SER-Europe Chapter

Hungary, SER Europe Summer School on Restoration of dry grasslands
2018-08-20 - 2018-08-24
Best practice in management and restoration of European dry grasslands
SER Europe Summer School on Ecological Restoration 2018
MTA Centre for Ecology, Hungary, August 20-24, 2018
More information: http://restorationcourse.okologia.mta.hu/
The SER Europe Summer School 2018 is an intensive 5-day program (20-24 August) focusing on the management and restoration of dry grassland habitats in Europe, many of which are under Natura2000 protection. The summer school will be held in Hungary and is organized by the MTA Centre for Ecological Research under the auspices of SER Europe and EUROSITE. The program includes both theoretical aspects and practical issues related to the state, threats, management and restoration of dry grasslands with a special focus on Natura2000 areas. The course is aimed at site managers, ecologists, students and policy makers and will provide participants with state-of-the-art information during field visits and lectures. The language will be English. We hope that the course will give a frame for intensive exchange between participants and lecturers.

Santiago de Compostela, Spain, Landcare Conference 2018 (in collaboration with SER Europe)
2018-07-16 - 2018-07-18
International Conference 2018 Santiago de Compostela
LANDCARE FOR THE FUTURE: CHALLENGES FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING, OPPORTUNITIES FOR EMPLOYABILITY
Venue: SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, 16-18 july, 2018
ORGANIZERS: Partners of the Erasmus + Landcare Project http://www.landcare.es
More information: here

France, Dunkirk, Coastal Dunes and Sandy Beaches Management and Restoration
2018-06-12 - 2018-06-14
Coastal Dunes and Sandy Beaches Management and Restoration

Within the framework of the LIFE+ FLANDRE project on dune restoration, the Agency of Nature and Forest and the Université du Littoral Côte d’opale invite you to participate in the international workshop on coastal dunes and sandy beaches management and restoration.
The workshop will focus on the implementation of the recommendations of the Natura 2000 Biogeographical Process Seminars for Coastal Dunes in the Atlantic Region, including the Coastal Dunes Roadmap, and the meaning of the LIFE instrument for this purpose. Additionally, the following process objectives are considered for the workshop:

networking and sharing knowledge between administrators, policy makers and scientists in a convenient way;
networking and sharing of knowledge between past and ongoing nature restoration projects (LIFE, LIFE+, Interreg) with an extra focus on cross-border or trans regional projects;
stimulating the emergence of new cross-border nature partnerships.

Please find more information on the programme and registration here.

Sulmona, Italy, 15th Eurasian Grassland Conference
2018-06-04 - 2018-06-08
The main topic of the conference is “Cooperating for Grassland: from habitat interpretation to conservation measures”, with several subtopics related with habitat classification, grassland threats and conservation goals and priorities.
We want to invite you to attend such an interesting and promising conference, which also offers the possibility to visit the beautiful town of Sulmona, in the Apennines and, of course, to know the Apenninic grasslands in the mid-conference and post-conference excursions.
EGC 2018_First_Call_Final

Lyon, France: 3rd international conference on Integrative sciences and sustainable development of large rivers (with support of SER Europe)
2018-06-04 - 2018-06-08
Conference in partnership with SER Europe
The ZABR (Rhone Basin Long Term Environmental Research), and the GRAIE (Regional Research Group on Infrastructures and Water) are launching the 3rd edition of I.S.Rivers: international conference on integrative sciences and sustainable development of rivers, from June 4-8, 2018 in Lyon, France.
The ZABR is a scientific hydrosystem observatory designed to bring together stakeholders of the Rhone Basin. The GRAIE is a non-profit organisation aiming at coordinating research in the field of urban water management.
Following the success of the first two editions of I.S.Rivers held in 2012 and 2015, with 500 participants (both researchers and river professionals) from 30 countries and 210 oral and poster presentations –, we are launching the 3rd edition, willing to restart this great dynamic to highlight the world’s large rivers.
The aims of I.S.Rivers:

To identify and discuss the most recent advances on the complexity and diversity of rivers
To share experiences of research and practices, implementation of local policies at different scales in various human and geographic context

More information: http://www.graie.org/ISRivers/

Spain, Torroella de Montgri, 8th European Pond Conservation Network Workshop
2018-05-21 - 2018-05-25
We kindly invite you to attend the 8th European Pond Conservation Network Workshop. The topics treated will include the ecosystem response to global change, the identification of key factors ruling its biodiversity from both an ecological and conservation point of view. In this meeting there will be a special session on “Management and restoration of lentic ecosystems” and the “Life Pletera closing Meeting” . Life Pletera is a restoration project in a Mediterranean salt marsh, where the roads, promenades of an unfinished residential estate for tourist purposes were removed and substituted by a set of coastal lagoons surrounded by their typical vegetation belt.
The 8th EPCN Workshop will be organized by the Institut d’Ecologia Aquàtica (University of Girona) with the support of the Council of Torroella de Montgrí and Museu de la Mediterrània. The website with the scientific programme and booking information is available at: http://epcn8.org/
For further information and inquiries please contact the Technical Secretariat of the meeting epcn8@barcelocongresos.com

Évora, Portugal, Quarries Alive 2018 International Conference
2018-05-02 - 2018-05-04
Focusing on the theme “Enhancing Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services in Quarries – Challenges, Strategies and Practice” this conference will be held at University of Évora, Portugal, May 2-4, 2018.
We challenge you to participate in the conference as well to present your work focusing on the restoration and enhancement of biodiversity in quarries through a communication (oral / poster).
For more information please visit the conference website www.quarriesalive2018.uevora.pt or contact us: quarriesalive2018@uevora.pt.

Spain, Zaragoza, Course on restoration of degraded drylands and monitoring of desertification processes (co-organized by SER Europe)
2018-02-05 - 2018-02-10
IAMZ-CIHEAM, IUCN (Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature), and ICARDA (International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas), with the collaboration of SER Europe (European Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration) are launching an international course on the restoration of degraded drylands and monitoring of desertification processes.
Drylands are a key terrestrial biome, covering 45% of Earth’s land surface and supporting over 38% of the total global population. They are highly vulnerable to global environmental change. Desertification and land degradation, driven by increasing human pressure on land and water resources, are the most important and pressing environmental and socio-economic issues currently faced by dryland people. The sensitivity of drylands to these problems is amplified from the fact that their primary productivity is strongly limited by precipitation and soil nutrient availability, and both of these factors are undergoing changes associated with increasing atmospheric greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Because of the extent of dryland ecosystems globally, and the dependence of an important part of the human population on them for goods and services, it is crucial to establish effective programmes to monitor land degradation processes that can detect the onset of desertification and restore degraded land before degradation becomes irreversible or restoration too costly.
Dryland countries have a long history of restoration of degraded lands, a task that traditionally has been conducted by planting trees, whether native or not, paying little attention to the views of the local communities and to ecosystem functioning. The last decades have seen unprecedented interest and research efforts in the development of new technologies and participative approaches to effectively restore degraded drylands. Yet, new approaches have not been widely implemented, despite the renewed interest in restoration actions imposed by global initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge. At the same time, important conceptual progress has substantially advanced our understanding of desertification processes and produced new tools to monitor dryland status by means of biophysical and socio-economic indicators, including ecosystem functioning. In parallel, several high profile international initiatives launched in the framework of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), such as the “2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, have placed concepts such as Land Degradation Neutrality and desertification at the forefront of political and environmental issues.
This course will present the latest scientific and technical advances in land restoration with the purpose of combating desertification; improve knowledge on how to effectively restore degraded drylands, from project planning to the implementation and monitoring phases; and introduce available tools to monitor desertification processes. Case-studies from Mediterranean countries will be discussed, relevant high profile international initiatives will be introduced, and practical work will be performed by the participants to get familiar with state-of-the-art tools.
Download the brochure and find out more about the course.

Germany, Friedenfels, Meeting of the German Restoration Network (co-organized by SER Europe)
2017-11-21 - 2017-11-22
Language will be German.
Im Rahmen der Abschlussveranstaltung zum Projekt “Effizienzkontrolle von Moorrenaturierung in Bezug auf den Klimawandel” findet das 2. Treffen des Netzwerks Renaturierung statt.
More info: https://renaweb.standortsanalyse.net/download/Programm_Abschlussveranstaltung_Moorrenaturierung.pdf

Cambridge, UK, Workshop 'Priority Questions for European Landscape Restoration' (co-organized by SER Europe)
2017-11-20 - 2017-11-21
More info: here

Lisboa, Portugal: International workshop (co-organized by SER Europe) 'Training in Land Degradation and Rehabilitation - Current Challenges and New Educational Resources'
2017-10-26 - 2017-10-27
More info:
http://www.ibader.gal/seccion/536/International-Workshop-2017-Lisboa.html

UK, Kew Gardens: NASSTEC International Conference Seed Quality of Native Species – Ecology, Production & Policy
2017-09-25 - 2017-09-29
NASSTEC International Conference
Seed Quality of Native Species – Ecology, Production & Policy
Have a look at it by clicking here NASSTEC International Conference Programme.
In the same page you can also find the Registration Form.
REGISTRATION IS FREE!
Deadline for abstract submission: June 30, 2017
Deadline for registration: July 31, 2017

Lund, Sweden, 3rd Restoring Forest Conference
2017-09-12 - 2017-09-14
More information: Regeneration and Ecosystem Function for the Future
Organised by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and IUFRO

7th World Conference on Ecological Restoration, Foz do Iguassu, Brazil
2017-08-27 - 2017-09-01

Riga (Latvia), 14th Eurasian Grassland Conference
2017-07-04 - 2017-07-11
We invite you to register and submit abstracts for talks and poster via the website http://www.edgg.org/conference_2017.html
Please be aware that registration deadline is 30 April 2017.

12th SWS Europe Chapter Meeting, Faro, Portugal
2017-05-04 - 2017-05-07
Sustainable Management of Wetlands: exploring novel approaches for water management, biodiversity conservation, restoration, pollution control and climate change.

3rd ALTER-Net Conference on Nature and society: synergies, conflicts, trade-offs, Ghent, Belgium
2017-05-02 - 2017-05-05
Nature and society: synergies, conflicts, trade-offs
2-5 May 2017
Ghent, Belgium

The 3rd ALTER-Net international conference will take place from 2-5 May 2017. We are again organizing the conference in the beautiful city of Ghent (Belgium). The meeting is entitled Nature and society: synergies, conflicts, trade-offs. Preliminary details are available on the ALTER-Net website:
http://www.alter-net.info/outputs/conf-2017
With this email, we wish to remind you on the call for proposals. We are looking for your suggestions for talks, sessions and posters. The closing date for submissions is 20 January 2017.

8th Annual Meeting French Restoration Network, Arras, France
2017-03-08 - 2017-03-09
The French restoration network is having its 8th annual meeting in northern France (Arras) on March 8th and 9th 2017.
All information: https://rever8.sciencesconf.org/

Romania, Sighişoara, EGC 2016: 13th Eurasian Grassland Conference
2016-09-20 - 2016-09-24
Theme of EGC 2016: Management and Conservation of Semi-Natural Grasslands: from Theory to Practice
More info: http://www.edgg.org/conference_2016.html
Registration deadline 31 May 2016

France, Peyresq, ALTER-Net Summer School
2016-09-07 - 2016-09-17
This 11th ALTER-Net Summer School will be held from 7-17 September 2015,in the beautiful village of Peyresq, France, location of our previous highly-regarded Summer Schools. Theme of the Summer School: “Biodiversity, ecosystem services and sustainable management of socio-ecosystems“.
The ALTER-Net Summer School is open to young graduate and post-graduate scientists from both within and outside the ALTER-Net network partners, as well as young professionals in related fields. The aim of the Summer School is to create an environment for studying the challenges relating to biodiversity and natural resources in an inter- and trans-disciplinary way.
You can find more information on the Summer School website, including the programme, and you can access the registration form directly. Please contact Marie Vanderwalle (marie.vandewalle [at] ufz.de) if you have any questions.

France, Montpellier, EcoSummit 2016, Ecological Sustainability: Engineering Change (organized in association with SER)
2016-08-29 - 2016-09-01
The 5th International EcoSummit Congress, EcoSummit 2016 – Ecological Sustainability: Engineering Change, will take place at The Corum Convention Centre, Montpellier from 29 August – 1 September 2016. This conference series was founded in 1996 in Copenhagen, as a forum to meet the demands of scientists working in several new ecological disciplines, and who required a better understanding of the concepts and methods for a holistic use of ecology in environmental management. Since 1996, EcoSummit has been taken around the world (Canada and China), with EcoSummit 2012 hosting 1600 participants from 75 countries in Columbus, Ohio, USA.EcoSummit 2016 will centre on the ecology of terrestrial ecosystems and all habitats that are integrated within those ecosystems, including river networks, wetlands and coastlines. Focus will be placed on fragile ecosystems that are more likely to suffer the consequences of climate change and anthropogenic pressure. However, in the current context of an increasing world population, changes in social habit (increasing world consumerism) and climate change, it is evident that agriculture is being intensified but with a growing awareness of the need to preserve and use sustainably world resources. Therefore, we will also address how terrestrial restoration can be carried out when the massive demand for food results in fragile ecosystems, forests and marginal lands being turned over to agriculture. The central and fundamental topics of EcoSummit 2016 are as follows:
Topics

Agro-ecology
Anthropogenic pressure
Arid lands and desertification
Biodiversity and biological conservation
Biological invasions
Climate change
Disturbance ecology
Ecohydrology
Ecological complexity
Ecological economics
Ecological engineering
Ecological indicators
Ecological intensification
Ecological modelling
Ecosystem creation and restoration
Ecosystem health
Ecosystem services
Ecotoxicology
Environmental policy
Fragile ecosystems and hotspot management
Integrating socio-economics and ecology
Sustainability and resilience
Watershed/River catchment management

Belgium, Antwerp, Estuarine Restoration: from theory to practice and back
2016-07-05 - 2016-07-09 | De Meerminne, Sint-Jacobstraat 2 2000 Antwerpen, Antwerp, Belgium
more info: https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/conferences/estuarine-restoration/

Welcome to ECSA’s local meeting on ‘Estuarine restoration : from theory to practice and back’ which will be held from 5-9 July 2016 in Antwerp, Belgium.
Scope

For centuries, estuaries have been impacted by habitat reclamation, pollution, hydrological alterations and dredging among many other human uses leading to a large loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It is only recently that estuarine restoration became a hot topic and now many restoration projects are implemented worldwide.
The Schelde estuary situated in the north of Flanders and the south of the Netherlands is a typical example of this development. More than 150.000 ha of intertidal area was reclaimed over the last 1000 years and in the 20th century a large part of the estuary was anoxic for most of the year. Major waste water treatment and restoration works have taken place resulting in the improvement of the water quality and the recovery of the estuarine food web. Habitat restoration takes place at a large scale and range from vegetation management to managed retreat. In total more than 4000 ha of natural habitat will be restored. New techniques like flood control areas with controlled reduced tide were developed and implemented. The major project, the Kruibeke Bazel Rupelmonde flood control area, in total some 700 ha, becomes operational at the end of 2015 resulting in more than 300 ha of new tidal marshes.
To celebrate this event, the University of Antwerp (together with other local partners, universities and institutes) is organising an ECSA Local Meeting on estuarine restoration. The aim of the meeting is to bring together scientists and practitioners from all over the world to exchange ideas and discuss the field of estuarine restoration.
Major topics dealt with during the conference are:

Setting the objectives of restoration
What measure is fit for which objective?
Evaluation of restoration measures: are the objectives achieved?
Ecosystem services: a driving force for future restoration?
Planning for estuarine restoration
The role of environmental legislation as a driver for restoration

The conference will bring together both scientists and practitioners and result in new insights in the important field of estuarine restoration and lead to guidelines and concepts for further estuarine restoration projects.

Germany, Potsdam, Wetland Science and Society: knowledge transfer, conservation conflicts and restoration management
2016-05-17 - 2016-05-20 | Unnamed Venue, Potsdam, Germany
SWS meeting European Chapter 2016 /Potsdam /Germany /17-20 May
“Wetland Science and Society: knowledge transfer, conservation conflicts and restoration management”

Dear Colleagues,
We warmly invite you to the upcoming 11th annual European Chapter meeting of the Society of Wetlands Scientists (SWS) (http://www.sws.org/europe-chapter).
The meeting will be held in Potsdam near Berlin, Germany, 17-20 May 2016 and is being organized by the Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries in cooperation with the German peat Society DGMT and the Naturschutzfonds Brandenburg (the meeting website will be available in September 2015).

The meeting will be an opportunity to provide new perspectives on:
1) Strategies on how wetland science can be effectively implemented in practice (“knowledge transfer”)
2) Approaches to harmonizing wetland functions and economic interests (“conservation conflicts”)
3) Utilization of wetlands for mitigation of water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and loss of biodiversity (“restoration management”)

SWS want to encourage people of all branches of wetland science and practice, and especially those with a focus on European wetland issues, to participate, including: Biologists, Local Government Officials & Decision-Makers, Consultants, Conservationists, Ecologists, Educators, Environmental Consultants, Scientists, and Managers, Foresters, Graduate Students, Hydrologists etc.

The meeting will include parallel oral sessions, poster presentations and field excursions in to biosphere reserve SpreeForest and managed wetland sites from EU Life projects. The number of participants is limited to 120 people on a first come-first served basis.

The deadline for abstract submission will be February 23, 2016.

Feel free to pass this information on to colleagues who might be interested.

