Welcome to this March 2022 issue of the ialeUK newsletter. The shocking events unfolding in Ukraine over the last month highlight starkly the contested nature of land, as well as how inter-connected our human societies are. The war in Ukraine, among other uncertainties, has led to the forthcoming forthcoming IALE European Congress being moved online. It's well worth reading the conference organisers full statement on Russia's invasion of Ukraine here, which concludes: 'The IALE community has always been inclusive and open to all scientists and we look forward to sharing our scientific research with the whole international community of landscape ecologists in a more peaceful future. We stand with the people of Ukraine and all whose lives have been devestated by this war'.
As ialeUK seeks to continue building the landscape ecology community here in the UK we're delighted to welcome a new Postgraduate Research Highlights feature in this issue. Thanks to our new postgraduate representative, Caitlin Lewis, for coordinating and editing this article. We also have a reflection on last year's Landscape Ecology of Woodland, Forests and Trees conference from Becks Spake, for whom this was a first IALE event.
Understanding land systems and using land wisely is, as a new paper entitled 10 Facts About Land explains, essential to meeting the existential challenges facing humanity. We reflect on this paper in a short article and would gratefully receive suggestions of other significant recent papers to highlight in future editions of the newsletter. Finally, James Millington reports on the publication of the new Routledge Handbook of Landscape Ecology.
We always welcome comments, suggestions or offers of contributions for forthcoming issues of the newsletter. Please send these to us by email at newsletter@iale.uk.