasing rate of natural disturbances (including windthrows, bark beetle outbreaks and forest fires) that may jeopardize their capacity to provide this ecosystem service in the future. Here, we mapped the risk to forests’ protective service across the European Alps by integrating the risk components of hazard (in this case, the probability of a disturbance occurring), exposure (the proportion of forests that protect people or infrastructure), and vulnerability (the probability that the forests lose their protective structure after a disturbance). We combined satellite-based data on forest disturbances from 1986 to 2020 with data on key forest structural characteristics (cover and height) from spaceborne lidar (GEDI), and used ensemble models to predict disturbance probabilities and post-disturbance forest structure based on topographic and climatic predictors. Wind and bark beetles are dominant natural disturbance agents in the Alps, with a mean annual probability of occurrence of 0.05%, while forest fires were less likely (mean annual probability <0.01%), except in the south-western Alps. After a disturbance, over 40% of forests maintained their protective structure, highlighting the important role of residual living or dead trees. Within 30 years after wind and bark beetle disturbance, 61% of forests were likely to either maintain or recover their protective structure. Vulnerability to fires was higher, with 51% of forest still lacking sufficient protective structure 30 years after fire. Fire vulnerability was especially pronounced at dry sites, which also had a high fire hazard. Combining hazard and vulnerability with the exposure of protective forests we identified 186 Alpine municipalities with a high risk to protective forests due to wind and bark beetles, and 117 with a high fire risk. Mapping the disturbance risk to ecosystem services can help identify priority areas for increasing preparedness and managing forests towards lower susceptibility under an intensifying disturbance regime.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121659
Zoderer BM, Marsoner T, Tasser E
Amidst the global decline in biodiversity, there are growing calls for more ambitious conservation targets and practices, including a renewed focus on protecting and restoring natural processes. However, little is known about suitable areas for process-oriented conservation and its different strategies. In this paper, we identify priority areas for process-oriented conservation following an ecoregion-based approach. Using the Alpine Space programme area as a pilot study area, a Wilderness Quality Index is calculated and mapped based on spatial indicators reflecting variations in naturalness, human impact, remoteness, and ruggedness. To identify priority areas for process-oriented conservation, the 10% of areas with the highest wilderness quality are identified for each ecoregion (‘ecoregional approach’) and compared with the identification of the 10% wildest areas of the entire study area (‘conventional approach’). The results show significant differences in priority areas between the two approaches, with those identified by the ecoregional approach being of lower wilderness quality, more dispersed across the study region and different elevation classes, and smaller in size. The ecoregional approach results in a greater coverage of ecosystem- and species-level diversity, yet it highlights a greater need for complementing the protection of wilderness in less modified regions with rewilding initiatives and the expansion of the protected area network in ecoregions with significant human activity. Based on these findings, we discuss the potential and challenges that an ecoregion-based identification of priority areas brings for biodiversity conservation, protection and restoration practice, and local communities. The ecoregion-based approach and the findings of this study can inform initiatives under the EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2030, in particular the target to ‘strictly protect’ 10% of the EU’s land and sea.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2024.126661
Pecher C, Marsoner T, Tasser E
Projekt: Die Nachhaltigkeit Südtirols im Kontext des Alpenraumes
The sustainability of the food system needs to be improved, including shortening supply chains and promoting the consumption of regional food. Here, we explore the current potential for regional food self-sufficiency in the European Alpine space by calculating the current regional food/feed energy balance, deriving the regional per capita land footprint based on current food/feed consumption rates, and modelling the current potential for regional food/feed self-sufficiency. We show that 59% of the 560 Pcal of energy currently available in the study area comes from domestic production, and almost 60% of the energy is used for livestock consumption, with high regional variability. The resulting land footprints range from 2301 to 2975 m2 cap−1 y−1. Taking into account changes in cropping patterns, partial intensification, but no expansion of agricultural land, the European Alpine space could produce 89% of its current food demand domestically, with high regional variability due to population density, availability of agricultural land, crop yields, climatic conditions and dietary habits. These findings highlight the potential and limitations of regional mountain food systems and call for new strategies to improve sustainability. Reducing the current high consumption of animal products would reduce the land footprint and increase the potential for food self-sufficiency.
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-60010-z
Marsoner T, Simion H, Giombini V, Egarter Vigl L, Candiago S
Spatially and thematically detailed land use maps are of special importance to study and manage populated mountain regions. Due to the complex terrain, high elevational gradients as well as differences in land demand, these regions are characterized by a high density of different land uses that form heterogeneous landscapes. Here, we present a new highly detailed land use/landcover map for the areas included in the European Strategy for the Alpine Region. The map has a spatial resolution of up to 5 m and a temporal extent from 2015 to 2020. It was created by aggregating 15 high-resolution layers resulting in 65 land use/cover classes. The overall map accuracy was assessed at 88.8%. The large number of land use classes and the high spatial resolution allow an easy customization of the map for research and management purposes, making it useable by a broad audience for various applications. Our map shows that by combining theme specific “high-resolution” land use products to build a comprehensive land use/land cover map, a high thematic and spatial detail can be achieved.
DOI: 10.1038/s41597-023-02344-3
Simion H, Giombini V, Tasser E, Marsoner T, Egarter Vigl L
Lukas Egarter Vigl, Erich Tasser, Thomas Marsoner, Heidi Simion
DOI: 10.1002/2688-8319.12265
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: 10.57749/2qm9-fq40