Supported by the Sino-German Center for Research Promotion, the Sino-German Symposium on ※Biodiversity‑Ecosystem Functioning research in subtropical forests§ was held in Wuyuan, Jiangxi, China from October 26th to 29th, 2013.
The symposium was orgnized by Prof. Keping Ma (Insitute of Botany, Chinese Acedemy of Sciences), Prof. Helge Bruelheide (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg) and Prof. Bernhard Schmid (University of Zurich) with the aim to interact and bring together European and Chinese scientists from various disciplines working on biodiversity每ecosystem functioning in Chinese subtropical forests (BEF-China) .
This Symposium brought together 18 scientists from Germany and Swizerland and 25 scientists from China to discuss and devise synthesis approaches of multidisciplinary BEF research. Most of the participants of the symposium are members of the DFG Research Unit BEF-China, a joint Sino-German-Swiss consortium, currently funded by German Research Foundation (DFG) as Research Unit FOR 891/2 (※The role of shrub and tree diversity for production, erosion control, element cycling, and species conservation in Chinese subtropical forest ecosystems§). Forty-three scientists summarized their research progress in the second stage of BEF-China and present their proposal for the next stage. About 10 young scientists and PhD students also joined the symposium. Dr. Qing Chang, the Chinese director of SGC introduced the Sino-German Center and gave a wish to further cooperation between German and Chinese groups.
The partipants made an excursion to the experimental site in Xingangshan, Dexing, Jiangxi after the meeting.