Bulletin 2016 / 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

2 A Message from the President

4 Updates from IAVS 2016

6 Alexander von Humboldt Medal

9 Honorary Membership

12 Young Scientists Awards

20 News from the Working Groups

21 Report from the EVS Workshop

26 Obituary of Rolando J. C. León

28 Calendar of Events

Date of Publication: March 2016 © Internationalwww.iavs.org Association for Bulletin 2016/1 Mangrove close to Ubatuba,Page São1 of Paulo29 - Vegetation Science © A. Fidelis Southeastern Brazil. A Message from the President Members of the IAVS are active in several working groups of the association, but are also engaged in other initiatives concerned with specific aspects of vegetation science. One of these initiatives is the “German Working Group on Vegetation Databases”. Having become more and more international over the past years, the group has recently conducted its 15th meeting in the wonderful setting of the Botanical Garden in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Sanssouci in Potsdam near Berlin (http://www.uni- potsdam.de/de/vegetationdatabases2016/index.html). More than 50 participants from several countries met to discuss the topic “Vegetation Databases and Resurveys” - a highly important field of our science that is also picked out as a theme in one of the special sessions of the IAVS Symposium 2016 in Brazil (Historical human legacy in vegetation: towards better theoretical concepts and applied approaches).

If we want to document and understand the various effects of global change such as land use change, climate change, atmospheric deposition or invasive species, historical vegetation data are an invaluable source of information. They allow us to compare old records with recent re-surveys and to describe changes in species richness and composition in response to environmental drivers. Permanent or quasi-permanent plots based on an exact or at least relatively precise re-location of the former study sites are especially meaningful. Recent years have seen an increasing number of publications on vegetation re-surveys, sometimes spanning 60 to 70 years - such long-term data are an important baseline also for shorter-term experiments aiming to search for the mechanistic explanations for the observed changes of the vegetation.

For understanding long-term vegetation changes and processes and the consequences of global change, we urgently need blueprints for natural vegetation that is largely unaffected by man. Therefore it is alarming to read that one of the last (almost) primeval lowland forests in Europe, Białowieża Forest (also a UNESCO World Heritage Site!), is under threat from logging: as reported in Nature (Vol. 530, pages 393 and 419, 25 February 2016), the Polish Ministry of the Environment plans to increase logging in sections outside the area that is protected as a national park, allegedly in response to an outbreak of the European spruce bark beetle. Białowieża Forest is unique in hosting viable populations of European bison, wolf and lynx, and of a large variety of bird species (among them many woodpeckers and the lesser-spotted eagle). It also is a famous site for research on vegetation succession and disturbance dynamics, and increased logging would not only have negative effects on the mentioned animal species, but also destroy a reference site for how ancient forests may have looked before they were transformed by modern forestry. Long-term studies have shown that the bark beetles decisively contribute to the high biodiversity of pristine forests. I sincerely hope that the scientific arguments of ecologists and nature conservationists can persuade the Polish government to reconsider their plans.

Martin Diekmann Primeval forests in the Białowieża National Park IAVS President

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 2 of 29 © J. Brunet © J. Brunet

Decaying log in Białowieża National Park (above left). Forest in Białowieża National Park with decaying logs (above right)

Mixed deciduous-coniferous forest in Białowieża National Park (above). Small natural creek in the forest of Białowieża National Park (below).

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 3 of 29 Updates from IAVS 2016

Pre- and Post-Excursions Update I would like to inform all that there has been an • Pre-Symposium Excursion 3 – Coastal and important modification of one of the Excursions Atlantic Forest: 6 confirmed; 14 spots available planned for the upcoming IAVS Symposium. Due to logistic concerns Post-Symposium Excursion 2: • Short Pre-Symposium Excursion – Cerrado: 13 Coastal Forests and Dunes has been cancelled. confirmed; 7 spots available However, an excursion with the same itinerary has • Short Pre-Symposium Excursion – Architecture of been included as Pre-Symposium Excursion 3. The Brasilia: Cancelled dates for the new Pre-Symposium Excursion are from 07 to 10/06. Please look at the web page for • Post-Symposium Excursion 1 – Cerrado: 27 more information. confirmed; 9 spots available

To date (29/02/16), the situation with all excursion is If you have any questions or comments, please get in as follows: touch with me at the following address: iavs2016@ gmail.com. • Pre-Symposium Excursion 1 – Caatinga: 4 confirmed; 2 possible; 2 spots available Thank you again for your attention and hope to see you here in Brazil. • Pre-Symposium Excursion 2 – Atlantic Forest: Complete; 6 on waiting list

Campos rupestres vegetation in the Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais - Southeastern Brazil

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 4 of 29 Zika Virus Update Over the last few months there have been a lot of Based on available evidence, WHO is not reports on several major news channels about recommending any travel or trade restrictions problems associated with Zika vírus in Brazil and related to Zika virus disease. As a precautionary several members of IAVS have expressed concerns measure, some national governments have made about this problem also. In no way should the public health and travel recommendations to their question be minimized, but in regard to where the own populations, based on their assessments of the Annual Symposium will be held, I would like to make available evidence and local risk factors. the following comments: Pan American Health Organization 1. As was recently noticed by the press, the http://www.paho.org/ Director-General of the WHO commended Brazil for efforts in combatting the transmissor of Zika virus;

2. Local government officials in Pirenópolis are aware of the problem and have been taking measures to try to reduce breeding sites for the mosquito, both through education of the local population about the means of propagation and chemical control;

3. The time of year when the meeting will be held, in June, is the end of the fall season and almost the start of winter when temperatures are lower. This time of year is also the beginning of the dry season in the central part of the country. Both of these factors by themselves usually result in a large diminution of mosquito density.

4. As with any other trip to places where mosquitos or other biting insects are a problem, please use appropriate clothing and use repellent to diminish the probability of being bitten.

The following two sites contain more detailed information about Zika virus.

World Health Organization Information on the Zika virus and fact sheets, updated February 2016 http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/zika/en/

Zika virus disease: questions and answers http://www.who.int/features/qa/zika/en/ © J. Hay Should I avoid travelling to areas where Zika virus is occurring? Corumba waterfall near Pirenópolis in Central Brazil Travellers should stay informed about Zika virus and other mosquito-borne diseases and consult their The Local Organizing Committee hopes that you local health or travel authorities if they are concerned. will consider this information and make plans to participate in this year´s Symposium. We look To protect against Zika virus and other mosquito- forward to seeing you here in Brazil. borne diseases, everyone should avoid being bitten by mosquitoes by taking the measures described Sincerely, above. Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should follow this advice, and may John Du Vall Hay also consult their local health authorities if travelling Chair, Local Organizing Committee, IAVS2016 to an area with an ongoing Zika virus outbreak. www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 5 of 29 A lexander von Humboldt Medal Awarded to Sandra Lavorel, 2014 The Alexander von Humboldt Medal for Excellence in Vegetation Science is awarded by the International Association for Vegetation Science to scientists who have contributed greatly to the intellectual development of the field. It is my great pleasure to summarize the background and academic achievements of the recipient of the award for 2014, Sandra Lavorel.

