Research-agenda manuscript
A methodological agenda paper with a workshop-generated implementation pathway.
8–10 December 2026 · Mount Rigi, Switzerland
Response Diversity Workshop
A joint initiative to advance mechanistic predictions of ecosystem service stability.
In collaboration with the Response Diversity NetworkVenue: Kräuterhotel Edelweiss
Why this workshop
Beyond projected biodiversity change
Biodiversity projections increasingly describe expected changes in species occurrence, abundance and community composition. These projections are essential, but they do not by themselves show whether ecosystem functions and services will persist under multifarious environmental change. The workshop asks how forecasting can connect biodiversity change to stability-relevant mechanisms and outcomes.
Response diversity—the variation in environmental responses among species, populations or functional groups that contribute to similar ecosystem functions—is a promising mechanism-oriented predictor. It is not itself a stability metric, and its ability to predict observed stability needs explicit empirical validation.
Our longer-term vision is to develop and validate spatially explicit, response-diversity-based predictions of ecosystem-function stability, supported by an online explorer that makes methods, assumptions, uncertainty and evidence transparent.
Workshop focus
Seven questions that structure the discussion
1 · Concepts and terminologyDevelop a shared understanding of ecological stability, response diversity and related concepts.
2 · AssumptionsRevisit and evaluate the assumptions connecting response diversity, ecosystem functioning and stability.
3 · Metrics and modelsIdentify suitable approaches for quantifying response diversity across ecological levels.
4 · Data requirementsAssess feasible data sources, including monitoring, traits, environmental data and simulations.
5 · ValidationDefine how response-diversity predictions can be tested and uncertainty communicated.
6 · MappingExamine the feasibility and scientific limits of spatial extrapolation.
7 · Use cases and ethicsExplore applications in conservation, restoration, policy and environmental management, including risks of misuse.
Prototype foundation
A shared scientific basis for a validation platform that can later support an interactive explorer.
New collaborations
Project ideas, cross-system syntheses and potential data contributions emerging from the workshop.