Impressions from the 20th EDGG Field Workshop (28 May to 6 June 2025) in the dry grasslands of the Maritime and Ligurian Alps, Italy

The 20th Field Workshop of the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) was held from 28 May to 6 June 2025 in the southwestern Italian Alps, covering the Maritime, Cottian and Ligurian Alps. The workshop focused on the field sampling of dry, rocky and meso-xeric grasslands across a broad elevational and environmental gradient. Participants surveyed a variety of vegetation types, including Festuco-Brometea and Sedo-Scleranthetea communities, Stipa-dominated grasslands, shrub-rich stands and high-elevation alpine grasslands. Standardized vegetation sampling, including biodiversity plots and conventional relevés, was combined with plant identification and the documentation of local floristic diversity. The expedition also provided opportunities to observe Western Alpine endemic species and to explore the relationships between grassland diversity, substrate, elevation and traditional mountain landscapes. This photo story presents highlights from the ten-day workshop, illustrating both the scientific activities and the landscapes, plants and collaborative field experience that characterised the expedition.