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| Aerial view of the Park Grass Experiment |
Full programme, please click here (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)
Registration form (PDF)
Photo gallery of the Park Grass experiment.
Click here to download the Adobe Acrobat PDF reader
2006 sees the 150th anniversary of the world-famous Park Grass experiment based at Rothamsted Research in the UK. It is the longest standing ecological experiment of its kind, and continues to exemplify the value of long-term studies to investigate effects of biotic and abiotic factors on population dynamics, above- and below-ground community composition and microevolutionary change. To commemorate this milestone, Rothamsted is to host an international symposium exploring the role and applications of long-term ecological research, and the exploitation of resulting datasets. The symposium will highlight experiments already underway but will also review opportunities for establishing new experiments as an investment for future generations of ecologists and society as a whole.
The symposium, which commences after registration and lunch on Monday 22nd May 2006 and concludes in the afternoon of Wednesday 24th May, will include three sessions of invited oral presentations, covering a range of perspectives and scales.
Session 1 will review results from the Park Grass experiment itself with a particular emphasis on recent studies of soils and plants and include contributions from Mick Crawley (Imperial College), Jonathan Silvertown (Open University), Keith Goulding, David Powlson, Paul Poulton, Ian Woiwod and Richard Harrington (all Rothamsted Research).
Session 2 will widen the picture geographically with presentations from five of the world's foremost plant ecologists, Dave Tilman (University of Minnesota), Steve Hubbell (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute), Bernhard Schmid (University of Zurich), David Wardle (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) and Phil Grime (University of Sheffield) are all scheduled to contribute.
Session 3 will look at classic long-term studies of other trophic levels including Darwin's finches and red deer on Rhum, and include contributions from Peter Grant (Princeton University), Ilkka Hanski (University of Helsinki), Karl Ugland (University of Oslo), Charles Godfray (Imperial College) and Tim Coulson (Imperial College).
The delegate fee for this land mark event, to include the workshop and the celebratory banquet but excluding accommodation, is £250. To book your place, please download, print and then complete and return (by mail or fax) the registration form which can be accessed by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page. (Early booking is recommended to avoid disappointment).
Offers of posters are invited from conference delegates for the poster session on Monday 22nd May.
Discounted accommodation has been arranged at a local hotel (further details can be found on the registration form), and coaches will transfer you to and from the Rothamsted Conference Centre at specified times each day. You are more than welcome to find an alternative hotel should you wish to do so, but in so doing, you would need to arrange your own transport.
If you experience any difficulties in accessing or downloading this information, then please do not hesitate to contact us via e-mail: rothamsted.parkgrass@rothamsted.ac.uk