Memories of the IAVS Symposium in Montana

Yellow columbine (Aquilegia flavescens).

The annual symposium of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS) was held in Bozeman, Montana this year. It was a great pleasure for us and our colleagues to participate in this interesting conference. Our photos and memories have been published in the IAVS Bulletin (here).

The itinerary of the excursions was full with programs through Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, so we shared only some of the most memorable moments. The pre-symposium excursion ‘A’ headed to the Glacier National Park and the Continental Divide. We visited a wide range of habitats, such as western larch and ponderosa pine forests, ancient western red cedar groves, sub-alpine grasslands and prairies. We encountered such scenic landscapes as the Glacier National Park, the Avalanche lake, the Ross Cedar Creek and the Kootenai Waterfalls.

Ross Cedar Creek is a scenic forest of western red cedar (Thuja plicata). Several giant trees are estimated to be older than 1000 years.

Besides the lectures, there were a lot of opportunities for botanising and visiting interesting locations in and near Bozeman during the conference. Definitely, the Museum of the Rockies was one of our favourite. There were ten options for mid-symposium excursions, so it was very difficult to choose from the so many interesting routes. Finally we went to the northern range, just outside the Yellowstone National Park. The tour was very interesting and focused on grasslands on various altitudes with different grazing regimes. We were impressed both by the similarities and differences between the North American and Eurasian dry grasslands regarding their species composition and their role in the whole ecosystem. We also realised that nature conservation problems are quite the same in the grassland habitats of the World. Encroachment of invasive species is an important issue for American nature conservation, however it was really strange to see our common European species (such as Bromus inermis and Poa angustifolia) as problem species in America.

Scenic view in the northern range of the Yellowstone National Park (mid-symposium excursion).

The post-symposium excursion headed to the Beartooth and Yellowstone National Parks. We got a comprehensive overview on the vegetation types of the region, and the role of disturbance in landscape-scale vegetation dynamics. It was very impressive to see the huge, endless forests, where still nowadays fire and grazing are important drivers of vegetation dynamics. We also visited some of the most iconic landmarks of the region, such as the glaciers, hot springs and the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

 

Open herb layer in a lodgepole pine stand which burnt two years ago.