European Dry Grassland Meetings (EDGM) constitute the cycle of the European Dry Grassland Group conferences devoted to dry grassland of Europe. They have been organized since 2004. The 10th EDGM in 2013 will be held in Poland – the country laying in the area where two different types of climate meet – the mild oceanic with the severe continental one. This has substantial influence on the grasslands in Poland, and shapes their vegetation, flora and fauna. That is why the grasslands in the region have the unique character. Unfortunately, they all share the same problems. Both in Poland as well as in the rest of Europe, have come in the past few decades under threat from intensified agriculture and the consequent changes in land usage, the loss of extensive grazing, which brought about natural succession, afforestation, ploughing and turning into arable land. Other detrimental processes include the eutrophization of the grasslands and interference from alien species linked to negative changes in abiotic conditions. In the light of the serious threats several important question arise: How to protect them? What we need to secure for a long lasting persistence of the habitat? How should we cooperate? These are the questions which we want to ask in Zamość in May 2013. If you want to participate at the meeting please register via the online form. ... [Information of the supplier]
Palearctic dry grasslands have a long tradition of community analysis and description, leading to a detailed picture of these habitats, especially in Central Europe. In contrast, research on the biology of species and populations, such as pollination biology, dispersal ecology, demography or population genetics, is expanding rapidly. The connection between the two scientific disciplines is often weak although, actually, populations are part of communities and communities consist out of populations. We will therefore focus on this connection between population biology and community ecology for all dry grassland biota (invertebrates, vertebrates, non-vascular plants, vascular plants, fungi and lichens) as the overall topic of the next EDGM. ... [Information of the supplier]