From acid rain to the anthropocene: 37 years of BIOGEOMON part 1—history and impact

The 11 BIOGEOMON (International Symposium on Ecosystem Behavior) conferences span 37 years of research in ecosystem science. Here we discuss the history of BIOGEOMON in two parts. In Part 1 we focus on the structure of the conference over the years: its inception, the demographics of attendees, the major biomes and ecosystems studied, and the evolution of dominant topics and themes. We argue that the fundamental goal of understanding the response of ecosystems to perturbations has remained the same over the meetings, but the drivers of change focused upon have evolved over time, reflecting the emergence of new issues and the development of scientific understanding. Each conference is therefore partly a snapshot of the important topics of the day, and partly the core themes that define BIOGEOMON: the cycling and transformations of the major biogeochemical elements on land, and the investigative techniques of monitoring, modelling, and catchment manipulation. We conclude with some reflections on the conference from BIOGEOMON attendees over the years.