Journal Article
The MIREN Road Survey Database: Standardized Vegetation Sampling to Advance Our Understanding of Biodiversity Responses in Mountain Systems Across the Globe
Sylvia Haider; Jonas J. Lembrechts; Jake Alexander; Vincent Ralph Clark; Lisa J. Rew; Meike Buhaly; Marc Achermann; Alla Aleksanyan; Alisa Alvarez; Marco Andrello; José R. Arévalo; Valeria Aschero; Joshua P. Averett; Agustina Barros; Lorena Bonjour; Marta Carboni; Clinton Carbutt; Lohengrin A. Cavieres; Kent Coe; Curtis Daehler; Pervaiz A. Dar; Alix Dejonckheere; Bryan Endress; Franz Essl; Georgi Fayvush; Eduardo Fuentes‐Lillo; Andrea Galmán; Susan Geer; Onalenna Gwate; Barbora Hubáčková; Anke Jentsch; Alejandra Jiménez; Paul Kühn; Josef Kutlvašr; Greta La Bella; Christian Larson; Bernd Lenzner; Anna Lučanová; Keith McDougall; Maritza Mihoc; Ann Milbau; John W. Morgan; Bridgett J. Naylor; Ivan Nijs; Rüdiger Otto; Aníbal Pauchard; Gwendolyn Peyre; Irfan Rashid; Amanda Ratier Backes; Zafar A. Reshi; Damiano Righetti; Verónica Sandoya; Lucia Antonietta Santoianni; Andreas Schweiger; James M. Shannon; Hana Skálová; Karina L. Speziale; Angela Stanisci; Sophia C. Turner; Koenraad Van Meerbeek; Marco Varricchione; Vernon Visser; Vojtěch Vítek; Michaela Vitková; Tom Vorstenbosch; Zac C. Walker; Neville Walsh; Peter Wolff; Tim Seipel
Global Ecology and Biogeography · Vol. 35, Issue 8 · 2026
Abstract
Motivation The database initiated by the Mountain Invasion Research Network (MIREN) is one of the few globally implemented standardized vegetation surveys in mountains. The focus is on collecting plant species occurrences at 5‐year intervals along and adjacent to mountain roads spanning elevational gradients, with the goal of providing critical information about the ongoing spread of non‐native plants and the potential impacts of climate and human‐caused disturbance in the form of road infrastructure on mountain vegetation. Main Types of Variables Contained To date, the database contains almost 170,000 georeferenced records of plant species. Overall, 6854 vascular plant species were observed in 3364 plots across 25 regions, with many of these plots being revisited every 5 years. Each plot is identified by its coordinates, elevation and distance to the road. The status of each individual species (native, non‐native or unknown) is determined in accordance with regional databases. Spatial Location and Grain Plant species were surveyed at 20 sample sites, placed at regular elevational intervals along each mountain road, with typically three roads selected per region. Each sample site is subdivided into three 2 m × 50 m plots, one parallel to the road and two perpendicular to it, extending into adjacent vegetation. The 25 studied regions cover all continents except Antarctica. Time Period and Grain Data were collected between 2007 and 2023, with surveys being repeated at 5‐year intervals in a subset of regions. Three regions include four time‐steps, while seven and three regions were sampled three times or twice, respectively. In most regions, long‐term monitoring is ongoing. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement All vascular plant species. Software Format Data are available through a .csv file on Zenodo ( https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15749536 ).