SLU hosts record breaking environmental science conference

BIOGEOMON has brought together researchers studying the biogeochemistry of soils and aquatic environments since 1987. This year, the conference is coming to Sweden for the first time, hosted by the Department of Forest Ecology and Management at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU in Umeå.

The week will feature an intense and diverse program. Hundreds of scientific presentations will take place in ten parallel lecture halls, while networking and career events will be held at the student union building. One full day will be devoted to excursions to SLU’s nearby experimental research facilities. On Friday, the conference will conclude with workshops on topics ranging from peatland formation since the inland ice sheet, to the role of bubbles in flowing water.

– The natural processes move seamlessly across different systems. That is why it is important to create a forum where researchers in different fields working in different ecosystems can meet. We hope this year's conference can continue this tradition with a diverse and exciting program, says Kevin Bishop, Professor at the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, SLU, who are co-hosting the conference.

Changing ecosystems in focus

SLU in Umeå has a lot to offer to the international research community. Not least the extensive infrastructure within the Krycklan Catchment Study, a large scale living laboratory built up over many years outside Vindeln, an hours drive from Umeå. It constitutes a northern node for the international environmental research tirelessly collecting data and creating new knowledge on the soil, forst, water and atmosphere. Through decades of monitoring and trials the researchers have been able to see clearly how the changing climate is also affecting the processes in the landscape.

– Our ecosystems are changing, not only in our part of the world, but globally. That is why we chose the theme ‘Ecosystems in Transition’ for this year’s conference, says Hjalmar Laudon, Professor of Forest Biogeochemistry and head of the Department of Forest Ecology and Management, SLU.

– This will be a great opportunity for us to show our work and share knowledge to better understand how to manage these challenges in the future says Hjalmar Laudon.