Introduction

Climate change is affecting biodiversity (Warren et al. 2001; Hickling et al. 2005; Root et al. 2005; Parmesan 2006; Rosenzweig et al. 2008), and research into appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies is now recognized as being of highest priority (Mitchell et al. 2007; Hoegh-Guldberg et al. 2008). As with other taxa, climate change is likely to affect the physiology, population dynamics, and spatial distributions of bryophytes. Climate-induced range shifts have already been reported for many central European bryophyte species (e.g., Frahm & Klaus 1997). Climate is the ultimate driver of species distributions at large spatial (e.g., country) scales. Although some traits of bryophytes might make them less vulnerable to changes in temperature, many species are likely to be substantially affected by changes in humidity-related parameters (Gignac 2001; Bates et al. 2005).

Protected area networks are often established based on well-studied flagship species, and although this is mainly driven by increased computer power and available ecological data, there has been a recent shift towards multi-taxon reserve design (Early & Thomas 2007; Kremen et al. 2008; Franco et al. 2009). In addition, it is increasingly recognized that current conservation networks might not provide suitable protection for species in light of future climate change (e.g., Dockerty et al. 2003; Araújo et al. 2004; Pyke et al. 2005). An area under protective legislation today might be climatically suitable for an endangered species but the climatic conditions of that area might dramatically change in the future, making it unsuitable for this species.