Last week marked another annual meeting of the Biodiversity Information Standards network, otherwise known as TDWG, with the Norwegian capital Oslo hosting the event between 20 and 25 September.
Last week marked another annual meeting of the Biodiversity Information Standards network, otherwise known as TDWG, with the Norwegian capital Oslo hosting the event between 21 and 25 September.
TDWG is the international, non-profit organisation formerly known as the Taxonomic Databases Working Group, which develops and maintains the standards, such as Darwin Core, that allow biodiversity data to be shared, integrated and understood across institutions worldwide.
The six-day programme was a meeting point for over 300 stakeholders from research, practitioner and corporate circles, with proceedings centred around one central topic – “Research and Robot-Ready Biodiversity Data Standards”. In that sense, the themes of accessibility, responsibility, innovation and collaboration were foremost on the minds of participants as they contemplated how information on the biosphere should be extracted, consolidated and shared in the years to come.
As a long-standing partner of TDWG, Pensoft Publishers served as both a sponsor and an exhibitor for the event. In the latter capacity, the company contributed with a joint booth for three of the EU-funded projects it is leading the outreach efforts for:
BMD – an initiative working towards a Biodiversity Explorer for high-throughput biodiversity monitoring tools, biodiversity data and biodiversity analyses for better conservation across Europe
TETTRIX – a new arrival building a next-generation taxonomic system connecting knowledge, expertise and innovation for all across the Old Continent
ANERIS – a pan-European effort to mobilise a network of operational marine biology via a new technological infrastructure
The Pensoft team at the joint booth of the BMD, TETTRIX and ANERIS projects.
A number of other projects from Pensoft’s communication portfolio also found a place in the display, including BEAGLE, OneSTOP, B-Cubed, MAMBO, OBSGESSION and BioAgora. Furthermore, 14 of the company’s journals were in the spotlight, including Biodiversity Information Science and Standards (BISS), the official journal of the TDWG community (where all of the conference’s abstracts are set to be published).
Crucially, the event also saw the official launch of ORPHO, Pensoft’s new collaborative workspace for scientific writing. Founder and CEO Prof. Lyubomir Penev and CTO Teodor Georgiev conducted live demos of the tool, showcasing how manuscripts crafted within it with full version control for authors become discoverable, interoperable and FAIR-compliant.
In the context of TDWG2026’s agenda, they also presented ORPHO’s integrated semantic annotation and communication instruments as part of the workshop “How Literature Services can Support & Benefit from Biodiversity Publication and Data Standards?” on 24 September. The workspace was received with anticipation and enthusiasm by attendees, with many expressing a desire to test it out for themselves.
They were also treated with a tease of Pensoft’s next large-scale endeavour, as Senior Communications Officer Peter Bozakov pulled the curtain behind the forthcoming communication platform for research projects Scientiana.
Pensoft’s CTO Teodor Georgiev introduces the collaborative scientific workspace ORPHO.
As for other notable contributions to the wider conference agenda by researchers affiliated with Pensoft’s publishing or project activities:
The session “Operationalising Biodiversity Digital Twins within Data Space Ecosystems”, which was co-led by BMD coordinator and long-time author and reviewer across several Pensoft journals, including Biodiversity Data Journal and Research Ideas and Outcomes, Niels Raes, and showcased a number of innovative outputs from the project. As such, it was an important occasion to assess the initiative’s progress towards unifying Europe’s Data Space within a single Biodiversity Explorer.
Niels Raes presenting “Mainstreaming high-throughput biodiversity monitoring using AI” at TDWG 2026.
The symposium “Publishing and Communications Promoting Biodiversity, Natural History Collections, People, Data and Data Standards”, for which Deborah Paul (co-Editor-in-Chief of the Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM) journal) had the role of co-organiser. Within it, the TETTRIX project’s vision for the automated tracking of taxonomic research activities was laid out by consortium member David Fichtmüller. Moreover, Shelley James (co-Editor-in-Chief for NHCM) delivered an insightful talk on the creative promotion of biodiversity data and standards for success and recognition.
Co-Editors-in-Chief of NHCM, Shelley James and Deborah Paul, presenting “Hit or miss? Creative promotion of biodiversity data and standards for success and recognition” at TDWG 2026.
Notably, the Biodiversity Information Science and Standards (BISS) journal is the home for TDWG conference abstracts. TDWG 2026 presenters can currently submit their abstracts there and publish them in an extended abstract or mini-paper format completely free of charge. The journal also hosts abstracts from conferences held over the past decade. You can browse the TDWG 2026 collection here.
