2nd International Congress of Alpine and Arctic Botanical Gardens

Introduction
Alpine and Arctic Botanical Gardens are an extraordinary set of gardens, with their own history,
outstanding collections, and specific challenges. To share knowledge and experiences within their
field, the first Congress of Alpine and Arctic Botanical Gardens (“AABG I”) was held in Lautaret in 2006.
In 2009, Munich proudly hosted the second congress (“AABG II”).
A participant of the previous meeting was Jean Zollinger, the curator of La Rambertia, Switzerland, who
died in 2008. With him, the community lost an open-minded friend and committed colleague, and it is
an honour to dedicate this congress to him.
In total, more than 30 participants joined AABG II, representing 19 Botanic Gardens from nine European
nations. As agreed during the first meeting, AABG II was scheduled before the start of the main
gardening season to also enable staff of smaller gardens to join the congress.
The meeting was opened with a ‘who’s who’ of the participants, each giving a brief presentation of his or
her garden, with a focus on those who were not presented in major talks during the sessions. From North
to South, the participating gardens were:
Norway: Tromsø, Kongsvoll
Germany: Brockengarten, Schachen
Austria: Vorderkaiserfelden, Kitzbüheler Horn, Patscherkofel
Switzerland: Schynige Platte, La Rambertia, Schatzalp
France: Lautaret, Haut Chitelet
Italy: Viotte, Monte Baldo, Saussurea
Slovenia: Juliana
Georgia: Bakuriani
As associated guests, Jardin Botanique Paris and Royal Botanic Gardens Kew also sent representatives to
the Congress.
The AABG II programme consisted of five sessions chaired by Serge Aubert, Costa Bonomi, Arve
Elvebakk, and Andreas Gröger. Special enrichments to the programme were slide shows on the flora and
natural habitats of various alpine and arctic environments. These presentations covered the following
regions: Lesotho (J. Wainwright-Klein), the Caucasus (A. Gröger), Patagonia (R. Douzet), New Zealand
(A. Humburg), and Svalbard (A. Elvebakk). There also were guided tours to the alpine collections of
Munich Botanic Garden and an excursion to the nature reserve ‘Garchinger Heide.’
The Munich staff thanks our colleagues and friends from other gardens for their continuing support,
which made the event possible. Special thanks are due to Serge Aubert. It is our hope and conviction
that AABG II will have contributed to the long-term interactions between European Alpine and Arctic
Botanic Gardens.
Susanne Renner
Andreas Gröger
Jenny Wainwright-Klein
(Botanischer Garten München-Nymphenburg)
Introduction
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