Aula Magna “A. Quistelli” Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria
Wednesday, 2nd September 2026
08:30 – 09:30 Registration
09:30 – 10:00 Opening ceremony and institutional greetings
Prof. Giuseppe Zimbalatti
Magnificent Chancellor of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria
Prof. Marco Poiana
Director of the AGRARIA Department
Prof. Massimo Finocchiaro Castro
Director of the DiGiES Department
Prof. Antonella Canini
President of Italian Botanical Society
Other institutional representatives to be confirmed
In memory of Sandro Pignatti
(Chairpersons: F. Pedrotti and F.M. Raimondo)
10:00 – 10:30 Enrico Feoli
10:30 – 11:00 Coffee Break
I Symposium
PLANT DIVERSITY AND BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
IN A CHANGING WORLD
(Chairpersons: A. Chiarucci and G. Domina)
Key words: Plant conservation, Climate change, Land-use change, Archaeobotany, Biological invasion, Natural selection, Taxonomic advances, Vegetation, Functional traits and Life strategies, Agrobiodiversity, Biodiversity informatics, Phylogeography, Plant macroecology, Biodiversity modelling (SDMs – Species Distribution Models), Conservation policies, CITES
11:00 – 11:35 Invited lecture: Thomas Wohlgemuth, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL (25 + 10 min)
“Global change effects on plant species are context-dependent”
11:35 – 13:00 Communications (10 + 5 min)
13:00 – 14:30 Lunch break
14:30 – 16:30 Communications (10 + 5 min)
16:30 – 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 – 19:00 Public event (in Italian)
ALBERI MONUMENTALI E BOSCHI VETUSTI
UN PATRIMONIO DA CONOSCERE E PROTEGGERE
(Chairperson: F. Tarantino)
19:00 – 20:30 Folk concert and welcome cocktail
Thursday, 3rd September 2026
II Symposium
PLANT AND HABITAT MONITORING
(Chairpersons: R. Canullo)
Key words: Bioindicators, Natura 2000 Network, EEC 42/93 Habitat Directive, Plant and community dynamics, Phytoremediation, Habitat restoration, Conservation priorities and Habitat assessments, Red list, Field and remote monitoring, Floristic knowledge, Forestry, Monumental trees, Old growth forests, Palynology, Vegetation resurvey, Long-term ecological monitoring, Citizen science in plant monitoring, Forest ecology and management
9:00 – 9:35 Invited lecture: František Máliš, University in Zvolen, Slovakia (25 + 10 min)
“Europe-wide spatial patterns of forest vegetation responses to environmental changes”
9:35 – 10:35 Communications (10 + 5 min)
10:35 – 11:00 Coffee Break
III Symposium
BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS
(Chairpersons: to be defined)
Key words: Interspecific and Intraspecific Interactions, Plant–Microbe Interactions, Reproductive Strategies, Pollination, Facilitation, Competition, Applied symbiotic interactions, Functional and integrative biology, Plant–soil feedback, Trophic networks, Co-evolution, Chemical ecology, Invasion ecology
11:00 – 13:00 Communications (10 + 5 minutes)
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
14:00 – 16:30 Public event (in Italian)
RESTORATION ECOLOGY, REGOLAMENTO PER IL RIPRISTINO
DELLA NATURA E PIANO DELLA NATURA PER IL FUTURO DELLE CITTÀ
(Chairperson: C. Blasi)
16:30 – 17:00 Coffee Break
17:00 – 18:30 General Meeting of the Italian Botanical Society (members only)
19:00 – 20:00 Guided City Tour (to be confirmed)
21:00 Congress Social Dinner
Friday, 4th September 2026
IV Symposium
PLANT CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY,
GENETICS AND BIOTECHNOLOGIES
(Chairpersons: A.M. Mercuri)
Key words: Plant breeding, Gene regulation, Genome editing, Stress responses, Plant growth, Morphogenesis, Biotechnologies, Transcriptomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Epigenetics, Single-cell biology, Plant signaling pathways, Plant developmental genetics, Synthetic biology, Plant phenotyping platforms, Conservation genomics