Sandra Lavorel received her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 1991 in Montpellier, France, under the supervision of Francesco Di Castri. The subject was the mechanisms of species coexistence in Mediterranean grasslands, with emphasis on seed regeneration traits, although these were not called ‘traits’ yet at the time. She then moved to a postdoc in the Australian National University (Canberra), where she further explored coexistence mechanisms and started to think about plant functional types, under the influence of the pioneering work by vegetation modellers, and especially Prof. Ian Noble. These years in Australia were to have a deep, long-lasting impact on her life. In 1994 she returned to France and joined the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). After a highly successful career at CNRS, she became a First Class Senior Research © K. Grigulis Scientist at the Laboratory of Alpine Ecology at the University of Grenoble. The career and life of Sandra Lavorel are inextricably linked to France. This is not the links between agriculture and biodiversity, and on only because France is the country in which she ecosystems and ecosystem services. More recently, was born and grew up, and where she did a good she has participated in the Intergovernmental proportion of her field work, but also because she Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services embodies some of the best attributes of the French and chairs the scientific committee of the French scientific tradition. National Ecosystem Assessment.

She has a vast international experience, having Her main research interests center around plant coordinated primary research consortia involving functional trait ecology, disturbance ecology, rural other European countries, Latin American countries, landscapes, biodiversity and global change ecology, and South Africa. She has served in leading and more recently, inter- and trans-disciplinary positions in a number of major international research research on ecosystem services. She has made networks, such as the International Geosphere- outstanding contributions to conceptual functional Biosphere Programme, the Global Land Project, and ecology that are being widely applied by other DIVERSITAS, where she became well known for scientists. She has also made major empirical her intellectual leadership and capability in creating contributions to our understanding of how the highly stimulating, productive networks. She is one functional composition of herbaceous communities of the founders of TRY, the Global Communal Plant relates to ecosystem processes and how this Trait Database (Kattge et al. 2011; www.try-db.org). translates into different ecosystem service tradeoffs She has also served in some major national and in the ancient managed landscapes of Europe, international assessments related to biodiversity and particularly in the Alps. global environmental change, such as the Millennium Although her scientific career is not yet very long Ecosystem Assessment, where she was a review in years, she has produced an impressive body of editor, the French National assessments of climate work, having authored more than 170 publications, change impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, on several of them highly influential. In 1997, in www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 6 of 29 collaboration with Sue McIntyre and other colleagues a sea kayak repeatedly around the world. And she from Australia and the U.S.A., she published a is particularly qualified in skiing under challenging pioneering conceptual piece on plant functional conditions. classifications with reference to disturbance, in which she highlighted the importance of considering I can say that Sandra Lavorel is one of the very growth form (Lavorel et al. 1997). Five years later few persons for which my admiration and respect, she published, in collaboration with Eric Garnier, far from having faded, have increased with time. what is her most cited first-authored article so far, This goes well beyond her science. This is a case a conceptual review article on plant response and in which behind the remarkable scientist there is effect functional traits (Lavorel and Garnier 2002). also a remarkable person, known for her integrity, She has co-authored two highly cited articles on generosity, fairness and intellectual courage. So the impacts of climate change on plant diversity and please join me, on behalf of the IAVS Awards ecosystems of Europe, with Wilfried Thuillier, Dagmar Committee, in recognizing Sandra Lavorel as the Schröter and other European colleagues (Schröter 2015 recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Medal. et al. 2005, Thuiller et al. 2004a). She is also a Sandra Díaz major author of an influential article linking different [email protected] aspects of functional diversity with ecosystem properties and services (Diaz et al. 2007). Most of her publications are in the area of plant ecology, and she continues this line of work, but in the past few years she has ramified into trophic levels other than plants (Lavorel et al., Grigulis et al., Moretti et al.), and also into interdisciplinary ecosystem service research (Lamarque et al., Felipe-Lucia et al.). Along her career her scientific interests have changed and diversified, but there is a common pattern in all the publications she has lead: their focus is at the ecosystem – community interface, they tend to be built on the basis of explicit, solid conceptual models, and they are supported by detailed empirical field data.

For her contributions, Sandra Lavorel has received several prestigious awards, including the Bronze (for junior scientists - 1998) and Silver (for mid- career scientists - 2013) Medals of Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, the Foulon Prize in Biology, of the French Academy of Sciences (2006), the Cozzarelli Prize of USA National Academy of Sciences (2007), the Sustainability Science Award of the Ecological Society of America (2008), the Jean A subalpine meadow landscape with floweringAllium Dufrenoy Prize of the French Academy of Agriculture victorialis paintied by the Dutch artist Ed Hazebroek (2009), the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur of the and given to Sandra Lavorel by IAVS. French government (2012), and the Médaille d’argent du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (2013). In 2013 she was elected member of the References French Academy of Sciences. Díaz, S., Lavorel, S., de Bello, F., Quetier, F., Grigulis, But there are some remarkable aspects of Sandra K. & Robson, M. (2007) Incorporating plant Lavorel that are not as easily found online as her functional diversity effects in ecosystem service publications and other academic achievements. assessments. Proceedings of the National Those of us who have known her for quite a long time Academy of Sciences of the United States of could mention, for example, how committed she is to America, 104, 20684-20689. nurturing the careers of young scientists, including Felipe-Lucia, M. R., Martin-Lopez, B., Lavorel, joining very demanding field work every year. She is S., Berraquero-Diaz, L., Escalera-Reyes, J. & known for her capacity to work extremely hard, for Comin, F. A. (2015) Ecosystem Services Flows: her fairness, and for her consistency and generosity. Why Stakeholders’ Power Relationships Matter. Her interests go well beyond ecology, especially Plos One, 10. in the area of the great outdoors. She is qualified in trekking, mountaineering, and sea kayaking, Grigulis, K., Lavorel, S., Krainer, U., Legay, N., having moved skiing and climbing equipment and Baxendale, C., Dumont, M., Kastl, E., Arnoldi, C., www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 7 of 29 © K. Grigulis

