iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I started the Czech Vegetation Database 30 years ago. Now, my colleagues and I have prepared the entire database (> 17,000 vegetation plots) as an open dataset. Our new Preslia article describes the database, its history, current state, published datasets & related resources doi.org/10.23855/pre...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

We sampled a dry grassland in Armenia, which contained 90 and 104 vascular plant species in plots of 10 m² and 25 m², respectively. These counts are higher than those recorded in any European grassland so far, except for the Carpathian region and steppes near Kursk. www.tuexenia.de/publications...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

In this new article, I trace the history of European vegetation-plot databases, from the handwritten relevés stored in the filing cabinets of phytosociologists to the millions of vegetation plots now held in the European Vegetation Archive. www.sci.muni.cz/botany/chytr...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Can we trust? Yes, we can trust estimates of species turnover, but estimates of changes in species richness are less reliable. Our new article in the Journal of Ecology: doi.org/10.1111/1365... @journalofecology.bsky.social @iavs5.bsky.social

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

We have prepared a major update (version 2) of EVA-MAP - www.evamap.eu - an interactive online application for visualizing vegetation plots included in the European Vegetation Archive and ReSurveyEurope databases, with many new visualization options.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 23/07/2026

In our new article, led by Emma Shih Mendez, we compare two methods for locating vegetation resurvey plots when the exact location of the historical plot is unknown. Open-access article in the Journal of Vegetation Science: doi.org/10.1111/jvs.... @jvs-avs.bsky.social

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Our new study, led by Xiao-Peng Tan, maps the distribution of plant strategies across European grasslands and projects how current patterns will be affected by ongoing climate change. Open-access article: doi.org/10.1002/ecog... @ecography.bsky.social

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

The first comprehensive analysis of vegetation changes across Europe, based on the ReSurveyEurope dataset, is out! In an article led by Stephan Kambach, we analyzed 57,390 time series of vegetation plots. doi.org/10.1038/s414...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Our new study, led by Marc Riera, compares European niches and habitat relationships of alien plant species introduced intentionally or unintentionally. doi.org/10.1111/geb....

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Our new article in Science Advances, led by Gabriele Midolo, identifies the main factors driving changes in the species composition of plant communities across Europe: eutrophication, denser, more productive vegetation, and drying of wetlands. doi.org/10.1126/scia...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Distylous flowers in Primula veris (prvosenka jarní). The flower on the left has a short style with anthers above the stigma, while the flower on the right has a long style with anthers below the stigma. Both forms occur within the same population, and distyly prevents self-pollination.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 22/03/2026

Mixed populations of two early-spring violets of southern European origin are now flowering in the Czech lowlands. Viola odorata (darker bluish violet) has broader stipules with short teeth (upper right). Viola suavis (white or light blue) has narrower, long fimbriate stipules (lower right).

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

After publishing species occurrence data in GBIF, we have now also made available online 117,739 vegetation plots from the Czech Vegetation Database in CSV and Turboveg formats, complemented with a data processing tutorial. czechveg.github.io

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Do not forget to submit your abstract to the EVS conference in Clermont-Ferrand (deadline: 15 March). I also invite you to attend the workshop "Open vegetation data and their processing in R" on 7 Sep, the arrival day of the conference. Registration: forms.gle/eZYKiFfskR24... @euroveg.bsky.social

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

We have just published 2,474,166 records of plant species occurrences from the Czech Vegetation Database in GBIF: doi.org/10.15468/94b... These records represent 74% of the plant occurrence data and 30% of all organism occurrence data in the GBIF database for the territory of the Czech Republic.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

Gagea bohemica, described by Johann Zauschner in 1776, was the first species native to Bohemia described by a Bohemian botanist. However, it is not endemic to Bohemia. It has a broad distribution across temperate Europe and the Mediterranean. Photo taken today near Moravský Krumlov, South Moravia.