9:00 – 10:45 Communications
10:45 – 11:15 Coffee Break
V Symposium
ETHNOBOTANY AND NATURAL PRODUCTS
THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY
(Chairpersons: M.P. Germanò)
Key words: Biomolecules, Plant products, Plant biostimulants, Medicinal plants, Food plants, Cultural heritage, Phytochemistry, Plant metabolites, Chemotaxonomy, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Sustainable harvesting, Green extraction technologies, Pharmacognosy, Nutraceuticals, Crop Wild Relatives, Agroecology
11:15 – 11:50 Invited lecture: Milen I. Georgiev, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (25 + 10 min)
“Unveiling аnti-obesity and longevity potential of natural products”
11:50 – 12:50 Communications
12:50 – 14:00 Lunch break
PARALLEL SESSIONS OF ORAL POSTER PRESENTATIONS 1
14:00 – 15:45 Oral poster presentations (2 + 1 minutes) in 4 parallel sessions
Parallel session A1 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
1.1 Plant conservation, 1.2 Climate change, 1.3 Land-use change, 1.4 Archaeobotany, 1.5 Biological invasion, 1.6 Natural selection, 1.7 Taxonomic advances, 1.8 Vegetation, 1.9 Functional traits and Life strategies, 1.10 Agrobiodiversity
Parallel session B1 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
2.1 Bioindicators, 2.2 Natura 2000 Network, 2.3 EEC 42/93 Habitat Directive, 2.4 Plant and community dynamics, 2.5 Phytoremediation, 2.6 Habitat restoration, 2.7 Conservation priorities and Habitat assessments, 2.8 Red lists, 2.9 Field and remote monitoring, 2.10 Floristic knowledge, , 2.14 Palynology, 2.15 Vegetation resurvey, 2.16 Long-term ecological monitoring, 2.17 Citizen science in plant monitoring
Parallel session C1 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
3.1 Interspecific and Intraspecific Interactions, 3.2 Plant–Microbe Interactions, 3.3 Reproductive Strategies, 3.4 Pollination, 3.5 Facilitation, 3.6 Competition, 3.7 Applied symbiotic interactions, 3.8 Functional and integrative biology, 3.9 Plant–soil feedback, 3.10 Trophic networks, 3.11 Co-evolution, 3.12 Chemical ecology, 3.13 Invasion ecology
Parallel session D1 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
4.1 Plant breeding, 4.2 Gene regulation, 4.3 Genome editing, 4.4 Stress responses, 4.5 Plant growth, 4.6 Morphogenesis, 4.7 Biotechnologies, 4.8 Transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, 4.9 Epigenetics, 4.10 Single-cell biology, 4.11 Plant signaling pathways, 4.12 Plant developmental genetics, 4.13 Synthetic biology, 4.14 Plant phenotyping platforms, 4.15 Conservation genomics
15:45 – 16:00 Coffee Break
PARALLEL SESSIONS OF ORAL POSTER PRESENTATIONS 2
16:00 – 17.00 Oral poster presentations (2 + 1 minutes) in 4 parallel sessions
Parallel session A2 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
1.11 Biodiversity informatics, 1.12 Phylogeography, 1.13 Plant macroecology, 1.14 Biodiversity modelling (SDMs – Species Distribution Models), 1.15 Conservation policies, 1.16 CITES
Parallel session B2 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
2.11 Forestry, 2.12 Monumental trees, 2.13 Old growth forests, 2.18 Forest ecology and management
Parallel session C2 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
5.1 Biomolecules, 5.2 Plant products, 5.3 Plant bio stimulants, 5.7 Phytochemistry, 5.8 Plant metabolites, 5.9 Chemotaxonomy, 5.12 Green extraction technologies, 5.13 Pharmacognosy, 5.14 Nutraceuticals, 5.15 Crop Wild Relatives
Parallel session D2 (Chairpersons: to be defined)
5.6 Cultural heritage, 5.10 Traditional Ecological Knowledge, 5.11 Sustainable harvesting, 5.4 Medicinal plants, 5.5 Food plants
17.00 Italian Botanical Society awards
17:15 Introduction to the excursion
17:30 Congress Closure
Saturday, 5th September 2026
Post-Congress Event
09:00 – 16:00 Field trip in the Aspromonte National Park
N.B. The timetable may be modified