With kind regards,

Dominik Zak and Jörg Gelbrecht

on behalf of the president of SWS Europe
Prof. Jos Verhoeven (The Netherlands)

Belgium, Brussels, Workshop 'Dynamic management of biodiversity in active quarries'
2016-05-04 09:30 - 16:30 UTC
LiQ_workshop_Invitation_ENG
Registration form Workshop LIFE IN QUARRIES
Access plan FEB

France, Bordeaux, REVER 7 workshops on ecological restoration
2016-01-19 - 2016-01-20 | Bordeaux, France
More information: http://rever2016.sciencesconf.org/

2nd Int. Conference on integrative sciences and sustainable development of RIVERS, Lyon, France (in partnership with SER Europe)
2015-06-22 - 2015-06-26 | Lyon, France
Integrative sciences and sustainable development of RIVERS
2nd International conference, in partnership with SER Europe

The international conference IS.Rivers focuses on the sustainable management of the world’s rivers, especially European ones.
The IS.Rivers conference concentrates on the state of art management strategies and lessons learned from individual case studies.
Particular consideration is given to the integration of physical, ecological and social perspectives of the different stakeholders involved in river management (governance, economy, culture), which is reflected in the title of the conference (“Integrative Sciences for rivers”).
More info: http://www.graie.org/ISRivers/a_index.htm

Registrations are now open. Reduced fee for SER Europe members !

14th European Heathlands Workshop, Poland
2015-06-21 - 2015-06-27 | Toruń, Poland
more info: http://www.heathlands2015.umk.pl/

SER-Europe workshop: Developing and using donor site registers for near-natural re-vegetation, Bernburg, Germany
2015-06-02 - 2015-06-03
The working group of Prof. Dr. Sabine Tischew organizes a workshop at the Strenzfeld Campus of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Bernburg/Germany. Within these two days, you have the opportunity to hear about the use of directly harvested seed material in restoration and re-vegetation in different federal states in Germany. During field trips we will show you successfully restored species-rich flower strips, field margins and grasslands in Saxony-Anhalt. The workshop will be held in German language. The workshop will be held under the auspices of SER Europe.

The aim of the workshop is to remove uncertainties regarding the utilization of donor site registers and the use of seed material from autochthonous wild plants in restoration and re-vegetation projects. Based on specific examples, participants can discuss typical problems and questions and will be presented with possible solutions. We also welcome suggestions to optimize our donor site register and our information system of nature-oriented restoration measures (www. spenderflaechenkataster.de).

More info about the workshop here.
Visit us:
– if you are involved in planning, implementation and evaluation of re-vegetation, restoration and compensation measures;
– if you are planning to establish perennial flower strips or to improve your field margins;
– if you want to establish species-rich grassland or improve your species-poor grasslands.
We cordially invite you to attend our workshop for exciting discussions and networking:

Seed harvesting with a combine harvester on a species-rich lowland hay meadow.
Photo: Konstanze May, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

Green hay variant in the mined site Roßbach (Geiseltal lignite mining district Saxony-Anhalt) in June 2013, 13 years after implementation. Dry grassland vegetation, Centaurea scabiosa with Zygaena loti.
Photo: Anita Kirmer, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences

12th European Dry Grassland Meeting, Mainz, Germany
2015-05-22 - 2015-05-27 | Mainz, Germany
12th European Dry Grassland Meeting, Mainz, Germany
FROM POPULATION BIOLOGY TO COMMUNITY ECOLOGY
Place: Mainz, Germany
Time: 22-27 May 2015
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.
Specific topics of the conference:
– Population biology of dry grassland species
– Diversity and community ecology of dry grasslands
– Management and conservation of dry grasslands
– Socio-cultural aspects of dry grasslands
The European Dry Grassland Meetings are organised annually by the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG, http://www.edgg.org), a network of dry grassland/steppe researchers and conservationists from all disciplines. EDGG is affiliated with the IAVS (International Association for Vegetation Science) as a Working Group as well as with the EFNCP (European Federation for Nature Conservation and Pastoralism), and membership is free of charge.

Registration and deadlines: The conference webpage will open in autumn 2014. Deadline for abstracts is planned for February 2015.
We are looking forward to seeing you in Mainz, Germany!
More info: EDGM 2015_1st call-flyer

4th Iberoamerican and Caribbean Congress on Restoration Ecology (in partnership with SER)
2015-04-12 - 2015-04-16 | Buenos Aires, Argentina
Conference website: http://siacre2015.wix.com/congreso
Contact: siacre.2015@maimonides.edu