Bardgett, R. D., Poly, F., Pommier, T., Schloter, Lavorel, S. & Garnier, E. (2002) Predicting changes M., Tappeiner, U., Bahn, M. & Clement, J.-C. in community composition and ecosystem (2013) Relative contributions of plant traits and functioning from plant traits: revisiting the Holy soil microbial properties to mountain grassland Grail. Functional Ecology, 16, 545-556. ecosystem services. Journal of Ecology, 101, 47- 57. Lavorel, S., McIntyre, S., Landsberg, J. & Forbes, T. D. A. (1997) Plant functional classifications: Kattge, J., Diaz, S., Lavorel, S., Prentice, C., Leadley, from general groups to specific groups based on P., Boenisch, G., Garnier, E., Westoby, M., Reich, response to disturbance. Trends in Ecology & P. B., Wright, I. J., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Violle, C., Evolution, 12, 474-478. Harrison, S. P., van Bodegom, P. M., Reichstein, M., Enquist, B. J., Soudzilovskaia, N. A., Ackerly, Lavorel, S., Storkey, J., Bardgett, R. D., de Bello, F., D. D., Anand, M., Atkin, O., Bahn, M., Baker, T. R., Berg, M. P., Le Roux, X., Moretti, M., Mulder, C., Baldocchi, D., Bekker, R., Blanco, C. C., Blonder, Pakeman, R. J., Diaz, S. & Harrington, R. A novel B., Bond, W. J., Bradstock, R., Bunker, D. E., framework for linking functional diversity of plants Casanoves, F., Cavender-Bares, J., Chambers, with other trophic levels for the quantification J. Q., Chapin, F. S., III, Chave, J., Coomes, of ecosystem services. Journal of Vegetation D., Cornwell, W. K., Craine, J. M., Dobrin, B. Science, 24, 942-948. H., Duarte, L., Durka, W., Elser, J., Esser, G., Moretti, M., de Bello, F., Ibanez, S., Fontana, S., Estiarte, M., Fagan, W. F., Fang, J., Fernandez- Pezzatti, G. B., Dziock, F., Rixen, C. & Lavorel, Mendez, F., Fidelis, A., Finegan, B., Flores, O., S. (2013) Linking traits between plants and Ford, H., Frank, D., Freschet, G. T., Fyllas, N. M., invertebrate herbivores to track functional effects Gallagher, R. V., Green, W. A., Gutierrez, A. G., of land-use changes. Journal of Vegetation Hickler, T., Higgins, S. I., Hodgson, J. G., Jalili, A., Science, 24, 949-962. Jansen, S., Joly, C. A., Kerkhoff, A. J., Kirkup, D., Kitajima, K., Kleyer, M., Klotz, S., Knops, J. M. H., Schröter, D., Cramer, W., Leemans, R., Prentice, Kramer, K., Kuehn, I., Kurokawa, H., Laughlin, I. C., Araujo, M. B., Arnell, N. W., Bondeau, A., D., Lee, T. D., Leishman, M., Lens, F., Lenz, T., Bugmann, H., Carter, T. R., Gracia, C. A., de Lewis, S. L., Lloyd, J., Llusia, J., Louault, F., Ma, la Vega-Leinert, A. C., Erhard, M., Ewert, F., S., Mahecha, M. D., Manning, P., Massad, T., Glendining, M., House, J. I., Kankaanpaa, S., Medlyn, B. E., Messier, J., Moles, A. T., Mueller, Klein, R. J. T., Lavorel, S., Lindner, M., Metzger, S. C., Nadrowski, K., Naeem, S., Niinemets, U., M. J., Meyer, J., Mitchell, T. D., Reginster, I., Noellert, S., Nueske, A., Ogaya, R., Oleksyn, Rounsevell, M., Sabate, S., Sitch, S., Smith, B., J., Onipchenko, V. G., Onoda, Y., Ordonez, J., Smith, J., Smith, P., Sykes, M. T., Thonicke, K., Overbeck, G., Ozinga, W. A., et al. (2011) TRY - Thuiller, W., Tuck, G., Zaehle, S. & Zierl, B. (2005) a global database of plant traits. Global Change Ecosystem service supply and vulnerability to Biology, 17, 2905-2935. global change in Europe. Science, 310, 1333- 1337. Lamarque, P., Artaux, A., Barnaud, C., Dobremez, L., Nettier, B. & Lavorel, S. (2013) Taking into Thuiller, W., Araujo, M. B., Pearson, R. G., Whittaker, account farmers’ decision making to map fine- R. J., Brotons, L. & Lavorel, S. (2004) Biodiversity scale land management adaptation to climate conservation - Uncertainty in predictions of and socio-economic scenarios. Landscape and extinction risk. NATURE, 430. Urban Planning, 119, 147-157.

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 8 of 29 H onorary Membership to IAVS Awarded to Kazue Fujiwara, 2015 Kazue Fujiwara (藤原一繪) comes from the famous clan that named emperors and generally ran early Japan. Even in the 19th century, the wife of the Emperor Meiji was a Fujiwara descendant. As it turns out, the ‘Fuji’ (藤) in Fujiwara has nothing to do with Mt. Fuji but is instead the name of an indigenous Japanese plant, Wisteria floribunda. The name Fujiwara (“wisteria field”) was an honorific, bestowed by the emperor Tenji upon Nakatomi-no Katamari (614-669), whose descendants took it as the name of their clan. To this day Fujiwara remains one of the most respected family names in Japan; and this ‘fuji’, along with its alternate pronunciation ‘tō’ (only in combinations), still appears in many common Japanese family names, such as Fujimori, Fujita, Itō and Satō.

Kazue herself was born in wartime Tōkyō, so her mother took her to northeastern Japan, where life was safer. As Japan recovered after the war, Kazue returned to Kantō (the Tōkyō area) to attend public school in Tōkyō and Chigasaki (down the coast) and high school in Hiratsuka. After graduating in 1963, she Original watercolour painting given to Kazue in Brno entered Yokohama National University, where she as part of the Honorary Membership Award. It was studied general biology and was fond of road rallies. especially made for this occasion by the Dutch artist During this time she also met the young professor Ed Hazebroek, depicting Wisteria floribunda flowers Akira Miyawaki and became interested in his ideas (her family name is related to this plant). of vegetation study. After graduating in 1967 she became a graduate researcher under Miyawaki (until and analysis of the evergreen broad-leaved forests 1973) and a high-school biology teacher (1967-69) of Japan. Her paper with Miyawaki on the evergreen in Fujisawa and Yokohama. In 1969 she received a and secondary forests of Kantō helped demonstrate CNRS stipend to study terril vegetation (and French) that evergreen broad-leaved forest is in fact the with Prof. Reinhold Linder in Lille (April-June). After potential natural vegetation of a large part of Japan, France she moved to Germany and joined the even where covered then and now by secondary famous group of Reinhold Tüxen in Rinteln (July- deciduous forests. Her 1987 paper on “Aims and September), where she studied raised bogs and Methods of Phytosociology” is still probably the best learned German. Kazue returned to Japan in the brief but sufficient explanation in English of how to autumn of 1969, already the unusually cosmopolitan do phytosociology. Japanese woman that we have always known. Also during the 1980s, though, Kazue’s largest Back in Japan, Kazue began by summarizing the project was as major field researcher and author of vegetation of the famous Ozegahara wetlands and text, tables and maps for the exhaustive series on describing local and regional vegetation, with maps the “Vegetation of Japan” (10 volumes, edited by of actual and potential vegetation. She also began Miyawaki). Even so, she also found time for a first writing on the creation of green environments in major foreign project, as a field researcher and co- urban and other built-up areas. In 1973 Kazue author for a four-year project on the mangroves of officially became an Assistant Professor, and in Thailand. In 1985 she began lecturing officially, at 1978 she finished her Doctor of Science degree from Hōsei University in Tōkyō, and in 1986 she finally Tōhoku University. She also married during this time, became an Associate Professor at Yokohama built a house in Chigasaki, and had two daughters, National University, in the recently established Yōko and Maki. Institute of Environmental Science and Technology.

