How is nature in the Alps changing, and what does the climate mean for its diversity? The BR documentary “Unterwegs im Nationalpark Berchtesgaden” follows Prof. Dr. Rupert Seidl of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and forest scientist Alice Peace as they work in the field. Both are researchers in the bayklif2 project BaySenseAI, which is funded by the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and the Arts.
The film shows just how much hands-on work goes into this research. The two hike up steep, densely wooded trails in the Bavarian mountains, measure trees and check insect traps. They swap out the collection containers along with the attractant and take the captured insects with them for analysis. Along the way, the film also takes in the diversity of the national park and how mountain nature is adapting to climate change itself.
This data is one building block of BaySenseAI. The project aims to build a scalable, AI-based platform that not only documents biodiversity but can also forecast how it will change. It combines audio recorders, camera traps, DNA metabarcoding and Earth observation data from satellites and aircraft, and AI models bring everything together. The work takes place on more than 200 sample plots in the national park, and the BR short documentary shows some of them.
BaySenseAI is led by Prof. Dr. Florian Hartig (University of Regensburg) and by Prof. Dr. Rupert Seidl and Prof. Dr. Cornelius Senf (both TUM).
The documentary is available in the ARD Mediathek (Video in German).