International Grassland Conference in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, July 15–17, 2025

The International Grassland Conference took place from July 15 to 17, 2025, at IMK-IFU/KIT in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and brought together 58 participants from academia, government agencies, and industry in Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.

The first day of the conference was devoted to scientific exchange and was conducted in English. In the four sessions

1.     Biogeochemical processes in grassland soils
2.     Biodiversity of plants and microbes
3.     Remote sensing and modeling
4.     Socioeconomics

keynote speech and other presentations provided insights into current research topics, respectively. Afterwards, a poster session with pretzels and drinks provided an opportunity for in-depth discussions.

The second day was devoted to an excursion. The participants first visited the re-grazing experiment at the Brunnenkopfalm, where project manager PD Dr. Michael Dannenmann and farmer Roman Bertl presented the background, objectives, and initial results. This was followed by a tour of the TERENO Pre-Alpine Observatory in Graswang, which provided insights into the long-term data collected there since 2009, which provides valuable foundations for researching the consequences of climate change for grassland management.

The third day of the conference was devoted to a German-language workshop focusing specifically on the concerns of practitioners and authorities. Following the presentation of key findings from grassland projects (SUSALPS, BLIK II, BioMON, KUHMUS_Beweidung), keynote speeches provided the framework for a lively discussion in the plenary session. It became clear that carbon storage in soils is a key area for action, but there are still major gaps in knowledge and financial incentives. On the other hand, adapted manure management, such as near-ground application or manure treatment, can already make a significant contribution to reducing nitrogen losses in grassland.