Frontiers Planet Prize: a Unibo Researcher is the National Champion for Italy

Francesco Maria Sabatini, Researcher at the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bologna, has been named Italy’s national champion at the 2024 edition of the Frontiers Planet Prize, the international award set up by the Frontiers Research Foundation to recognise and support the best research in sustainability.

Selected from three Italian finalists, the Researcher from the University of Bologna is now one of 23 'National Champions' from six continents who will go through to the final stage of the competition. Three prizes worth CHF 1 million will be awarded to the winners to further their research. In addition, the 'National Champions' will have the opportunity to present their work at national and international conferences in order to disseminate knowledge that is essential for the health of our planet.

Francesco Maria Sabatini was named the National Champion for Italy for his research into Alpha Diversity: a map showing the number of vascular plant species that can be observed in defined areas of different sizes (10 m2 100 m2, 1000 m2, 1 ha) across the world.

Published in Nature Communication, the study identifies the main climatic, historical and spatial determinants of Alpha diversity on a global scale. It not only locates the Alpha diversity hotspots, i.e. the areas of the Earth that host the ecosystems with the highest number of plant species, but also defines the spatial scale at which this diversity is expressed. This information is crucial for the conservation of plant biodiversity because knowing the spatial distribution of plants helps to define the most appropriate conservation strategies.

The Frontiers Planet prize aims to recognise, encourage and reward outstanding scientists who are committed to finding solutions to secure the future of humanity in the Anthropocene and to promote scientific discoveries and achievements that can best contribute to stabilising our planet's ecosystem.

For the second year running, the University of Bologna has been selected to take part in this major international challenge, and now finds itself representing Italy in the final stage. The award ceremony will take place on 26 June in Villar-sur-Ollon, Switzerland.