IAVS Bulletin 13 Perth (Australia), 1 April 2010 Editors: L. Mucina & N. Smits "Welcome to Mexico!" The Organizing Committee of the 53rd annual IAVS succulent woodlands in the world, dominated by 5-20 m symposium extends a warm invitation to members of the tall cacti, yuccas, and boojum trees (Fouquieria columnaris) International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS) that overtop a matrix of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, – and to plant ecologists who have not yet joined IAVS – short trees, and ephemeral herbs; and (3) a cool-temperate to attend the 53rd annual IAVS symposium in Ensenada, montane climate with associated meadows, aspen groves, Baja California Norte, Mexico. Host institutions include and old-growth mixed conifer forests. Enjoy excursions the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC) before, during, and after the meeting that will visit all of and Centro de Investigaciones Cientificas y Educación those regions. Superior de Ensenada (CICESE). The theme of the The meeting itself will feature a half-dozen inter- meeting is “Changing Gradients in Vegetation and the nationally known invited speakers and more than 100 Environment”. The symposium begins in the afternoon contributed talks and posters. Sessions will be devoted of Sunday, 18 April 2010 and concludes with an evening to such topics as: succession following disturbance pulses banquet on Friday, 23 April. For more information, access or climate change, human impacts on vegetation and to registration, and instructions for the submission of approaches to restoration, mediterranean-type, semi-arid, abstracts, visit the website (www.IAVS2010.org). and wetland ecosystems throughout the world, biodiversity Ensenada is a coastal city facing the Pacific Ocean, with along abiotic gradients, and the comparison of plant a population of 400,000. It is located in the northwestern functional types in disjunct vegetation. As usual, the daily part of the Peninsula of Baja California, an hour’s drive south pace will be purposely slowed with many breaks, allowing of the international border with California, USA. It sits at attendees time to meet and discuss common interests. the juncture of several biogeographic regions, such as (1) Mexican cuisine, music, and culture will be highlighted at a winter-wet mediterranean-type climate with associated the Friday night banquet. 1 scrubs and woodlands; (2) a semi-arid winter- and summer- wet Sonoran Desert climate with the world’s most bizarre Nos vemos! (we’ll see you there) 1 IAVS Management Robert (Bob) Peet Laco Mucina Martin Diekmann Joop Schaminée Javier Loidi President Secretary-General Vice-President Vice-President Vice-President Impressum IAVS Bulletin is an occasional electronic newsletter of the International Association for Vegetation Science (www.iavs.org) Editor: Ladislav Mucina (Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia), assisted by the members of the Executive Committee of the IAVS and N. Smits Valerio Pillar Martin Zobel J. Bastow Wilson Vice-President Vice-President Editor Layout and production: Keith Phillips Images, P.O. Box 5683, Helderberg 7135, South Africa Date of Publication: 1 April 2010 © Text: International Association for Vegetation Science; © Photograph on Page 1: F. columnaris, iconic plant of northern Mexico. Sandra Díaz Meelis Pärtel Ale Chiarucci Editor Editor Editor President: R. Peet (Chapel Hill, USA). Secretary-General and Treasurer: L. Mucina (Perth, Australia). Vice-Presidents: M. Diekmann (Bremen, Germany, Publication Officer), J. Loidi (Bilbao, Spain), V.D. Pillar (Porto Allegre, Brazil), J.H.J. Schaminée (Wageningen & Nijmegen, The Netherlands), M. Zobel (Tartu, Estonia). IAVS Administrative Officer: Nina Smits (Wageningen, The Netherlands); E-mail [email protected] Publications: IAVS publishes this Bulletin and two international journals: Journal of Vegetation Science and Applied Vegetation Science. Consult our website www.iavs.org for the information on subscription of the Journals. Membership: To become a member of IAVS, contact Nina Smits at [email protected] 2 Membership fee: 20 € / 20 $ US. Account no. 92.15.29.023 of IAVS, Wes Beekhuizenweg 3, Renkum, The Netherlands. Use BIC/Swift code: SNS BNL 2A, and/or IBAN code: NL40 SNSB 0921 5290 23 Website: www.iavs.org 2 Contents 52nd IAVS Symposium in Greece 4 Minutes of the IAVS Council Meeting, Chania, Greece 5 Report by the Publication Officer of the IAVS 8 Minutes of the IAVS General Assembly, Chania, Greece 9 Financial Statement 11 IAVS Working Groups: Natural Disturbance Dynamics 12 European Vegetation Survey 12 European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) 13 IAVS Working Group Regional Section: North America 14 Prestigious award for John S. Rodwell 14 Joop Schaminée receives