The British Ecological Society and the Ecological Society of America will host a joint meeting on April 10-13, 2000 in Orlando, Florida. The meeting will include a full three-day agenda of 7 symposia, 4 scientific field trips and presentations of more than 150 papers featuring current ecological research. Two sessions, described below, will focus on carbon and its effects on vegetation.
Over the last decade, researchers have been investigating the role that vegetation may play in ameliorating climatic warming. During the session entitled, "Keeping track of Carbon Flows between Vegetation and Atmosphere," John Grace of the University of Edinburgh will review evidence for the view that vegetation is being fertilized on a global scale by elevated amounts of CO2 and the deposition of nitrogen. In addition, he will examine the view that the residence time of carbon in wood and organic soil matter is long enough to ensure that this CO2 fertilization will result in a sink over the next few decades. Ultimately, says Grace, the sink will vanish as CO2 response begins to saturate and the warming temperatures cause the stored organic matter to break down. Grace will explore the tools used for keeping track of the flows of carbon between atmosphere and vegetation, and outline the status of the models which enable predictions. In addition, the management of forests as carbon sinks -- an increasingly widespread practice since the Kyoto protocol -- will be considered.
During another session entitled, "Plant Responses to a New Planetary Diet," Christian Korner of the University of Basel, Switzerland will address ecological concepts and methods and how these influence our attempts to understand plant responses to global change. Some of the most important resources for plant growth (e.g., CO2 and soluble nitrogen compounds) are now becoming increasingly abundant as result of greenhouse gas emission. Is it true that these resources were previously limiting and are now becoming less limiting, perhaps even contributing to a less stressful world for plants? Limiting for what? Over which period of time? Answers to these questions, says Korner, will depend on the paradigms behind common ecological terminology, which the session will explore. Recent research from Basel will be used to underpin these thoughts.
For further information regarding these two plenaries and the BES/ESA meeting, please visit the ESA website (http://esa.sdsc.edu ). A full program, including registration information, is available online.
The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a scientific, non-profit, 7,800-member organization founded in 1915. Through ESA reports, journals, membership research, and expert testimony to Congress, ESA seeks to promote the responsible application of ecological data and principles to the solution of environmental problems. ESA publishes four scientific, peer-reviewed journals: Ecology, Ecological Applications, and Ecological Monographs. Information about the Society and its activities is published in the Society's bi-monthly newsletter, NewSource, and in the quarterly Bulletin.
The British Ecological Society is a learned society, a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. Established in 1913 by academics to promote and foster the study of ecology in its widest sense, the Society currently has around 5,000 members spread around the world. The core activities are the publication of the results of research in ecology, the development of scientific meetings and the promotion of ecological awareness through education. The Society publishes four, internationally renowned journals and organizes at least two major conferences each year plus a large number of smaller meetings. It also initiates a diverse range of activities to promote awareness of ecology at the public and policy maker level in addition to developing ecology in the education system, and it provides financial support for approved ecological projects.