Ole Reidar Vetaas

Ole Reidar Vetaas is a Professor of Biogeography in the Department of Geography at the University of Bergen, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. He is an active researcher with a long-standing academic career focused on biodiversity, elevational gradients, and environmental change.

His research interests include biogeography, plant species richness, water-energy dynamics, landscape ecology, and conservation biology. He investigates how climate, topography, and land use influence biodiversity patterns across regions such as the Himalayas, the Iberian Peninsula, and Norwegian coastal and alpine ecosystems. His work often integrates field observations, remote sensing, and spatial modeling.

The recent trends in his publications indicate a strong focus on mountain biodiversity, ecological restoration (particularly heathlands), disturbance ecology (e.g., volcanic eruptions, wildfires), and the impacts of global change on species distributions. His studies span plant, insect, and ecosystem-level responses, with a recurring emphasis on elevational gradients and environmental heterogeneity.

He has supervised multiple PhD and Master’s students, including Lila Nath Sharma, Madan Krishna Suwal, and Kuber Prasad Bhatta, contributing significantly to academic training in geography and ecology. He has participated in research projects related to risk management in Himalayan farming, cultural landscapes, and protected area planning.

He is involved in various research groups, particularly in environmental and landscape geography, and has contributed to major collaborative studies on biogeographical regions of Europe and biodiversity conservation targets. His work often appears in high-impact journals in ecology and biogeography.