Science Conference 2026

Scientific Programme

Session 1: Ecosystem Resilience in a Changing World

Description: How can scientific understanding of ecosystems help build resilience to climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, and resource pressures - while supporting human well-being and sustainability? Understanding Ecosystem Resilience - What makes an ecosystem resistant or adaptive to disturbances? Identifying tipping points, thresholds, and recovery processes.

Keywords: ecosystem resilience, climate adaptation and mitigation, tipping points

Session 2: Sustainable Agroecology and Soil-Plant Systems Description:

Examining innovations in experimental design to test sustainable practices in agricultural systems, this session emphasizes nutrient cycling, soil health and microbiome, developing restoration options, and plant productivity under varying environmental pressures.

Keywords: agroecosystems, soil health, nutrient fluxes, crop yield, sustainable farming

Session 3: Forest Ecosystems under Pressure

Description: How do forests respond to environmental stressors such as drought, pollution, and what is their resilience? This session integrates experimental forest research and ecosystem modeling.

Keywords: forest ecology, carbon sequestration, biodiversity, climate adaptation, phenology

Session 4: Experimental Approaches to Global Change Ecology

Description: Highlighting the value of ecotrons. Ecosystem responses to climate change, elevated CO₂, warming, drought, nutrient deposition.

Keywords: mesocosms, ecotrons, metatrones

Session 5: Policy and Societal Impact of Ecosystem Research

Description: Translating scientific insights into action: how experimental results support EU policies on biodiversity, climate neutrality, and land use planning.

Keywords: science-policy interface, ecosystem services, SDGs, land use, policy impact

Session 6: Aquatic-terrestrial and coastal ecosystem interactions

Description: Investigating the role of water in ecosystem health, with sessions on hydrological cycles, aquatic-terrestrial linkages, and drought experiments.

Keywords: water fluxes, evapotranspiration, drought stress, wetland experiments, hydrology

Session 7: Digital Ecosystems – Data Integration and Modeling

Description: From field data to forecasts: tools, models, and databases supporting predictive understanding of ecosystem responses.

Keywords: ecosystem models, data integration and FAIRification, digital twins, remote sensing, open science, data management