Meelis and Riin represented our workgroup at the annual International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS) symposium. The conference was held between 14-18 July in Bremen, Germay. The whole week was filled with interesting talks and poster presentations as well as excursions to heathlands or wetlands near Bremen. Meelis organised a special session 'Macroecological vegetation science: large grain patterns and processes of plant diversity' and Riin presented new findings about the macroecology of nitrogen-fixing plants.