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Reposted by Milan Chytrý

Ecoinformatics IAVS @iavs-ecoinfo.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

We're back with more webinars! Starting 2026 with two events co-hosted with European Vegetation Survey all about sharing and accessing open vegetation data. Register here for the upcoming webinar on the 13th and follow our updates! us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

a flyer with the next two webinars: open vegetation data on march 13th and from a vegetation-plot database to a GBIF dataset on march 27th

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Interested in a PhD in European wetland flora and vegetation? See details here: www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/r5ob6...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

New interactive global maps of 31 plant traits were prepared by Daniel Lusk, based on plant distribution data from GBIF and sPlot, plant trait data from TRY, and various satellite-based products. Map viewer: global-traits.projects.earthengine.app/view/global-... Article: doi.org/10.1038/s414...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

An interview - rozhovor English: www.sci.muni.cz/.../succes..... Česky: www.sci.muni.cz/.../rozhovor...

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Reposted by Milan Chytrý

Young Scientists @iavs-young-sci.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

🌿 Webinar for IAVS Young Scientists 🌿 🎤 Talk: Writing Scientific Papers in Vegetation Science 📣Prof. Milan Chytrý 📅 January 28th, 2026 ⏰ 9:00 AM CET 💻 YS’ Zoom Room ✏️ Registration Form: tinyurl.com/youngscienti... #VegSci #IAVS #YoungScientists

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

In our new article in Nature Cities, led by Susanne Tautenhahn, we used our recently published European datasets of plant indicator values, linked them to citizen science data, and mapped environmental conditions for Europe and, at a finer resolution, for 326 cities. 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s442...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Super interesting global meeting of biogeographers - TIBS conference in the cathedral-like auditorium of the Aarhus University, Denmark.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

A map of 260 EUNIS habitat types for Europe has been prepared under the leadership of Sara Si-Moussi and Wilfried Thuiller and published in Scientific Data. It shows the most probable habitat for each 100-m pixel. Article: doi.org/10.1038/s415... Map data: doi.org/10.5281/zeno...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 20/12/2025

The website for the 68th Annual Symposium of the International Association for Vegetation Science has been launched: 2026gijon.iavs-meetings.org Many thanks to Borja Jiménez-Alfaro and his colleagues for this invitation. See you in June in Gijón, on the northern coast of Spain.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

The website for the 34th European Vegetation Survey conference in Clermont-Ferrand, France, 7-11 September 2026, is now open: 34evs2026.org

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Further evidence of the declining quality of endangered natural habitats has just been published in a new Preslia article on vegetation resurvey by Klára Friesová and collaborators. Open-access article: doi.org/10.23855/pre... Infographic by NotebookLM

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Temperate deciduous forests are found in three global regions. We compared taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of forest plant communities among these regions in a new Ecography article led by Javier Loidi and Josep Padullés Cubino: doi.org/10.1002/ecog... @ecography.bsky.social

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Our new paper in Ecology Letters, led by Jan Divíšek, shows that non-invasive alien plant species that successfully establish within local plant communities tend to resemble the resident native species. In contrast, invasive alien species usually differ from native plants. doi.org/10.1111/ele....

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

The first European classification of vegetation in seasonally drained salt lakes, led by Svitlana Iemelianova from our Vegetation Science Group, and supported by an MSCA4Ukraine grant. Our findings will change the standard European vegetation classification system. doi.org/10.1111/avsc...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

In our new article led by Gabriele Midolo, published in Ecology Letters, we show that plant species richness in European plant communities generally decreased between the 1960s and 1980s. However, since the 1990s, this trend seems to have stopped or even reversed. dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele....

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 22/10/2025

From the seminar dedicated to the legacy of Sandro Pignatti. Pier Luigi Nimis is showing the Olivetti typewriter on which Pignatti wrote the Flora d'Italia (1982). This monograph consisted of three volumes with a total of nearly 2300 printed pages.

