RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM | Alpine plants: evolution and challenges of life at high altitudes
July 5 – 8, 2026
125th anniversary of the Alpine Garden on the Schachen, Wetterstein Range
High altitude ecosystems are affected by extreme environmental conditions. Yet they are important wilderness areas that harbour a considerable share of the world’s plant diversity. The symposium offers a platform to explore up-to-date research on ecology, evolution and systematics of plants at high altitudes. The focus is on the dynamics of subalpine and alpine ecosystems, to foster the understanding of their diversity mechanisms and to contribute to their conservation.
July 5, 2026
BOTANICAL GARDEN MUNICH-NYMPHENBURG
Welcome evening
5.00 pm
Public evening lecture (in German)
6.30 pm
„Die Welt der Alpen im Wandel“
Prof. em. Dr. Christian Körner (University of Basel)
July 6, 2026
BOTANICAL GARDEN MUNICH-NYMPHENBURG
Morning session – 5 talks
9.00 am
Keynote by Prof. Dr. Jake Alexander (ETH Zurich)
“Lags in mountain plant responses to climate
change“
Afternoon session – 4 talks
2.00 pm
Keynote by Dr. Felix Gugerli Künzle
(Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL)
“Genomic signatures of adaptation in plants in
response to environmental variation in space
and time“
July 7, 2026
SCHACHEN, WETTERSTEIN RANGE
Hiking tour to the Alpine Garden
7.00 am
Poster presentations along the way
and at the Alpine Garden
July 8, 2026
BOTANICAL GARDEN MUNICH-NYMPHENBURG
Morning session – 5 talks
9.00 am
Keynote by Dr. Pau Canicero Campmany
(Universitat Autónoma de Barcelona)
„Drivers of Intraspecific Diversity in High-Elevation Plants: Insights from the Iberian Peninsula to the Alps“
Lunch & Farewell
1.00 pm