6th?meeting of the EWRS working group??Weeds and biodiversity??Riga, Latvia?28 – 29 September 2016
Dear Colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that 6th?meeting of the EWRS working group ?Weeds and biodiversity? will be held from 28?to 29 September 2016 in Riga, Latvia.
AIM
The aim of the meeting is to learn about the latest research and exchange of knowledge among?weed?scientists, with regard to the services provided by biodiversity in agro-ecosystems and their conservation.
Topics will include:
- Farming systems and arable weed diversity;
- Biological interactions in agroecosystems & Weed seed predation;
- Rare species & The role of rare and infrequent species in regional weed communities;
- Alternative crops to increase biodiversity in agricultural land;
- Arable weeds and other indicators of the sustainability of agriculture;
- Training session: Weed identification.
We look forward to receive your contributions and hope to meet you all in Riga.
Local organizer: Zane Mintale (zane.mintale@laapc.lv; +371 26334338)
Scientific organizer and Chairman of the Working group: Paula Westerman (paula.westerman@uni-rostock.de)
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2nd circular of the workshop is available here?2nd_circular_riga_09_09_16.
Proceedings of the workshop are now available here?ewrs_biodiversity_riga_proceedings_2016
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THE VENUE
The meeting will take place at the Days Hotel Riga VEF (http://dayshotelriga.com/en). This hotel is located 5 km (a 15-minute drive) from the city centre and can be reached easily by public transport.
The meeting will be organized by Latvian Plant Protection Research Centre (LPPRC) which has more than 100 years of experience in plant protection. Today LPPRC belongs to the Latvia University of Agriculture and is the official GEP unit and leading organization in Latvia conducting plant protection product efficacy trials.
Currently, scientific research covers four main areas of research: weed research, horticultural crop pathology, field crop pathology and entomology.
Riga, the capital of Latvia, is the pearl both of Latvia and the whole of the Baltics. Riga is included in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage list. It is located in the central part of the country, on the south coast of the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of our largest river, the Daugava. Riga is home for more than 690,000 inhabitants and is the largest city in the Baltic States.
Riga is also known as the pearl of architecture ? it is famous for its Old Town and city centre, in which over 800 buildings are of the Art Nouveau (Jugendstil) style of architecture, as well as for ?wooden architecture?which has survived for centuries.
ACCOMMODATION
Days Hotel Riga VEF will offer accommodation for the meeting participants at negotiated rates (Single room: 40 EUR, Double room 45 EUR – prices including breakfast and VAT) if booking requested.
Please express your need for room reservation in Days Hotel Riga VEF in registration form until 1st?April 2016.
Days Hotel Riga VEF offer a free parking for overstaying clients with car.
Distances from the hotel:
- Bus Terminal ? 5 km (a 15-minute drive)
- Railway Terminal ? 5 km (a 15-minute drive)
- Passenger Port ? 5 km (a 15-minute drive)
- Airport ? 17 km (a 30-minute drive)
- Old Town ? 4 km (a 10-minute drive)
Other hotels can be found and booked via Riga tourist information webpages:?www.liveriga.com or via the booking.com:?www.booking.com.
TRAVEL
By plane
Riga (capital city), which can be easily reached via direct or connected flights from many European airports. The Latvian national airline, airBaltic, provides easy and convenient connections to all of the major airports in Europe and the CIS countries. Riga International Airport?is only ten kilometres south-west of Riga city centre. Check http://www.riga-airport.com/en and https://www.airbaltic.com/en/index.
Travelling from Riga International Airport (RIX) to Days Hotel Riga VEF:
- The bus stop is opposite the airport. Take bus No. 22;
- Get off at stop “Autoosta”;
- From there, take bus No. 21?and get off at stop “VEF”;
- Cross the street through the pedestrian tunnel, and you will find yourself at ?Days Hotel Riga VEF?.
By ferry
Ferry connections to Riga are available from Stockholm. Tallink?operates daily ferry connections from Stockholm to Riga. The ferry terminal building is located at 1 Eksporta Street, within walking distance of the Old Town. See more at: http://www.latvia.travel/en/city/riga-8#sthash.S57TSZKs.dpuf
By bus
Bus connections to Riga are available from Berlin, Hamburg, Warsaw, Prague, Pskov, Kiev, Grodno, Vilnius, Tallinn, St Petersburg, Moscow, Kaliningrad, Minsk, and many other international cities. Check: http://www.autoosta.lv/?lang=en.
Travelling from Riga International bus terminal to Days Hotel Riga VEF:
- Walk to the public transport stop in front of “Stockmann” shopping-centre;
- Take bus No. 21?and get off at stop “VEF”;
- Cross the street through the pedestrian tunnel, and you will find yourself at ?Days Hotel Riga VEF?.
By car
The major highways connect Riga with Tallinn, St Petersburg, Moscow, Kaunas, and Vilnius. The northern and southern road links have recently been modernised.
You can easily reach the meeting place from the city centre by public transport (check: https://www.rigassatiksme.lv/en/):
Buses No. 1, 14, 16, 21, 40;
Trolleybuses No.: 12, 14, 17;
Trams No.: 3, 6.
Costs of one ride in public transport
Ticket for 1 trip if e-talon card?is purchased in advance from a ticket office, vending machine, press kiosk or Narvesen?shop: 1.15 EUR.
Ticket for 1 trip if paid on board to the driver (cash only): 2.00 EUR.
PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME
Day 1 (Wednesday 28 September)
9.00-13.00 Scientific programme
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-17.00 Scientific programme
17.00-18.00 Sub-group meetings
20.00 Dinner in the old city centre
Day 2 (Thursday 29 September)
9.00-13.00 Scientific programme
13.00-14.00 Lunch
14.00-17.00 Training session: Weed identification
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COSTS
| EWRS Member | Non-member* | |
| Regular | 100 EUR | 160 EUR |
| Student (MSc-PhD) | 60 EUR | 90 EUR |
* The difference in fees between members and non-members is the cost of a yearly membership to the EWRS.
The registration fee will cover the costs for the book of abstracts, lunches, coffee breaks and dinner on Wednesday evening.
The registration fee won?t cover accommodation and travel expenses.
TRAVEL GRANTS FOR YOUNG SCIENTISTS
To encourage young scientists to attend the meeting, subsidies for young scientists are being made available through the EWRS. They can be applied for by sending an e-mail to paula.westerman@uni-rostock.de. Young scientists (i.e. Master-students, PhD-students and scientists younger than 35 years of age) that are giving a presentation (oral or poster) at the workshop can receive a refund that will cover part of their accommodation and travel expenses. The maximum amount of the refund will be based on the number of applicants, but cannot exceed ?500. If the applicant is not a EWRS-member, an amount equal to the yearly EWRS fee (?30 for students and ?60 for regular members) will be deducted from the subsidy, and the applicant will be enrolled in EWRS. No travel grant will be awarded if the applicant has previously received a EWRS travel grant to attend a workshop.
Applications need to include:
- A short motivation letter
- A curriculum vitae
- An estimate of the costs for travel and accommodation
- A statement from the home institute that they will cover the remainder of the expenses for travel and accommodation, should the travel grant be awarded.
Guidelines for the preparation of the abstract (see template)
- The title of the presentation (font: Arial 14 pt bold)
- Name and affiliation of the authors
- 250 words abstract (font: Arial 11 pt)
- No tables or graphs.
- Paragraphs must be separated by a blank line.
IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES
1st March
- Registrations starts (please send filled registration forms to zane.mintale@laapc.lv)
1st April
- Deadline for registration
- Deadline for student application for travel grants to paula.westerman@uni-rostock.de
1st June
- Deadline for abstract submission to paula.westerman@uni-rostock.de
- Deadline for payment of registration fee (you will receive invoice after registration)
15th July
- Deadline for submission of final abstracts to zane.mintale@laapc.lv
- Second circular containing provisional scientific programme
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The 6th meeting of the EWRS working group “Weeds and biodiversity” is supported by Bayer CropScience and BASF.
Please go online at http://ewrs.org/Biodiversity_2016/ to obtain the most recent information concerning the workshop.