Unveiling the nature of a miniature world: a horizon scan of fundamental questions in bryology

• DOI: 10.1080/03736687.2022.2054615
• Publication Date: 2022-04-28T09:58:25Z
• Authors: Jairo Patiño; Irene Bisang; Bernard Goffinet; Lars Hedenäs; Stuart McDaniel; Silvia Pressel; Michael Stech; Claudine Ah-Peng; Ariel Bergamini; Richard T. Caners; D. Christine Cargill; Nils Cronberg; Jeffrey Duckett; Sarah Eppley; Nicole J. Fenton; Kirsten Fisher; Juana González-Ma...; Mitsuyasu Hasebe; Jochen Heinrichs; Kristoffer Hylander; Michael S. Ignatov; Javier Martínez-A...; Nagore G. Medina; Rafael Medina; Dietmar Quandt; Stefan A. Rensing; Karen Renzaglia; Matthew Renner; Rosa M. Ros; Alfons Schäfer-Ve...; Juan Carlos Villa...; Alain Vanderpoorten
• Keywords: 0106 biological sciences; 570; Diversity; Ecology; Evolution; Physiology; [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio]; Reproduction; Bryology -- Research; Conservation; Dispersal; 01 natural sciences; Biogeography; bryophytes; Systematics; Earth Sciences; Taxonomy

Peer reviewed<br/>J. Patiño was funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN) through the Ramón y Cajal Program (RYC-2016-20506) and supported by the Fundación BBVA project (PR19_ECO_0046) and the MICINN project (PID2019-110538GA-I00). S. McDaniel was supported by grants from the NSF (DEB 1542609, 1541005, 1541506). J. Martínez-Abaigar was supported by the grant PGC2018-093824-B-C42, funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Regional Development Fund. B. Goffinet was supported by NSF grant DEB-1753811.<br/>Introduction. Half a century since the creation of the International Association of Bryologists, we carried out a review to identify outstanding challenges and future perspectives in bryology. Specifically, we have identified 50 fundamental questions that are critical in advancing the discipline. Methods. We have adapted a deep-rooted methodology of horizon scanning to identify key research foci. An initial pool of 258 questions was prepared by a multidisciplinary and international working group of 32 bryologists. A series of online surveys completed by a broader community of researchers in bryology, followed by quality-control steps implemented by the working group, were used to create a list of top-priority questions. This final list was restricted to 50 questions with a broad conceptual scope and answerable through realistic research approaches. Key results. The top list of 50 fundamental questions was organised into four general topics: Bryophyte Biodiversity and Biogeography; Bryophyte Ecology, Physiology and Reproductive Biology; Bryophyte Conservation and Management; and Bryophyte Evolution and Systematics. These topics included 9, 19, 14 and 8 questions, respectively. Conclusions. Although many of the research challenges identified are not newly conceived, our horizon-scanning exercise has established a significant foundation for future bryological research. We suggest analytical and conceptual strategies and novel developments for potential use in advancing the research agenda for bryology.<br/>