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4th International Meeting on the Biology of SphagnumAlaska 2008This meeting intended to promote collaboration among those interested in the biology of Sphagnum and the ecology of Sphagnum-dominated peatlands.We met in southern Alaska, from August 2 to August 11, 2008.
Updated symposium program can be downloaded here (pdf file, 333KB). Program: A general outline of the meeting plan is provided below.
Southern Alaska is extremely diverse in both wetland habitats and Sphagnum species. Some representative photographs of the Sphagnum-dominated wetlands we visited can be viewed below. For a detailed classification and descriptions of the wetland ecosystems and plant communities of the Kenai Peninsula Lowlands see Mike Gracz's excellent website at http://www.kenaiwetlands.net.
Financial Support for Students: Partial funding for this meeting was being provided by Peatnet (http://www.peatnet.siu.edu/). In addition to general funds to support the meeting and reduce costs to participants (incorporated into the ‘discount’ cost given above), grants were available to students from the United States to offset additional travel expenses to attend. Eligible students included U.S. citizens and permanent residents, as well as foreign students enrolled in U.S. universities. Some funding was also available to supplement expenses incurred by non-U.S. students by Richard Andrus. The organizing committee - Jon Shaw, Blanka Shaw, Karen Golinski, and Dick Andrus - gratefully acknowledge the administrative assistance of Sandi Vitt and financial support received from the PEATNET network through Dale Vitt (Department of Plant Biology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901). We thank Ellen Anderson, Estrella Campellone, John DeLapp, and Ed Berg for helping us with local arrangements. Ed Berg (U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, Kenai Wildlife Refuge, Soldotna, AK) and Steven Talbot (U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK) were excellent guides through the area.
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