IOS Sections -> Ecology

IOS Section Ecology

Coordinator: Dipl.-Biol. Detlev Metzing, AG Pflanzenoekologie, FB Biologie, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Universität, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany. Tel.: 49 441 7983342; Fax: 49 42301571. E-mail:

Ecology of succulents – a new IOS section founded

The IOS was founded in 1950 with the aim “… to promote the study and conservation of succulent and allied plants and to encourage international co-operation amongst those interested in them.” (SMITH & al. 1999 in Taxon 48: 715-720. 1999). Although taxonomy and systematics became the main focus of IOS during the following decades, supplemented by conservation in more recent times, ecological topics were present at most congresses, too. A former section “Ecophysiology”, founded in 1982, was disbanded by the 20th IOS Congress in Harare because of the revised Sectional Organization [cf. IOS-Bulletin 4(2): 51. 1983, 4(7): 238. 1988]. However, as the diversity of plant life is a result of their response to the environment, ecological studies will give us insights into evolutionary and systematical questions. Understanding the ecology and the processes are basics for the protection of succulent biodiversity. On the other hand, ecological research(ers) may profit by the systematic knowledge already present within IOS. Hence it has been proposed to establish a new section “Ecology” to promote research and to stimulate discussion and communication between different disciplines of succulent biology [cf. IOS-Bulletin 6(2): 74-75. 1996, 10: 38. 2002].

The section has now been constituted formally at the IOS Congress in Hamburg.

To organize symposia about ecological themes at the IOS Congresses will be the next step of the section “Ecology”. Therefore already the congress in Hamburg had a focus on ecological aspects of succulent plant biology, ranging from ecophysiology, pollination biology, biogeography, vegetation science and effects of global change. We see that there is a high research interest in ecology of succulents and hope, that the new section will bring new aspects as well as new members into IOS.
At the section meeting in the congress the goals and potential activities were discussed. No special research activity or program has been initiated by the young section yet. As mentioned above, we see our first task in the organization of ecological symposia during the next IOS Congresses. A further suggestion was to arrange symposia about ecology of succulent plants even for congresses of other organizations or institutions, to bring in people which are (already) not involved in IOS. Let`s bring the people together!
But here we would like to invite the IOS members interested in succulent ecology to join the new section and to bring in your ideas, activities and suggestions – please contact the section coordinators (email: detlev.metzing@uni-oldenburg.de).

Detlev Metzing & Maik Veste