the prestigious ‘Prins Bernhard Cultuurfondsprijs’ 15 3 3 Professor Panayotis Dimopoulos, the President of the Organizing Committee of the IAVS Chania, Greece meeting in discussion with colleagues Photo: Nina Smits during the memorable Symposium Dinner. On the 52nd IAVS Symposium in Greece (Chania, Crete) by Panayotis Dimopoulos The 52nd IAVS Symposium held in Chania, Crete is now Organizing a meeting of this size and format (a symposium + history and the new one in Ensenada, Baja California, 3 long field trips) was a gruelling experience. Undoubtedly all México is ante portas. In this very successful and productive those thousands of emails, phone calls and hundreds of most meeting (generally and commonly accepted) 265 friends unusual queries have hijacked our lives full time for about and colleagues from 36 countries of all continents travelled a year, but we have no regrets. It was great to have so many in Crete in May and June 2009 to attend the IAVS annual friends around to share our beautiful country with us. symposium – first ever IAVS meeting in Greece. During the preparatory phases of the 52nd IAVS symposium, Those four (4) full days (31st May till 4th June 2009), not all secretarial work was on the shoulders of Sandy Coles, but including the opening day, and 2nd of June (mid-symposium in items related with session distinction and arrangement of excursions) were filled with 116 lectures (in 26 sessions), talks and posters, I was assisted by a team of colleagues of presentation of 100 posters (in 2 sessions), and special my Faculty as the following: Thanasis Kallimanis, Nikolaos management meetings. Koutsias, Maria Panitsa, Vasiliki Kati. Seven (7) plenary talks given by our invited speakers (Erwin Sincere thanks go to all above-mentioned colleagues, as well Bergmeier, Michael Barbour, Frederic Médail, John Halley, as to Thanasis Kallimanis, Foula Nioti, Magda Pleniou who Christian Körner, Alessandro Chiarucci, Meelis Pärtel) coming helped run the daily proceedings of the symposium in Chania. from 7 countries, enriched and substantially contributed to the Our small symposium booklet was designed by friend George main theme of the IAVS symposium: “Vegetation Processes Terzis (owner of KATAGRAMMA publisher office) and and Human Impact in a Changing World”. edited by Sandy Coles and me. The publication of the book of abstracts was sponsored by Wiley-Blackwell and we thank Summarizing the seven organized excursions: them, together with our other sponsors. Special thanks should • two (2) pre-symposium field trips were organized in also be given to Athens Travel for all accommodation and Eastern Crete (25-30 May 2009, 6 days, 36 participants) travel arrangements and Plantech for website construction and on the island of Santorini (26-29 May 2009, 4 days, 25 hosting and updates. participants), We hope you all had a good time in the island of Crete, seen • four (4) mid-symposium field trips (2nd June 2009, in some of the most beautiful natural areas in Crete, Santorini Omalos Plateau (more than 110 participants), Imbros Gorge and Peloponnisos, made some new friends and expanded your (about 30 participants), Amari-Thronos village (about 70 networks. “Ευχαριστούμε” to all who came, seen, drank and 4 participants), Elaphonisos (about 45 participants), ate well, and simply enjoyed time with us. • one (1) post-symposium excursion in Peloponnisos (4-9 June 2009, 6 days, 30 participants). We hope to see you again soon! 4 Photo: Nina Smits 2009 IAVS Council Meeting 30 May – 4 June 2009, Chania, Crete Minutes Participants Part 1. Saturday 30 May (16.00-17.45) An nounced proxy votes: Co uncil members: Michael Barbour, Helge Bruelheide, K. Fujiwara & E.O. Box (M. Barbour), M. Palmer Alessandro Chiarucci, Milan Chytrý, Ulrich Deil, A. (Chiarucci), N. Ermakov, T. Herben & J. Rodwell Martin Diekmann, Kazue Fuijiwara, Valério De Patta (M. Chytrý), K. Dierßen & R. Pott (U. Deil), M. Hermy Pillar, Ladislav Mucina, Robert Peet, Angelika Schwabe- (M. Diekmann), M. Austin & D. Goldberg (R. Peet), Kratochwil, Nina Smits, John Bastow Wilson, Martin Zobel. H. Dierschke & S. Pignatti (A. Schwabe-Kratochwil), J. Schaminée (N. Smits), J. Bakker (M. Zobel). Ot hers: Panayotis Dimopoulos, Anna-Maria Fossaa, Sun-Kee Hong, Joe-Eun Kim, Daniel Sánchez-Mata. Opening Robert Peet opened the meeting at 16:10. Participants Part 2. Sunday 31 May (19.30-22.00) Co uncil members: Michael Barbour, Helge Bruelheide, Approval of the minutes of the last meeting Alessandro Chiarucci, Milan Chytrý, Martin Diekmann, The minutes of the previous meeting (held in Sandra Díaz, Ulrich Deil, Angelika Schwabe-Kratochwil, Stellenbosch) sent in advance by email to the Council Ladislav Mucina, Valerio De Patta Pillar, Robert Peet, Nina were approved. The meeting in Stellenbosch (2008) was Smits, Otto Wildi,