Invitation from the organizers

The Chinese botanical community invites you to Shenzhen, China in July 2017 to participate in the XIX International Botanical Congress. The community grows enormously in the past decades in number of members, capability of creativeness, and importance in international biological sciences. Developing international collaboration is a basic strategy of its members for mutual benefits and discovering integrated solutions for addressing global issues.

The Chinese flora, with over 50% endemics, amazing clusters of species in many genera, and archaic species persisting only in China, and vegetation, with a smooth series of transitional zones connecting tropical, subtropical, temperate, and boreal forests, will be very intriguing and exciting for botanical visitors.

The Chinese botanical community welcomes scientists and students from around the world to the 2017 IBC for a wonderful congress.

The International Botanical Congress (IBC) is a major convention of scientists from around the world to discuss new research in the plant sciences. The IBC is held only once every six years, and last met in Australia in 1981. These Congresses are particularly notable in that they bring together scientists not only from many countries, but also from many disciplines within the broad research field of plant science, including botany, mycology, plant ecology, horticulture, agriculture, and related fields. The increasing knowledge about plants—their history, growth, uses, interactions with other organisms, and roles in the ecosystem—is becoming progressively important to the stability and sustainability of the human endeavor and, indeed, of all life on Earth.

The XVIII IBC will be held under the auspices of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), through the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) of the IUBS. The XVIII IBC in Australia will be organized by many members of the botanical community, including botanical, mycological, and ecological societies, universities, botanical research institutions, and other sponsors. The first circular will be sent in 2009 to all botanists and institutions through society mailing lists or on request.

IABMS comprises all international organizations with interests in botany and mycology that are scientific members adhering to the International Union of Biological Societies (IUBS). Prof. Dr. Marianne Popp, University of Vienna, and Prof. Dr. Michael Hesse, University of Vienna, Presidents, IBC XVII, will serve as ex officio Presidents of the IABMS board until the midpoint before the 2011 XVIII IBC, after which time Dr Judy West, Australian National Herbarium, CSIRO, Canberra, President, IBC XVIII, will serve. Other board members are the presidents or other representatives of the societies. Currently, there are twenty three IABMS members. Officers elected at XVII 19 July 2005 at Vienna, Austria, are Meredith Blackwell <[email protected]>, Chair, and David Mabberley <[email protected]>, Secretary, who will serve until the next International Botanical Congress in 2011.

Cited from the webpage at http://lsb380.plbio.lsu.edu/IABMS/IABMS.home