The 19th Eurasian Grassland Conference (EGC) will be hosted by the Institute for Alpine Environment of Eurac Research in Bolzano/Bozen (Italy), from 26 August until 1 September. The theme of this year’s conference is “Grasslands as biodiversity hotspots”. The conference provides participants with the opportunity to follow talks about a wide range of topics dealing with grasslands: from the landscape perspective, use of resources, cultural diversity, and nature conservation issues.
The conference starts with an optional workshop on insects in grasslands on Monday, August 26th held by Lisa Obwegs, who works with wild bees, Elia Guariento, who works with butterflies and ants, and Andreas Hilpold, who works with grasshoppers. All of them are researchers working at Eurac Research. The workshop consists of a lecture in the morning, introducing the biology, the methodology and the ecology of the four taxa with a special focus on grasslands. The lecture is followed by an excursion by cable car in the afternoon to the panoramic plateaus of Renon/Ritten where we will search for insects using a set of different methods.
The opening talk will be given on Monday, August 26th by Thomas Wilhalm (Museum of Nature South Tyrol) and Andreas Hilpold (Eurac Research) and followed by an Ice Breaker event, taking place at the Museum of Nature South Tyrol.
There will be three further keynote speeches on the first and the second conference days on Tuesday, August 27th and Thursday, August 29th, held by: Camilla Wellstein (Free University of Bolzano/Bozen), Mattia Brambilla (University of Milan) and Peter Schönswetter (University of Innsbruck). The keynote speakers and the topics of their speeches are presented in more detail below. The mid-conference excursion, taking place on Wednesday August 28th will lead us to the dry continental steppe-like grasslands of the Vinschgau / Venosta valley with a trip to the alpine grasslands in Schnalstal/Val Senales. The post-conference excursion, taking place from August 30th until September 1st will lead us to the subalpine and alpine areas of the Isarco/Eisack valley and the famous Dolomites. We will see various types of grasslands, such as extensive subalpine pastures (Nardion strictae) and alpine grasslands on acidic and carbonate bedrock.
The registration deadline for this year’s Eurasian Grassland Conference has passed, however we still accept late registration:
Keynote Speakers:
The opening talk will be given by Andreas Hilpold and Thomas Wilhalm, and will introduce the geography, vegetation and fauna of the host region, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen, South Tyrol. Besides showing the typical vegetation of the area, the talk will also discuss the major challenges of nature conservation, especially when it comes to grassland conservation.
Thomas Wilhalm studied biology/botany in Innsbruck and wrote his dissertation at ETH Zurich. He has been the curator of botany at the South Tyrol Museum of Nature since 1998, where he is in charge of the phanerogam herbarium. He is responsible for flora mapping and involved in various scientific projects. His tasks also include assistance in nature conservation (e.g. compilation of Red Lists) and adult education (supervision of the Flora of South Tyrol working group).
Andreas Hilpold After his studies of biology/botany in Innsbruck and Barcelona he returned to South Tyrol where he worked several years at the Museum of Nature for the botanical and faunistic mapping of South Tyrol. Since 2015 he is researcher at the Institute for Alpine Environment at Eurac Research in Bolzano/Bozen where he coordinates biodiversity projects, among others, the long-term project “Biodiversity Monitoring South Tyrol”, dealing with several taxonomic groups.
Further keynote talks will be given by Mattia Brambilla, Camilla Wellstein and Peter Schönswetter, shortly presented hereafter:
Mattia Brambilla: Particularly interested in ecology and conservation, Mattia mainly works on the effects of climate and environmental change on alpine species, the relationship between landscape, agriculture and animal species, and the interactions between human activities, biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mattia is researcher at the University of Milan.
His keynote presentation will be entitled “Birds of mountain grasslands: a steep hill to climb for conservationists”: Grassland birds are among the most threatened avian groups in Europe, suffering the impacts and consequences of many pressures, from climate change to agricultural intensification, land conversion and abandonment. Understanding their responses to climate, topography, landscape, management (and relative interactions), is key to effective conservation. This talk will explore how grassland birds are affected by multiple factors in mountain areas, where the ongoing changes are often exacerbated. Crucial implications for conservation and main knowledge gaps will be pointed out.
Peter Schönswetter is professor at the Department of Botany of the University of Innsbruck. One of his main research interests is the biogeography of the Alpine flora including inner-Alpine steppes.
Schönswetter will provide insights into current research on the biogeography of European extrazonal steppes and the evolution of their biota. He will first present a biome-wide approach illustrating the divergence of extrazonal lineages of widespread steppe species and then focus on the change of their population sizes through time. He will then present new insights into disjunctly distributed and endangered Astragalus section Caprini and finish with the unexpected spatiotemporal diversification of Astragalus exscapus, a strongly declining steppe species endemic to Europe
Camilla Wellstein is head of the research area Analysis and Management of Mountain Ecosystems and member of the governing body of the Competence Center for Economic, Environmental and Social Sustainability, Free University of Bozen/Bolzano. She collaborated with international networks in H2020 projects on biodiversity and the impact of climate change and management on ecosystems. She combines organism biology with ecosystem ecology through experimental, monitoring and modeling approaches. She is currently studying vegetation dynamics, endemic species, plant functional traits and the diversity of grassland and forest ecosystems in the Italian Alps.
Her contribution will discuss grassland plant diversity and their dynamics from a functional, biogeographic, environmental, management and conservation background.