In the 1980s Kazue began publishing more Kazue’s first trip to China, in autumn 1985, began independently, in particular her four-part classification a long interest in Chinese evergreen broad-leaved www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 9 of 29 Kazue with Yukito Nakamura, Elgene Box, Pavel Krestov, and Ken Sato, under “tall forbs” on Sakhalin

forests and Chinese vegetation in general. In 1986 When Kazue herself was forced to retire (2010, at she visited the southeastern USA for the first time and age 65), she moved to Yokohama City University, began studying its warm-temperate and deciduous where she continues her re-vegetation and other forests. She was thus the only locally experienced work in China and other countries, including Nepal, Japanese member of the Eastern North American Turkey, most recently Indonesia, and since 1990 in Vegetation Survey (1988-90), funded by Japan and Kenya. Kazue and her students were also quick to led by Miyawaki. For the subsequent book she wrote study coastline effects of the great tsunami in the chapters on the evergreen broad-leaved forests and Indian Ocean (2004) and northeastern Japan (2011). mangroves of the southeastern USA, in comparison with East Asia. Kazue has always had a particular talent for organizing special sessions on timely topics at In 1993, after the age-mandated retirement of major international meetings. Her 1990 session at Miyawaki, Kazue was able to obtain his position as INTECOL (Yokohama) on evergreen broad-leaved Professor of the Department of Vegetation Science. forests was combined with three related symposia for She quickly accumulated many graduate students, a first book synthesis on “Forest Ecosystems of East from overseas as well as from Japan, which led and Southeast Asia”. Her 1998 session in Firenze immediately to more wide-ranging fieldwork. In focused on early evidence of vegetation responses particular she studied forests and their potential to warming, and she took a truly global view in 1999 rehabilitation, with her students, not only in Japan (Botanical Congress) with a session on “Vegetation but also throughout much of Asia and even in of Analogous Environments of the Northern versus Brazil, Senegal and Ethiopia. She also continued Southern Hemisphere”. Her 2002 session in Seoul comparative work in eastern North America and was on “Ecology in Beech and Oak Forests” was followed a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Georgia in up 10 years later with “Quercus versus Fagus in 1999. Asian and other Temperate Deciduous Forests”, for the annual IAVS meeting, also in Korea. Finally, for The increasing number of Chinese students around the IAVS symposium in Lyon (2011) she organized 2000 led to more fieldwork in China (plus [Chinese] a session on “Warm-Temperate Deciduous Forests Mongolia and Manchuria) and first syntheses on around the Northern Hemisphere”, which also Chinese Fagus forests, the widespread Quercus became a book and included her synthesis. mongolica forests of northern China, and north- Chinese deciduous forests in general. A major Kazue has also served on the organizing committees project on “Integrated Vegetation Mapping in Asia” for IAVS and INTECOL meetings, and the 1993 brought the opportunity for even wider-ranging field Botanical Congress. In 2000 she was the overall study, including the Russian Far East (photo above), organizer of the IAVS symposium in Nagano and central and northern Siberia, and dry areas of Central its excursions throughout Japan. She was an IAVS Asia. Vice-President (2000-2007), still serves on the IAVS www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 10 of 29 Advisory Council (since 1994), and is a familiar figure at IAVS meetings (photo below), missing only one annual meeting since 1991. She was also an INTECOL board member (2001-2008) and has long contributed to the Japanese Ecological Society and to regional meetings in East Asia.

Kazue Fujiwara is perhaps best known as one of the world’s foremost phytosociologists, adhering closely to classical standards and procedures but also able to adapt phytosociology to all kinds of environments and analysis objectives, including rehabilitation efforts. She is also known for her extensive knowledge of the vegetation of the whole world, having studied vegetation in the field in about 50 countries or comparable regions (e.g. photo right), and for her valuable global-scale comparisons and syntheses.

A Festschrift in Kazue’s honor has been prepared, includes a more detailed biography, and lists her many publications. It should appear soon, under the appropriate title “Vegetation Structure and Function at Different Spatial, Temporal and Conceptual Scales.” For me, Kazue has been a valuable co- author, critic and colleague, and I would like to thank her once again for all I have seen and learned from working with her. I’m sure all IAVS members join me in wishing her many more active and rewarding years.

Elgene O. Box

Photo by: W. Welss

Kazue asking a question at an IAVS meeting. Left to Photo by:A. Greller right in front are: Franco Pedrotti, Wolfgang Haber Kazue in the field, on the Baja California excursion and Erika Pignatti (and Hartmut Dierschke at far in 2010 right, next row back)

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 11 of 29 Young Scientists Awards During the 58th Annual IAVS Symposium in Brno, Czech Republic, several young scientists received awards for the best oral and poster presentations. We decided to introduce the winners of Young Scientist Awards 2015 to readers of the IAVS Bulletin and asked them to answer several simple questions for this purpose:

1. Describe the research you presented during the Annual IAVS Symposium in Brno. 2. Send us your photo and a photo of the ecosystem you study (could be also a joint photo of you in your ecosystem). 3. What was your first motivation to study and work in Vegetation Science? 4. What is your favourite ecosystem/plant community (a photo is welcome)? 5. What was your deepest impression from the Annual IAVS Symposium in Brno (except of being awarded)? 6. Do you plan to attend the 59th Annual IAVS Symposium in Brazil? All these points were optional, and we are happy that our respondents fully used the opportunity to present their work and ideas. Inga Hiiesalu, Tartu, Estonia Young scientist Oral Presentation Award, First Prize “Belowground vs aboveground plant richness in a long-term grassland management experiment” My Research At IAVS 2015 in Brno I presented a study from my post-doc where we looked at the effect of management regime on small-scale plant species richness above- and belowground. Together with colleagues from the Czech Republic, we wondered if belowground plant structures could be buffering the loss of species due to land-use change, since belowground plant structures are often more long- lived compared to shoots. By using next-generation sequencing technology we were able to identify the otherwise intermingled bundle of roots and rhizomes – a method which I developed during my PhD studies. Surprisingly, we found that the low- productivity site still had a considerable proportion © F. de Bello of species hidden belowground even when species were lost aboveground due to seven years of Me with colleagues and friends Lars Götzenberger unfavourable grassland management. This could and Francesco de Bello during fieldwork in wet offer a window of opportunity for successful grassland meadows of Czech Republic (above). Alvar restoration. However, the more productive site had grassland in Saaremaa (below). already lost a considerable part of species both above- and belowground. Although we were able to sample only on two grasslands, this pilot study shows the importance and feasibility of including the belowground compartment in standard vegetation surveys.

First Motivation / Favourite Plant Community My first motivation to work in vegetation science came from the interest in alvar grasslands in Estonia. They appealed to me with their steppe-like short vegetation and I joined Meelis Pärtel’s group, which at this time did a lot of research on alvars. Since this is where I got my first “taste of science” and interest in plant belowground life, alvar grasslands have remained one of my favorite communities. © A. Helm www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 12 of 29 Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno often turn out to be very funny!), as this is the place The IAVS Symposium in Brno brought together an to meet very nice people. incredible number of good scientists, and this was reflected by extremely interesting (special) sessions Next IAVS Symposium and fresh ideas. Not least important, IAVS Symposia I hope to attend IAVS in Brazil and I’m very much have always offered highlights of social events (that looking for this meeting. Sonya Geange, Canberra, Australia Young scientist Poster Award, First Prize “Plasticity in water use traits in Australian alpine plants” My Research The Australian alpine ecosystem has been identified as particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. With a limited spatial range and elevation gradient, it provides an excellent opportunity for examining the evolution of variation in phenotypic plasticity along environmental gradients within a species. In particular, we are interested in the importance of elevation, and the associated changes in temperature, precipitation and snow melt regimes. With past research highlighting low elevation populations of species displaying adaptive responses to temperature, we were interested to know if the same patterns of plasticity would be displayed in response to water availability. Using three Australian alpine herbs, Wahlenbergia ceracea, Aciphylla glacialis and Oreomyrrhis eriopoda, we assessed whether patterns of morphological and physiological plasticity differed between species, or between elevations within species under two contrasting glasshouse water treatments. Contrary to our hypothesis, we found little evidence of within-species effects of elevation on plasticity in response to water availability. Our results suggest that patterns of plasticity, and within- species differentiation, vary greatly depending on the resource under consideration and generalising a response based on one environmental variable is not possible. Furthermore, the low intra-specific variation displayed by these study species may limit adaptive evolution in response to changing precipitation regimes.

Favourite Ecosystem/Plant Community I would have to say that the alpine region is my favourite ecosystem. The sheer beauty and diversity of not only biological, but climatic processes that © S. Geange occur makes them a fascinating area not only to research, but also to explore (photo next page). Me at Kosciuszko National Park during a fieldtrip

Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno The IAVS conference was a fantastic opportunity Next IAVS Symposium Unfortunately not, as it conflicts with my PhD to meet like-minded researchers from outside of submission schedule, but I am looking forward to the Australasia, which was an invaluable experience. I IAVS conference in 2017 once I have finished! was especially excited by meeting an enthusiastic group of people in the IAVS Young Scientists.

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 13 of 29 © S. Geange My study site at Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, Australia. Photo S. Geange Jana Eichel, Bonn, Germany Young scientist Oral Presentation Award, Honorable Mention “Lining plant traits to a geomorphic disturbance gradient: the biogeomorphic window concept for lateral moraines” My Research This happens in a ‘biogeomorphic feedback window’. At the IAVS symposium in Brno, I presented results Once the habitat is stabilized sufficiently, this from my PhD studies on biogeomorphic dynamics in window ends and engineers are replaced by later- a glacier foreland. Biogeomorphology investigates successional shrub species. For more details, check feedbacks between vegetation and geomorphic out our publication on the ‘biogeomorphic feedback processes and landforms, and in my talk, I presented window‘ in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, the conditions under which these feedbacks can occur http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/esp.3859. on lateral moraine slopes. Based on the combination of permanent plot data with geomorphic data, we First Motivation could show that certain vegetation communities My motivation to study vegetation developed co-occur with certain geomorphic processes. With during my geography studies, especially during a high magnitude or frequency processes, pioneer vegetation science field trip to the Austrian Alps. It species dominate on the lateral moraine slopes in was after this trip that I decided to link my interest in the Turtmann glacier foreland (Switzerland). Once geomorphology with vegetation science and work in process activity decreases, dwarf shrubs, e.g., biogeomorphology. Dryas octopetala, can establish. We identified D. Favourite Ecosystem/Plant Community octopetala as an ecosystem engineer, which through My favourite plant community is a Dryas community, its adapted traits – high cover, strong roots – can as D. octopetala is a fascinating species for both permanently decrease slope wash processes and ecologists and geomorphologists. induce a change to bound solifluction processes. D. octopetala covers the riser of a turf-banked Jana in the Turtmann glacier foreland, Switzerland solifluction terrace.

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 14 of 29 Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno Next IAVS Symposium The inspiring talks by the famous vegetation scientists Unfortunately, in this year I won’t manage to attend and the beautiful Czech nature we experienced the IAVS symposium, as I am planning to submit my during our excursion. PhD thesis in autumn. Stefanie Stenzel, Germany Young scientist Oral Presentation Award, Honorable Mention “Support monitoring of habitat types with remote sensing — ‘Yes we can!’ or ‘See the limits!’” My Research Monitoring of vegetation types becomes increasingly important. Programs of international interest like Natura2000 (European Union Habitat directive) or High Nature Value Farmland (EU rural policy framework) demand an immense effort of mapping vegetation. Remote sensing may offer potential for supporting conservation monitoring. We identified opportunities but also limitations of working with vegetation cover reflection. High resolution satellite data and field data were used to map the distribution of several habitat types continuously over a broad area. Variations in the appearance of the very same vegetation type were taken into account by including phenological information. Maxent, one-classSVM, biasedSVM, multiclassSVM and © S. Stenzel partial least square regression were analysed for their application possibilities in the field of habitat Fieldwork, well, pausing, at Nationalpark classification and condition description. Field work Berchtesgarden in the Alps took place in Germany. Almost 500 plots concerning the vegetation belonging to different types according Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno to the European Habitat Directive (Molinia meadows, I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere at the symposium degraded raised bogs, transition mires, alkaline which made it very easy to get to know the other fens) or to High Nature Value Grassland were participants. Discussing research in this ambience sampled. Information on the surface reflectance with other students and professors was pleasant and was available from RapidEye. We used several enriching. And, of course, it was great to see some approaches to relate point based habitat type of Czech Republic’s beautiful landscape during the information to the corresponding reflectance. The mid-excursion. I visited Hodonínská Dúbrava Wood final output consists of maps of occurring classes and Špidláky Nature Reserve (apparently on the and measures of uncertainty. We discussed if and warmest day of the year...). with which limitations maps like this could support Next IAVS Symposium an assessment of habitat distribution, especially in I won’t make it to Brazil, but hopefully the year after inaccessible areas. I will manage to attend the IAVS symposium again. First Motivation Part of my study site: Murnauer Moos in Bavaria, Since I was a teenager I have been interested in nature one of Germany’s biggest coherent wetland areas conservation policy. As an undergraduate I focused with a complex of bogs, mires and fens on botany. I loved to be outside doing fieldwork (what a great place to work!), and I developed a special interest in bioindicators (mosses and lichens) and in monitoring-method assessment.

Favourite Ecosystem/Plant Community Since I worked there a lot, and because they are kind of extreme, I very much like raised bogs, and I love the Alps, especially their vegetation of the alpine and subalpine level, like larch forests, alpine calcareous/ siliceous grasslands and snow-bed vegetation (photo right).

© S. Stenzel www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 15 of 29 Mária Májeková, Czech Republic Young scientist Oral Presentation Award, Honorable Mention “Evaluating functional diversity: missing trait data and the importance of species abundance structure and data transformation” My Research Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno We investigated how different sampling scenarios, The combination of high rigor of the science data structure (abundance and trait), and presented and the family-like atmosphere of the transformation influenced the sensitivity of functional conference. diversity (FD) indices to missing trait data. We did so because FD is an important component of biodiversity Next IAVS Symposium which is increasingly used to understand community I would like to attend and present my current work, assembly and ecosystem functioning, but practical not to mention finally seeing the Cerrado with my constraints often make it difficult to collect complete own eyes. data on functional traits. To simulate the effect of missing trait data we used three real datasets from plant, ant, and bird communities and sequentially removed the least abundant species from each. We assessed the sensitivity of FD indices to missing trait data by comparing the ranking of FD values across plots between the original and reduced datasets. We showed that the amount of trait data available, the species abundance structure and distribution of trait values had a significant effect on the calculation of FD indices. Perhaps more importantly, their transformation greatly affected the evaluation of FD. We concluded that the details about data structure and its transformation are as important as the amount of available species trait information and should be given more careful consideration when evaluating FD.

