EDGG Field Workshops 2025

Introduction

The EDGG Field Workshops are research expeditions dedicated to the acquisition of high-quality data on Palaearctic non-forest vegetation types, following a standardized methodology (Dengler et al. 2016). Participants will engage in vegetation-plot sampling, documenting all encountered vascular plant, bryophyte, and lichen species, as well as key structural and environmental parameters. The sampling includes two types of plots: standard 10 m² vegetation plots and "EDGG biodiversity plots", which are nested-plot series with grain sizes ranging from 1 cm² to 100 m², and occasionally up to 1000 m². Some workshops also involve sampling of other taxa, such as orthopterans, leafhoppers, spiders, butterflies, and more, providing a broader ecological perspective. These standardized workshops generate high-quality biodiversity data alongside in situ environmental and structural data, which is fed into the GrassPlot database (Dengler et al. 2018). Since 2009, when EDGG Field Workshops were launched, the data collected during such expeditions was used for numerous publications on biodiversity patterns and drivers, discovering new species for studied regions, exploring syntaxonomical patterns, etc. (Turtureanu et al. 2014, Kuzemko et al. 2016, García-Mijangos et al. 2021, Moysiyenko et al. 2021, Bergauer et al. 2022, Cancellieri et al. 2024, Guarino et al. 2024, Khodosovtsev et al. 2024, Vynokurov et al. 2024, and others).

In 2025, two EDGG Field Workshops will take place: 20th EDGG Field Workshop “Dry Grasslands of the Maritime and Ligurian Alps”, and 21st EDGG Field Workshop “Diversity of Grasslands and Open Habitats in the Turku Archipelago”.

map_edgg_fw_2025

Fig. 1. Map with approximate locations of the 20th EDGG Field Workshop in Italy (A) and the 21st EDGG Field Workshop in Finland (B). EGC – location of the Eurasian Grassland Conference 2025, which will be held in Oulu (Finland).

20th EDGG Field Workshop: Dry Grasslands of the Maritime and Ligurian Alps (Italy)

28 May – 5 June 2025

 

The 20th EDGG field workshop will be conducted from 28 May to 5 June 2025 focusing on the sampling of the most marginal part of the southwestern Alps, in the Italian Maritime Alps (Valle Maira, Valle Stura, Valle Gesso), and Ligurian Alps (Valle Tanaro) (Fig. 1).

The Maritime and Ligurian Alps are the south-westernmost part of the Alps. They host the most thermophilic refuge areas and thus show the highest plant diversity and endemicity rate of the Alps. Thanks to the lower latitude and to the proximity to the sea, a significant amount of Mediterranean species occur. While some of these managed to persist during the glaciations, others were able to colonize the area afterwards.

This workshop will focus on sampling dry grasslands and submediterranean scrub communities across diverse habitats, predominantly limestone-based but also on dry siliceous substrates. Sites will include meso-xeric and xeric grasslands dominated by Bromopsis erecta and Stipa pennata aggr. (habitat 6210*), submediterranean scrub with Genista cinerea (possibly 5330), and screes with Achnatherum calamagrostis (8130). The phytosociological studies of the Italian side of the Maritime Alps are outdated and needs a modern review, therefore one of the aims of the workshop will be the revision of some complex transitional units in the classes Festuco-Brometea, Thlaspietea rotundifolii, Sedo-Scleranthetea, and Festuco-Ononidetea.

The Field Workshop will be logistically supported by the University of Turin and the Alpi Marittime Protected Areas. The latter entity manages two parcs, eight reserves and 20 Natura 2000 sites across the southwestern Italian Alps, from the Maira valley to the Tanaro valley. The identified sites for the sampling will range across the valleys in the province of Cuneo (Italy).

Stipa_grasslands_Entraque

Fig. 2. Stipa grasslands near Entraque, Maritime Alps. Photo: D. Barberis.

21st EDGG Field Workshop: Diversity of Grasslands and Open Habitats in the Turku Archipelago (Finland)

28 June – 6 July 2025

 

The 21st EDGG Field Workshop will take place in the Turku Archipelago, situated in the Archipelago Sea, off Southwestern Finland. It contains the world’s largest archipelago, with approximately 50,000 islands. We will focus on several of them: Seili (Själo), Boskär, Åvensor, Örö, and possibly some smaller islands nearby (Fig. 1). The workshop will be conducted in conjunction with the Eurasian Grassland Conference (EGC), which will be held from 7 to 9 July in Oulu, Finland.

During the Field Workshop, we will focus on detailed sampling in all types of grasslands and open habitats: semi-natural pastures, rocky dry grasslands, sandy grasslands, coastal meadows, wooded pastures and meadows, heathlands etc. Accommodation is planned on Seili and Örö islands, with one night in Turku. Transportation will include minibuses, boats, and ferries.

