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.

Grasslands of Central-Europe - New EDGG Special Feature published in Tuexenia

The 13th EDGG Special Feature in Tuexenia, complements the series of special features devoted to Palaearctic steppes and semi-natural grasslands. It focuses on the conservation, management, restoration and biodiversity of semi-natural and natural grasslands in Central Europe. It was edited by Balázs Deák, Thomas Becker, Steffen Boch and Viktoria Wagner (Deák et al. 2018). Altogether 43 authors from six countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Ukraine) contributed to the published papers. 

The paper of Boch et al. (2018) investigates the effects of grazing management on the species richness of bryophyte species in mesic grasslands. Bódis et al. (2018) studied the habitat preferences of the endangered lizard-orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum. The paper of Bittnerová et al. (2018) deals with the patterns of aboveground vegetation and soil seed bank along a successional gradient from grassland to forest. Didukh & Vasheniak (2018) described the vegetation of limestone outcrops in Podillia (Ukraine). Molnár et al. (2018) studied the factors influencing the distribution of the endangered Sternbergia colchiciflora in grassland habitats preserved in Pannonian cemeteries. Sopotlieva et al. (2018) revealed the ecosystem conditions of Bulgarian grasslands which are located outside of the Natura 2000 network. Szabó & Ruprecht (2018) finally pointed on the potential of seed banks in the recovery of Stipa-dominated and steppe-like dry grasslands. 

The publications are all open access, and freely available from the journal website, from http://www.zobodat.at/publikation_series.php?id=20993 and in the near future also from the re-launched EDGG website. 

Contributions in the Special Feature 

Bittnerová, S., Ujházy, K., Hegedüšová, K., Škodová, I., Ujházyová, M. & Janišová, M. (2018): Soil seed bank and above-ground vegetation changes during grassland succession: Is space-for-time substitution an alternative to re-sampling? Tuexenia 38: 347–370. 

Boch, S., Müller, J., Prati, D. & Fischer, M. (2018): Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands. – Tuexenia 38: 311-328. 

Bódis, B., Biró, É., Nagy, T., Takács, A., Molnár V., A. & Lukács, B.A. (2018): Habitat preferences of the rare lizard-orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann. Tuexenia 38: 329–345. 

Deák, B., Becker, T., Boch, S. & Wagner, V. (2018): Conservation, management and restoration of semi-natural and natural grasslands in Central Europe – Editorial to the 13th EDGG Special Feature. Tuexenia 38: 305–310. 

Didukh, Y.P. & Vasheniak, Y.A. (2018): Vegetation of limestone outcrops in Western and Central Podillia (Ukraine). Tuexenia 38: 419–444. 

Molnár V., A., Mészáros, A., Csathó, A.I., Balogh, G., Takács, A., Löki, V., Lovas-Kiss, A., Tökölyi, J., Somlyay, L. & Bauer, N. (2018): Distribution and seed production of the rare, dry grassland specialist Sternbergia colchiciflora (Amaryllidaceae) in Pannonian cemeteries. Tuexenia 38: 371–384. 

Sopotlieva, D., Velev, N., Tsvetkova, N., Vassilev, V. & Apostolova, I. (2018): Ecosystem condition assessment of semi-natural grasslands outside the Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria, using vegetation data. Tuexenia 38: 385–404. 

Szabó, A. & Ruprecht, E. (2018): Restoration possibilities of dry grasslands afforested by pine: the role of seed bank and remnant vegetation. Tuexenia 38: 405–418.