In times of change and uncertainty it is even more important than under normal circumstances that the Ecological Society of Germany, Austria and Switzerland takes up important ecological topics with political relevance. It is equally important to create awareness about recent developments affecting ecosystems not only among its members but also among the scientific community as well as the general society. The conference motto ‘The future of sustainable land use across ecosystems, landscapes and biomes’ chosen by the Freising colleagues organising the conference meets this claim perfectly. Only few issues are of greater concern to scientific ecology and large parts of the public than the question of how land use can be designed in such a way that negative consequences for biodiversity and the functionality of ecosystems can be largely avoided.
