ATBC Councilor (2010-2011) and Member of the ATBC Gender Committee Prof. Beth Kaplin from Antioch University New England Keene, USA, will be keynote speaker at the Annual Conference of the Society for Tropical Ecology (gtö) to be held from February 22 to 25, 2012 in Erlangen, Germany. The theme of the meeting is "Islands in land- and seascape; the Challenge of Fragmentation". Website

• The importance of buffer zones in mediating edge effects on ecological processes in forest islands surrounded by a sea of agriculture by Beth Kaplin. (Photo : Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda with by tea plantation at edge. © Tropicalbio.org)

• Symposium "Capacity Building and Empowerment in Tropical Ecology and Conservation: How Can we Make Tropical Conservation Research and Practice more Effective?" organized by Beth Kaplin et al. ATBC2012, Bonito, Brazil

Forest Ecology and Management is an international journal that publishes scientific articles that link forest ecology with forest management, and that apply biological and ecological knowledge to the management and conservation of man-made and natural forests. The scope of the journal includes all forest ecosystems of the world. The journal is publishing in the volume 268 (14 March 2012) a Special Issue: Multiple Use of Tropical Forests: From Concept to Reality edited by Manuel Guariguata (CIFOR) and Plinio Sist (CIRAD). Guariguata et al. (2012) write "This Special Issue is intended to further contribute to the knowledge related to biophysical, institutional, regulatory and socio-economic aspects influencing the design, implementation and effectiveness of multiple use management throughout the forested tropics."

• Reprint of: Multiple use management of tropical production forests: How can we move from concept to reality? By Manuel R. Guariguata, Plinio Sist & Robert Nasi

The 42nd Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland (Gfö) will be held in Lüneburg between 10- 14 September 2012. (Chairs : Alexandra Klein & Henrik von Wehrden). Two former ATBC Presidents (Pierre-Michel Forget and Nigel Stork) have been invited as Keynote speakers. The guiding theme of the meeting is "From basic ecology to the challenges of modern society". Along the lines of this guiding theme, we will stimulate scientific discussions about all aspects in basic and applied research contributing to solve ecological challenges or help to understand the direct or indirect ecological consequences of human impact. The meeting aims at linking ecological challenges caused by human impact like all facets of global environmental changes to the full scope of ecological research at the different scales of organization (from molecules and genes to landscapes). In this sense, we will appreciate to receive research including contributions of non-ecological disciplines (inter-disciplinary) or research aiming to implement stakeholders’ perspectives (trans-disciplinary) besides disciplinary contributions. The deadline for call for sessions has been extended to February 15, 2012. Meeting Website