The 21st Field Workshop will be logistically supported by the Center for the Economic Development, transportation and Environment, Southeast Finland, and Archipelago Research Institute. Also involved are Metsähallitus and the Finnish Environment Institute.

seili
boskar

Fig. 3. Left: pasture on Seili island; Right: Boskär island. Photo: Maija Mussaari

The participation fees for the workshops will cover accommodation, meals, and local transportation. IAVS members and students will benefit from discounts. Travel grants through IAVS are available for applicants with financial constraints. A detailed second call with registration information and exact costs will be published in an upcoming issue of Palaearctic Grasslands approximately in February 2025.

For further inquiries, please contact the EDGG Field Workshop Coordinator, Denys Vynokurov (denys.vynokurov@gmail.com).

References

Bergauer, M., Dembicz, I., Boch, S., Willner, W., Babbi, M., Blank-Pachlatko, J., Catalano, C., Cykowska-Marzencka, B., Gehler, J., (...) & Dengler, J. (2022) Scale-dependent patterns and drivers of vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen diversity in dry grasslands of the Swiss inneralpine valleys. Alpine Botany 132: 195-209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00035-022-00285-y

Cancellieri, L., Sperandii, M.G., Rosati, L., Bellisario, B., Franceschini, C., Aleffi, M., Bartolucci, F., Becker, T., Belonovskaya, E., (...) & Filibeck, G. (2024) Drivers of vascular plant, bryophyte and lichen richness in grasslands along a precipitation gradient (central Apennines, Italy). Journal of Vegetation Science 35: e13305. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13305

Dengler, J., Boch, S., Filibeck, G., Chiarucci, A., Dembicz, I., Guarino, R., Henneberg, B., Janišová, M., Marcenò, C., (…) & Biurrun, I. 2016. Assessing plant diversity and composition in grasslands across spatial scales: the standardised EDGG sampling methodology. Bulletin of the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group 32: 13−30.

Dengler, J., Wagner, V., Dembicz, I., García-Mijangos, I., Naqinezhad, A., Boch, S., Chiarucci, A., Conradi, T., Filibeck, G., (…) & Biurrun, I. 2018. GrassPlot – a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands. Phytocoenologia 48: 331–347.

García-Mijangos, I., Berastegi, A., Biurrun, I., Dembicz, I., Janišová, M., Kuzemko, A., Vynokurov, D., Ambarlı, D., Etayo, J., (…) & Dengler, J. 2021. Grasslands of Navarre (Spain), focusing on the Festuco-Brometea: classification, hierarchical expert system and characterisation. Vegetation Classification and Survey 2: 195–231 https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS/2021/69614

Guarino, R., Vynokurov, D., Dengler, J., Berastegi, A., Biurrun, I., Garcia-Mijangos, I., Janišová, M., Lonati, M., Nikolei, R., (…) & Nota, G. (2024) (Re)discovery of four annual vascular plant species in dry grasslands in the Southwestern Alps (NW Italy). Palaearctic Grasslands 62: (in press).

Khodosovtsev, A., Darmostuk, V., Dembicz, I., Dengler, J., Moysiyenko. I. & Kuzemko, A. (in press) Сircinaria ucrainica sp. nov., a new species from sand dunes of the Lower Dnipro valley (Ukraine). The Lichenologist. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0024282924000197Kuzemko, A.A., Steinbauer, M.J., Becker, T., Didukh, Y.P., Dolnik, C., Jeschke, M., Naqinezhad, A., Ugurlu, E., Vassilev, K. & Dengler, J. 2016. Patterns and drivers of phytodiversity of steppe grasslands of Central Podolia (Ukraine). Biodiversity and Conservation 25: 2233−2250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1060-7

Moysiyenko, I.I., Umanets, O.Y., Dengler, J., Guarino, R., Dembicz, I., Kucher, O.O., Skobel, N.O. & Bednarska, I.O. 2022. Torilis pseudonodosa Bianca (Apiaceae) – new species for the flora of Ukraine. Black Sea Botanical Journal 17: 98–106. https://doi.org/10.32999/ksu1990-553X/2021-17-4-3

Turtureanu, P.D., Todorova, S., Becker, T., Dolnik, C., Ruprecht, E., Sutcliffe, L.M.E., Szabó, A. & Dengler, J. 2014. Scale- and taxon-dependent biodiversity patterns of dry grassland vegetation in Transylvania (Romania). Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 182: 15–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2013.10.028

Vynokurov, D., Aleksanyan, A., Becker, T., Biurrun, I., Borovyk, D., Fayvush, G., García-Mijangos, I., Magnes, M., Palpurina, S., (...) & Dengler, J. (2024) Dry grasslands and thorn-cushion communities of Armenia: a first syntaxonomic classification. Vegetation Classification and Survey 5: 39-73. https://doi.org/10.3897/VCS.119253

EDGG Field Workshop Coordinators:

Local organizers of the 20th EDGG Field Workshop:

Local organizers of the 21st EDGG Field Workshop: