Switzerland needs to redraw map of Alpine protection zones

Switzerland must redraw its map of protected nature zones to keep up with plants that are being forced by climate change to migrate to different regions. The criterion for protecting biodiversity is shifting accordingly, according to an international research team led by Switzerland, which published a study in the journal "Nature Ecology & Evolution". + Nature parks oasis of Swiss-EU cooperation Researchers found the largest gaps in the Alpine protection mosaic in Switzerland, as reported by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) on Monday. "According to our simulations, Switzerland should establish the most new areas across the entire altitudinal gradient, as we have the least of them overall compared to our neighbours," WSL ecologist Yohann Chauvier-Mendes said. The Alps are particularly important for the protection of biodiversity, the researchers emphasised in the study. They are home to 4,500 plant species alone, not counting mosses.