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Reposted by Milan Chytrý

European Vegetation Survey @euroveg.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

The event "Celebration the legacy of Sandro Pignatti" is now happening at the Botanical Garden of Rome organised by La Sapienza University of Rome @iavs5.bsky.social #EVS

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Reposted by Milan Chytrý

European Vegetation Survey @euroveg.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

A wonderful day celebrating the legacy of Sandro Pignatti. At the end of the event, a tree was planted by the Director of the Botanical Garden of Rome, Prof. Fabio Attorre, in memory of Prof. Pignatti. @iavs5.bsky.social #EVS

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 17/10/2025

I am deeply honored and humbled to share that I have been elected as a member of the Academia Europaea.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Our new article in Nature Plants, led by César Leblanc, introduces Pl@ntBERT, an AI model inspired by language models like ChatGPT, but trained on > 1M vegetation plots from the EVA database. Article: doi.org/10.1038/s414... Demo: huggingface.co/spaces/Cesar... GitHub: github.com/cesar-leblan...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

Postdoc position in coastal ecology at the University of Oldenburg, suitable for vegetation ecologists, application deadline 28 October uol.de/en/job/postd...

uol.de

Postdoctoral researcher in coastal ecology (DFG Research Unit DynaCom) // University of Oldenburg

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

Our new online application EVA-MAP provides interactive maps of vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive and ReSurveyEurope databases. It enables filtering the plots by various criteria. More details can be found in this new article in the IAVS Bulletin: www.sci.muni.cz/botany/chytr...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 03/10/2025

The new issue of the IAVS Bulletin features four articles about two remarkable men who had a huge impact on European and global vegetation science, and who also greatly shaped my own scientific journey: John Rodwell and Sandro Pignatti. cdn.ymaws.com/www.iavs.org...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

In our new article, Zdenka Preislerová and I review the trends in describing new syntaxa of European vegetation from the early 20th century to the publication of the EuroVegChecklist (Mucina et al. 2016) and beyond. @applvegsci.bsky.social @euroveg.bsky.social 🔗Open access: doi.org/10.1111/avsc...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

"Durancie" is an old plum variety commonly planted in the Moravian Carpathians. It is ripening now, in September. For generations, these plums have been used to create unique regional delicacies. By growing and harvesting them in our garden, I am helping to keep this local tradition alive. 😀

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 05/09/2025

In our new Nature Communications article led by Rashmi Paudel, we show that plant species that spread within their native range have a higher probability of becoming established outside their native range. 🔗https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63293-6 🔗Sharable PDF link: rdcu.be/eEmQr

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 31/08/2025

In our new Preslia article, led by Barbora Klímová, we corrected bias in the occurrence data using rarefaction and mapped the geographical distribution of plant species richness in Czechia (left: raw data, right: corrected data). 🔗 doi.org/10.23855/pre...

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 29/08/2025

In our new article with Rui-Ling Liu and Wen-Yong Guo in J. Ecol., we quantified how plant strategy scores derived from leaf traits (Pierce method) correlate with other plant traits and plant environmental preferences. 🔗 Open-access article: doi.org/10.1111/1365... ‪@journalofecology.bsky.social‬

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 23/08/2025

Lotus tenuis (a species of slightly saline soils) differs from L. corniculatus mainly by quantitative characters. If both species grow at the same site, the differences are clear: L. tenuis (left): 🌼 smaller flowers, 🌿 narrower leaflets L. corniculatus (right): 🌼 larger flowers, 🌿 broader leaflets

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 12/08/2025

🌱 In our new article led by Luigi Cao Pinna, we show that alien plants in the Mediterranean often shift their niches, i.e. either do not fill or expand their occupied climatic space compared to the native range, partly depending on their traits. 🔗 fulltext: doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

Two subalpine pines from the Rocky Mountains have contrasting seed regeneration strategies. Pinus contorta is serotinous: the seeds remain in the cones for several years. Forest fire releases them, they fall to the ground, and a massive regeneration of even-aged pine forest stands begins.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 27/07/2025

This is the result of the largest fire ever recorded in Colorado, which lasted for 4 months (Aug-Dec 2020) and burned 840 km2 (!) of forest. Like in other large forest fires, the ultimate cause was the suppression of small fires for several decades, which led to a significant accumulation of fuel.

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Milan Chytrý @milanchytry.bsky.social · 26/07/2025

Many natural habitats in the Rocky Mountain foothills are heavily invaded by two Eurasian grasses: Bromus inermis and Agropyron cristatum agg. Both species were intentionally sown to prevent wind erosion after the conversion of prairie to arable land and subsequent massive dust storms in the 1930s.

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