«Christian Körner, born in 1949 in Salzburg, Austria, studied in Innsbruck and in 1989 became a full professor for Botany at the University of Basel. Through his research and teaching, his publications, and his tireless engagements in international organizations and research programmes, Christian Körner has become the leading expert in the understanding of plant life at high elevation with a global perspective. His studies on the functional ecology of high-altitude mountain ecosystems, on the worldwide tree line phenomenon, and on alpine plant life are lasting achievements.

He founded and chaired for ten years the «Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment» of DIVERSITAS and played a key role in the mountain agenda of the «International Convention on Biodiversity». Christian Körner’s contribution to global mountain biology is fundamental, especially for the International Year of Biodiversity 2010 proclaimed by the United Nations.»

Albert Mountain Award 2010