World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
Award Badge
Ecology and Evolution
Switzerland
2026

D-Index & Metrics

Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
110
Citations
75733
World Ranking
171
National Ranking
6

Research.com Recognitions

  • 2026 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2025 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Switzerland Leader Award
  • 2022 - Research.com Ecology and Evolution in Switzerland Leader Award

Overview

Niklaus E. Zimmermann is affiliated with the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research in Switzerland. Their research primarily intersects Environmental Science and Agricultural and Biological Sciences, with extensive work across various related subfields.

The main subfields of study include:

  • Nature and Landscape Conservation
  • Ecological Modeling
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Ecology
  • Global and Planetary Change

Zimmermann's research topics cover diverse aspects of ecology and environmental dynamics, including:

  • Species Distribution and Climate Change
  • Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
  • Plant and Animal Studies
  • Plant Diversity and Evolution
  • Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Genetic Diversity and Population Structure
  • Climate Variability and Models

Among recent papers, Zimmermann has contributed to investigations published in notable journals, such as:

  • "A standard protocol for reporting species distribution models", 2020, Ecography
  • "Major restructuring of marine plankton assemblages under global warming", 2021, Nature Communications
  • "Global climate-related predictors at kilometer resolution for the past and future", 2022, Earth System Science Data
  • "CHELSA-TraCE21k - high-resolution (1 km) downscaled transient temperature and precipitation data since the Last Glacial Maximum", 2023, Climate of the Past
  • "Large-scale early-wilting response of Central European forests to the 2018 extreme drought", 2020, Global Change Biology

Frequent publication venues for Zimmermann include:

  • Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
  • Nature Communications
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
  • Global Ecology and Biogeography
  • Ecography

Collaboration plays a significant role in Zimmermann's work. Frequently coauthored researchers are:

  • Loïc Pellissier
  • Dirk Nikolaus Karger
  • Philipp Brun
  • Catherine H. Graham
  • Wilfried Thuiller

Best Publications

  • Novel methods improve prediction of species' distributions from occurrence data

    Jane Elith;Catherine H. Graham;Robert P. Anderson;Miroslav Dudík

  • Predictive habitat distribution models in ecology

    Antoine Guisan;Niklaus E. Zimmermann

  • Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution

    Hylke E. Beck;Niklaus E. Zimmermann;Tim R. McVicar;Tim R. McVicar;Noemi Vergopolan

  • Climatologies at high resolution for the earth’s land surface areas

    Dirk Nikolaus Karger;Olaf Conrad;Jürgen Böhner;Tobias Kawohl

  • Measuring ecological niche overlap from occurrence and spatial environmental data

    Olivier Broennimann;Matthew C. Fitzpatrick;Peter B. Pearman;Blaise Petitpierre

  • Predicting global change impacts on plant species' distributions: Future challenges

    Wilfried Thuiller;Cécile Albert;Miguel B. Araújo;Pam M. Berry

  • Habitat Suitability and Distribution Models

    Antoine Guisan;Wilfried Thuiller;Niklaus E. Zimmermann

  • Climate change may cause severe loss in the economic value of European forest land

    Marc Hanewinkel;Dominik A. Cullmann;Mart-Jan Schelhaas;Gert-Jan Nabuurs

  • The prehistoric and preindustrial deforestation of Europe

    Jed O. Kaplan;Kristen M. Krumhardt;Niklaus E. Zimmermann

  • Standards for distribution models in biodiversity assessments

    Miguel B. Araujo;Miguel B. Araujo;Miguel B. Araujo;Robert P. Anderson;Robert P. Anderson;Robert P. Anderson;A. Marcia Barbosa;Colin Michael Beale

  • Plant functional traits have globally consistent effects on competition

    Georges Kunstler;Georges Kunstler;Daniel Falster;David A. Coomes;Francis Hui

  • Accelerated increase in plant species richness on mountain summits is linked to warming

    Manuel J. Steinbauer;Manuel J. Steinbauer;John-Arvid Grytnes;Gerald Jurasinski;Aino Kulonen

  • Extinction debt of high-mountain plants under twenty-first-century climate change

    Stefan Dullinger;Andreas Gattringer;Wilfried Thuiller;Dietmar Moser

  • Are niche-based species distribution models transferable in space?

    Christophe F. Randin;Thomas Dirnböck;Stefan Dullinger;Niklaus E. Zimmermann

  • A standard protocol for reporting species distribution models

    Damaris Zurell;Janet Franklin;Christian König;Phil J. Bouchet

  • Tree line shifts in the Swiss Alps: Climate change or land abandonment?

    Jacqueline Gehrig-Fasel;Antoine Guisan;Niklaus E. Zimmermann

  • 21st century climate change threatens mountain flora unequally across Europe

    Robin Engler;Christophe F. Randin;Wilfried Thuiller;Stefan Dullinger

  • What do we gain from simplicity versus complexity in species distribution models

    Cory Merow;Cory Merow;Cory Merow;Matthew J. Smith;Thomas C. Edwards;Antoine Guisan

  • Climate change and European forests: What do we know, what are the uncertainties, and what are the implications for forest management?

    Marcus Lindner;Joanne B. Fitzgerald;Niklaus E. Zimmermann;Christopher Reyer

  • Using Niche-Based Models to Improve the Sampling of Rare Species

    Antoine Guisan;Olivier Broennimann;Robin Engler;Mathias Vust

  • Publisher Correction: Present and future Köppen-Geiger climate classification maps at 1-km resolution.

    Hylke E. Beck;Niklaus E. Zimmermann;Tim R. McVicar;Tim R. McVicar;Noemi Vergopolan

Frequent Co-Authors

Antoine Guisan
Antoine Guisan University of Lausanne
Wilfried Thuiller
Wilfried Thuiller Grenoble Alpes University
Peter B. Pearman
Peter B. Pearman University of the Basque Country
Stefan Dullinger
Stefan Dullinger University of Vienna
Thomas Wohlgemuth
Thomas Wohlgemuth Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research
Pascal Vittoz
Pascal Vittoz University of Lausanne
Jens-Christian Svenning
Jens-Christian Svenning Aarhus University
Nicolas Salamin
Nicolas Salamin University of Lausanne
Signe Normand
Signe Normand Aarhus University
Christophe F. Randin
Christophe F. Randin University of Lausanne

If you think any of the details on this page are incorrect, let us know.

Report an issue

We appreciate your kind effort to assist us to improve this page, it would be helpful providing us with as much detail as possible in the text box below:

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

If you are interested in studying Ecology and Evolution, you’ll find value in exploring related online degree options. Many students combine their environmental interests with creative or diverse fields. For example, those looking to be effective science communicators may benefit from programs offered by online graphic design schools.

Some learners appreciate programs that cross disciplinary boundaries—these can help connect ecology with policy, history, or education. Consider reviewing online interdisciplinary studies degree ranking affordable to discover flexible, cost-effective pathways.

If your passion is understanding the environmental past to shape future policies, a masters in history can be a strong complement when paired with ecology studies.

Careers in research, education, and information science are other rewarding options. You might be surprised how useful a role in library science is for environmental data curation—check out the cheapest masters in library science in the USA for potential career growth.

Best Scientists Citing Niklaus E. Zimmermann

Trending Scientists