The main topic for the26th EVS congress is:

Diversity patterns across communities in the frame of global change: conservation challenges

In Vegetation Science, the study of vegetation from the perspective of its diversity, environmental drivers, dynamism, relationships between organisms, together with applied issues such as management and conservation, encompasses the range of the permanent interests of scientists. However, in recent times some challenging phenomena influence the planning and targeting of our research, such as the global change and the urgent necessity for the conservation of biodiversity. In this context, we want to focus on several topics which are of special interest for our scientific community, such as:

• Assessment and conservation of European Habitats, which are absorbing the efforts of many European colleagues,
• Vegetation data sets: constraints and challenges, which are nowadays a solid foundation enabling important reviews of large vegetation units and have a promising future for macroecological studies,
• Vegetation evolution along time: vegetation dynamics and cultural history in Europe, the temporal perspective is always important in vegetation studies,
• Below ground ecology: Interactions between soil organisms and plant communities, a relatively new and promising field in ecology, fundamental for a more complete understanding of the ecosystem,
• Ecology and classification of European mires, as a particularly significant topic relevant for the conservation of those habitats all over Europe,
• Invasive species in plant communities: patterns, drivers and impacts, always relevant from the conservation point of view.

In addition to them, any other contribution in the frame of vegetation survey will be welcome.