First Motivation My Mum has been nurturing my interest in plants ever since I was little. Then, within the environmental sciences, vegetation science made for an obvious choice.

Favourite Ecosystem/Plant Community © M. Májeková My favourite communities are the oak-hornbeam forests of the Carpathian Mts. and the floodplain For my PhD I worked in different types of grassland forests along the river Danube (photos right). communities along a soil moisture gradient in Especially their early spring aspect, which is colourful alluvia of the river Danube. This picture captures and fragrant (before the mosquitos turn up!). the driest community of the gradient.

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 16 of 29 Gianmaria Bonari, Siena, Italy Young scientist Poster Award, Honorable Mention “Management effect on diversity of plants and insects in semi-natural grasslands: conflicts or reconciliation?” My Research The research aims at clarifying the effect of grassland management practices such as mowing, grazing, abandonment and mixed management on several groups of insects and vascular plants, taking into account also the effects of landscape context and climate. Besides contributing to biodiversity maintenance, this study also contributes to finding consensus between botanists and entomologists. The data were provided by Czech nature conservationists during my Erasmus stay in Brno where I was for part of my PhD studies. The study area was the White Carpathians Biosphere Reserve (Czech Republic), which is known for grasslands that host the highest fine-scale species richness of plants in the world. Our results show that planning of conservation management of semi-natural grasslands has to include careful consideration of different responses of different taxa. A paper on the topic is in preparation.

First Motivation To be honest, plants were my “first love”. But vegetation is made by plant species! Isn’t it? Thus, after master degree I started to appreciate this subject, entering within mechanisms and starting to recognize plants also as communities or in the context of their habitats. In my opinion, Vegetation Science is, unfortunately, currently little known by non-academic people. If it was possible, I’d like to make this knowledge accessible to all in order to make them appreciate more and more natural © N. Cenni environments, exactly how vegetation scientists do during their field surveys! Me in badlands during field surveys (Siena, Italy) (above). Besides the study presented at the IAVS Favourite Ecosystem/Plant Community Symposium on a topic motivated by my stay in It’s hard to say… certainly those non-anthropogenic! Brno, I am studying coastal pine forests in Italy. Me Among the remaining I appreciate wetlands and during sampling in coastal pine forests for my PhD coastal ones. The latter, in particular, are giving me a project (below). lot of satisfaction (photo on next page).

Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno It was my first conference abroad. I was really surprised of this “international breath”. There was really a common thread among people from all over the world. That’s the beauty of science! It was also exciting to see icons of Vegetation Science dealing for new studies spread all over the world. In addition to the scientific excitement, I was impressed by the human interactions that an event as an international symposium could create. I will always remember surprised people from the other side of the globe in front of an apricot because it was the first time they saw it in their life. I would like to thank Milan Chytrý for the great opportunity and for his impeccable organisation. © P. Cianciullo www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 17 of 29 © G. Bonari Pinus pinea forest along Italian coastline

Next IAVS Symposium presented ... but… Brazil is not around the corner… I hope! Mainly it will depend on IAVS financial support. so fingers crossed, maybe next time I’ll be amazed I already prepared something very interesting to be at the sight of a new fruit!

Emma Shidolo, Namibia Young scientist Poster Award, Honorable Mention “Assessment of vegetation diversity, structure, cover and the influence of fire in Alex Muranda research centre and Mutompo, Namibia using long-term data” My Research that I wanted an occupation that allowed me to work The study was done in the dry woodland savannah in the natural environment, but I was unsure about in north-eastern part of Namibia in the Kavango west which field specifically. At a very young age Iwas region. The research aimed to determine whether always passionate about working with plants and there was change in the diversity, structure and cover would often involve myself in tree planting school of vegetation in Alex Muranda Research Centre and campaigns. Once I was at university, I was engaged Mutompo using long-term data (2002-2013) and in short research projects in various environmental to assess the influence of fire on vegetation. Alex fields as part of the curriculum, and vegetation Muranda is a fenced state-owned farm adjacent to One of my assistants (Justine, left) and me (Emma, the Mutompo communal land. The study revealed no right) doing a study in the thornbush savannah significant change in species diversity and species biome. richness in Alex. M. However, the percentage cover of the trees and shrubs decreased slightly over the years. Meanwhile in Mutompo species richness was significantly reduced. The tree and shrub cover considerably decreased, while the herbaceous cover increased. Rotational grazing in camps is implemented in Alex. M compared to free roaming grazing system on communal land. In addition the presence of authority on the state farm helps reduce illegal harvesting of woody plants, hence there is higher woody plant cover compared to Mutompo. The changes within individual study sites and between the two study sites are mainly attributed to the synergy of land use and fire events. Findings can be used to improve woodland management plans in the Kavango west region.

First Motivation I come from the small town of Ongwediva in north-central Namibia. Due to the increasing human settlement in the area, it is also one of the most degraded areas in © E. Shidolo Namibia. Growing up I always knew © E. Shidolo

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 18 of 29 A B

C D © E. Shidolo The four savannah biomes of Namibia Dry woodland savannah (A), Thornbush savannah (B and C) and Dwarf shrub savannah (D) studies was always more appealing to me. My findings of research done in various fields. The interest in doing vegetation ecology grew stronger symposium exposed me to different possible ways of when I was doing my undergraduate research doing vegetation ecological research, much of which project on an indigenous Moringa plant, and doing I feel has not yet been implemented in my country my internship at the National Botanical Research (Namibia) and the rest of Southern Africa. I therefore Institute of Namibia (WIND). Since I started, there recommend that all upcoming scientists in relevant has never been a dull moment. fields that have an opportunity to attend gatherings such as this to take the opportunity. Favourite Ecosystem/Plant Community Most of the area in Namibia is covered by a savannah Next IAVS Symposium ecosystem and since I started doing research it has Unfortunately I will not be able to attend the 59th been an amazing experience trying to understand Annual IAVS Symposium. However being part of the complex ecological activities occurring within the IAVS and the IAVS Young Scientist Facebook this ecosystem. Working in this ecosystem for me groups, will hopefully allow me to be updated with is not just about doing research and enhancing what will be happening at the symposium. personal knowledge on vegetation community. It’s a privilege knowing that the research I do is contributing to knowledge that can be used to better manage biomes on which our country’s population is so highly dependent. I could not pick out a favourite, so instead I made a collage of the four savannah biomes I have worked on.

Impression on the IAVS Symposium in Brno Firstly, I felt the symposium was well organized. The fact that it was my first time joining an international gathering and I had a pleasant time attending it. The incorporation of social events and field excursions into the programme, was very important as it allowed participates to interact with each other to discuss about ongoing research project, results and create collaboration.

I liked the fact that the topics presented through the symposium were broad and yet very cohesive, which made it easy to connect and understand the

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 19 of 29 News from the Working Groups Circumboreal Map (CBVM) The boreal region is one of the most complex and Alaska-Yukon region, to contribute to the circumbo- species-rich ecosystems in the circumpolar world, real vegetation mapping (CBVM) project. Maps for however there is no unified map that relies on an this region were prepared by M. Torre Jorgenson internationally agreed-upon standard for classifying (Fairbanks, AK) and Del Meidinger (Victoria, BC. and mapping boreal vegetation. Our proposed Cir- Canada). The effort included producing (1) a map cumboreal Vegetation Map (CBVM) project will de- of bioclimates with 12 bioclimate zones, (2) a map velop a global map of the circumboreal biome with a of biogeographic provinces with Alaska-Yukon and common legend. By recognizing the boreal region as Aleutian provinces, and a (3) map of geographic sec- a single geo-ecosystem with a common set of cultur- tors with six sectors that provided the basis for clas- al, political and economic issues, the CBVM project sification of boreal vegetation. Vegetation mapping will be the first detailed vegetation map of the entire was done at 1:7.5 million scale using the mapping global biome. protocols of the CBVM team. Mapping used MODIS imagery as the basis for manual image interpreta- Over the years we recorded results of our CBVM tion and an integrated-terrain-unit approach, which workshops in a series of papers published under included classifications for bioclimate, physiogra- the Arctic Council as Conservation of Arctic Flora phy, generalized geology, permafrost, disturbance, and Fauna (CAFF) Reports; these are available on growth from, geographic sector, and vegetation. the Internet (http://www.caff.is/flora-cfg/cfg-publica- Vegetation was mapped at two hierarchical levels, tions): including: (1) 13 formation groups differentiating zonal and azonal systems; and (2) 21 geographic 1. CFG Fourth International Workshop: Tórh- variants based on bioclimatic zonation and dominant savn, Faroe Islands: May 15-18, 2007. species that characterize broad longitudinal regions 2. CFG-CBVM Fifth International Workshop Pro- or biogeographic provinces. Each of the geographic ceedings: Helsinki, Finland: November 3-6, variants was described by identifying the dominant 2008. and characteristic species and its climatic and land- 3. 3.CFG-CBVM International Meeting: Uppsala, scape characteristics, as well as references that re- Sweden: April 1-3, 2009. late to the unit. 4. CAFF Strategy Series No. 3. Circumboreal Vegetation Map (CBVM): Mapping the Green The report is available at http://caff.is/strategies-se- Halo Concept Paper, June 2011. ries/359-the-alaska-yukon-region-of-the-circumbo- 5. CFG/CBVM Proceedings of the 7th Interna- real-vegetation-map-cbvm, and the datasets associ- tional CFG Workshop: Akureyri, Iceland: Jan- ated with the report at http://geo.abds.is/geonetwork/ uary 28- February 3, 2011. srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/58c9b318-e7a2- 6. Synthesis of the Circumboreal Vegetation 41d2-ae9b-4f0fb1e8d300. Mapping (CBVM) legend discussion in Vlad- ivostok, Russia, September 23- October 4, Next we plan to convene a CBVM workshop in Hel- 2012. sinki, Finland, where the mapping progress of the At- In the past year we focused on developing a map of lantic Boreal Subgroup will be presented; this region boreal vegetation of a portion of North America, the includes the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland.

Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) We are pleased to announce that registration will management and policy contributing to the sustain- soon be open for the Eurasian Grassland Confer- ability of semi-natural grasslands. The conference ence 2016 (the annual meeting of the Eurasian Dry will include talk and poster sessions, field trips in Grassland Group) at http://www.edgg.org/confer- local biodiversity hotspots and optional pre-confer- ence_2016.html (available 15th March 2016). ence workshops. It is co-organized by EDGG, AD- EPT Fundatia and the Babes-Bolyai University and The conference will take place from the 20th to the supported by IAVS and European Forum for Nature 24th September 2016 in the historic town of Sighişo- Conservation and Pastoralism. Please visit the web- ara in central Romania. It is intended to bring togeth- page for further information. er the latest research, and to link this to practical www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 20 of 29 Report from the EVS Workshop The 24th annual European Vegetation Survey Sessions were devoted to presentations workshop was held in Rennes, Brittany France, on processes and mechanisms on 4-8 May, 2015. The venue was the Diapason underlying vegetation patterns, with building, a facility of the University of Rennes I, on a focus on mapping methods and the Beaulieu campus. The workshop was organized underlying assumptions, and papers by Plant ecologists from the University of Rennes dealing with functional diversity and I (ECOBIO unit and OSU Rennes), University trait patterns. Challenges regarding of Rennes II (LETG unit), University Bretagne vegetation classification appear to Occidentale (Geoarchitecture unit, Brest) and the be key limiting points in vegetation French Phytosociological Society. mapping. Discussions also showed that the list of environmental data that should More than 150 people attended the workshop, be gathered together with vegetation © R. Haverman representing 29 different nationalities. Two general relevés is another topical question topics were chosen, with topic 1 devoted to to address. The workshop offered Flavia Landucci “Typology and process as two complementary facets numerous opportunities to discuss of vegetation survey and mapping” and topic 2 how vegetation pattern relates to spatio-temporal concerning “Vegetation in coastal and inland dunes dynamics. Regarding vegetation mapping, the use of and cliffs”. There were eight oral topics and six poster remote sensing data is currently being investigated topics spread along three days. The oral topics by many research groups. Developments are still in provided many lively opportunities for discussion on progress but appear very promising. With respect methods, theoretical basis and result interpretation. to surveys, specialized sessions were devoted to classification and ecology of mountain, wetland, dune, forest and heathland vegetation respectively. Last but not least, the importance of databases for studying vegetation patterns has been underlined and new proposals suggested for conducting vegetation relevés at the landscape level.

Mid-workshop Excursions There were two different intineraires were available:

Route 1 offered spectacular views of cliff and dunes going through Erquy and Fréhel capes. The two cape sites have exceptional geomorphological and ecological diversity, harbouring together the largest and most diversified maritime heath and grasslands © R. Haverman of the Amorican, as well as unique vegetation on fixed dunes. Both are natural protected areas Milan Chytrý (above) and David Zelený (below) created in accordance with the Act of 2 May 1930 and belong to the Natura 2000 FR 5300011 site ‘Cap d’Erquy-Cap Fréhel’. The vegetation types that were observed included the following: maritime rock- crevice vegetation, short-turf grassland and sparse grassland vegetation, maritime heaths and maritime scrub thickets, fringe vegetation, maritime scrub vegetation, dune and backdune vegetation and meso-hygrophilous Salix atrocinerea willow grove.

Route 2 offered the opportunity to visit cliffs and saltmarshes, from Cancale to Mont-Saint-Michel bay. The cliff area visited was located between the Mont-Saint-Michel Bay and the Emerald Coast, Grouin Point, a Sensitive Natural Area of the Ille-et- Vilaine council. This area benefits from the measures deployed to study and protect two large natural © R. Haverman entities: the European Natura 2000 sites of Mont-

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 21 of 29 Saint-Michel Bay (a protected area registered as part of Mont-Saint-Michel Bay) and the rocky coast from Cancale to Param. Engineers from the Ille et Vilaine council showed us the restoration program that addresses the intense trampling problem.

At the Grouin cap, the terrestrial vegetation on maritime cliffs is adapted to specific ecological conditions on wind-exposed coasts. Plant communities that are exposed to frequent winds and more or less direct salt spray must tolerate summer drought that can sometimes be severe, further aggravated by the drying effects of wind and salt and the absence of real soil. Exposure to these ecological constraints gave rise to the development of an array of morphological and physiological adaptations, exemplified by the presence of many ‘microtaxa’.

We had opportunity to see rock-crevice vegetation, maritime grasslands, short turf grassland and sparse grassland vegetation, maritime scrub vegetation. We then visited the salt marshes along the Mont St Michel bay, grazed and ungrazed, with a focus on the dynamics of plant assemblages under the two management modes, and relationships with sediment dynamics.

The last stop for both routes was at Mont Saint Michel, offering time to enjoy the spectacular view Post-workshop Excursion of the Mont, the saltmarshes with the tide in and The legendary Brocéliande forest and the Paimpont tide out, and we enjoyed a lamb-based diner in a forest are one and the same geographical and panoramic restaurant. cultural entity. The current forest occupies the central, highest point and is today only a fragment of the vast forest that covered the major part of Armorica until the Middle Ages. To the west, heathlands and shrub thickets have established on the red shale substrate. In part of the southern sector, the Saint Cyr – Coëtquidan military academy that trains Army officers was established one century ago. In a circular zone of red shale around the sandstone massif, Neolithic humans left traces of their presence, with many megaliths dating back to 4000 to 4500 years ago. The large stone monuments were re-appropriated during the 6th century Christianisation movement and since then have inspired local literary and theatrical works based on Arthurian legends. Merlin’s Tomb and Viviane’s House are megalithic tombs that are 3000 years older than their legends. Between the 8th and the 12th centuries, Breton kings, such as King Judicael, erected monuments, churches, abbeys, such as those found in Paimpont. Visit included le val sans retour (Valley of No Return), heathlands and associated habitats, paimpont forest, a history of intensive use and , lambrun peat bogs, a juvenile stage after major disturbance.

Anne Bonis

Dunes at Cap Erquy

Cap Fréhel cliffs (above). Coastal heath of the Ulici maritimi-Ericetum ciliaris (below left). Mont Saint Michel seen from the diner room (below right).

Asphodelus albus in Ulex europaeus stand (above left). Vaccinio-Quercetum Broceliande forest (above right). EVS Workshop Attendees (below).

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 25 of 29 Obituary of Rolando J. C. León by pioneering some 40 years ago the long-term study of successional dynamics in Pampean old fields, where vegetation processes are still studied by some of his former graduate students.

Prof. León published over one hundred scientific papers and book chapters addressing a variety of questions in plant community and landscape ecology. He is also well recognized as a leading authority on the phytogeography of Argentina, and with some of his students produced the now widely used phytosociological classification of grassland communities for the Flooding Pampas of eastern Argentina. He was frequently invited to participate in national and international forums and to lecture in postgraduate courses in overseas universities due to his unique understanding of the diversity and functioning of South American grasslands and savannahs, their floristic and ecological affinities with the vegetation of other continents, and the human causes of ecosystem deterioration. © T. Boca He strongly believed in the importance of education Professor Rolando J. C. León was one of a handful as a driving force to promote sustainable land of researchers who led South American vegetation use and human well-being. Leading by example science over the past 50 years. His childhood in and providing support, he encouraged several a small rural town in the Pampas set the stage generations of students, researchers and natural for his life passion: studying and teaching about resource managers to document patterns of vegetation heterogeneity and dynamics. With a landscape heterogeneity and its spatial and degree in Agronomy (University of Buenos Aires temporal determinants using rigorous observation 1957), he became a disciple of Prof. Alberto and quantitative methods. Many well-known Soriano, who encouraged him to pursue a researchers and high-profile professionals doctorate in Natural Sciences (Eidgenössische began their careers under his tutelage and were Technische Hochschule, Zürich, 1965) under Prof. profoundly influenced by his curiosity, enthusiasm Heinz Ellenberg. He was Emeritus Professor at the and irrepressible love for nature. He also taught University of Buenos Aires. He worked untiringly many generations of students, who are now until his death on November 11, 2015. professors in different universities. Not only did he teach vegetation science, but he also helped His studies described vegetation heterogeneity his students develop the passions for literature, and identified its environmental and anthropogenic for rigorous debates of ideas, for individual and controls across a range of scales. His work was collective responsibility, for solidarity and for the essential to define the context and objectives importance of being oneself. of multiple experimental investigations carried out in the Pampas and Patagonia. Much of Rolando was an extraordinary his research was concerned with describing storyteller. He was able to hold vegetation heterogeneity that had not been the attention of an audience of revealed previously, generating hypotheses about expectant young people or senior the underlying processes, and testing these scientists for a long time. Attending hypotheses or encouraging his many students his lectures and seminars and collaborators to do so through manipulative was usually an unforgettable experiments. His own investigations, as well experience; he could engage the as the research he encouraged others to do, public in a variety of technical generated a wide range of tools for the sustainable subjects, from the movement of management of grasslands and croplands, water in a landscape through the now available to agronomists, farmers and land origin of loessic pampean soils, managers. He has also left a remarkable legacy to the use of the niche concept © M. Omacini

to understand weed evolution. But even more interestingly, during his talks the audience could ‘travel’ along him visiting new places, meeting famous people, being introduced to extraordinary characters, enjoying a renaissance painting, or discussing the last performance of an opera. He will be deeply missed by all those who were fortunate enough to know him.

Susana Perelman, Martin Oesterheld, Jose Paruelo, William Batista, & Enrique Chaneton (IFEVA- Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires- CONICET) http://www.ifeva.edu.ar/ engver.html

www.iavs.org Bulletin 2016/1 Page 27 of 29 Calendar of Events

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B-C

A B C D E

A D ITALY SERBIA 25th European Vegetation Survey Meeting 9th Field Workshop of Eurasian Dry Grassland 6 April – 9 April 2016, Rome Group http://www.evsmeeting2016.it 2 July – 9 July, Belgrade, Niška Banja, Sokobanja, Deliblato http://www.edgg.org/publ/bulletin/Bulletin_ B EDGG_29.pdf BRAZIL 59th Symposium of the International Association for Vegetation Science E 12 June – 17 June 2016, Pirenópolis ROMANIA http://iavs2016.org 13rd Eurasian Dry Grassland Conference 20 September – 24 September, Sighisoara http://www.edgg.org/conference_2016.html C BRAZIL Pre- and Post-Symposium excursions of IAVS 6 June – 12 June, 18 June – 23 June 2016, various places in Brazil see p. 3 of this Bulletin

Vereda near Terra Ronca, São Domingos - GO - Brazil.

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