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

Abstract :

Introduction. Half a century since the creation of the International Association of Bryologists, wecarried 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 abroader community of researchers in bryology, followed by quality-control step simplemented 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, ourhorizon-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.