Last but not least, the company’s sponsorship supported two awards at TDWG2026 (with a free publication in a Pensoft journal as an accompanying prize):
Best Student Oral Presentation – awarded to Yeshan Qui for “Reporting structure and sampling-bias correction in citizen-science bird data across Asian cities”
Best Student Poster – awarded to Claudia Campanini for “Improving marine fieldwork documentation and metadata with Adaptable Standardised Methods Reporting (ASMR)”
Claudia Campanini receiving the Pensoft Best Student Poster Award at TDWG 2026.
Overall, TDWG2026 proved itself a crucial forum for mapping out the future of biodiversity monitoring and the management of the myriad data streams that emerge from it. Pensoft is proud to be an important actor in this process, contributing with innovative tools and solutions at the heart of the interface between research and practice. As summarised by Prof. Penev:
“Given its status as a large-scale conference centred around the future of biodiversity sciences in the age of AI, TDWG2026 was a crucial venue for unveiling Pensoft’s forward-looking vision for academic publishing and science communication. The “pearl” of these pursuits is undoubtedly the ORPHO workspace, a tool that is well-placed to introduce a new standard when it comes to collaborative AI-FAIR research in Europe and beyond.”
Themed “Integrating the Diversity of Ecology”, the event welcomed over 1,000 researchers in the field from across career stages, who had the opportunity to enjoy conference talks across 36 thematic sessions, as many as six keynote talks, two poster sessions, several open society meetings and quite a few social events, including excursions and a conference dinner.
Conference delegates enjoying the musical clock installation mounted on an elevated balcony on the glass façade of the ODEON building, where the Nordic Oikos-GfÖ 2026 conference took place between 13 and 17 September 2026.
Beyond publishing solutions, a key focus was given to OBSGESSION: a Horizon Europe-funded project where Pensoft is actively involved. To better understand and predict changes in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, the OBSGESSION consortium integrates multi-source Earth Observation data (such as high-resolution satellite imagery and drone monitoring) with ground-based in-situ research, including advanced environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. By coupling these data streams with cutting-edge detection-attribution modelling and machine learning algorithms, the project generates scalable Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs). These ecological approaches and analytical frameworks are actively tested and validated through six biodiversity pilots across diverse European ecosystems. In the open-science Research Ideas and Outcomes journal, you can find a collection of project outputs, including research papers, project reports and deliverables, and guideline papers published across journals and platforms.
At the Pensoft-OBSGESSION-branded booth, conference participants would stop by to chat with Pensoft’s Head of Journal development and PR: Iva Boyadzhieva and Senior Communications Officer: Desislava Raykova.
As a leader of the “Dissemination, Multi-stakeholder outreach and synergies” work package at OBSGESSION, Pensoft is tasked with stakeholder engagement and community building, ultimately contributing to the high impact of the resulting outputs, methodologies and policy recommendations that aim to strengthen public understanding of biodiversity change.
One of the six keynote talks was presented by Prof. Dr. Isabell Hensen (Martin Luther University Halle, Germany), who received the GfÖ Honorary Medal 2026 for her leading, forward-looking contributions to ecological research and the scientific community. Her work examines how genetic variation, environmental conditions, disturbance, and plant-animal interactions shape plant populations, with particular emphasis on rare species, biological invasions, and the regeneration of degraded forests.
In her talk, titled “One spark is enough: regeneration ecology of Andean forests under global change”, she reported on post-fire regeneration processes in tropical Andean forests, based on long-term field experiments and observational studies.
Hensen focused on the well-studied endemic plant genus Polylepis, which forms the world’s highest-elevation forests and illustrates how fire has shaped ecosystem dynamics over millennia. Her talk also mentioned a 2022 monograph of the genus, published in the Pensoft journal PhytoKeys by Tatiana Erika Boza Espinoza (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) and Michael Kessler (University of Zurich), which brought together results from 35 years of field and herbarium experience.
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On Wednesday, Pensoft’s Iva Boyadzhieva delivered a presentation titled “Scholarly Communication: Lessons from the Publisher’s Kitchen”. She highlighted the vital role publishers play in helping researchers communicate their insights not only to peers, but also to decision-makers and the public. Emphasizing the publisher’s responsibility to support authors with robust infrastructure and dedicated human expertise, she outlined how Pensoft works to FAIRify scholarly publishing and future-proof scientific knowledge in an era of rapid AI development and expanding research output.
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Pensoft’s team was delighted to meet up with dedicated readers, authors, reviewers, and editors from across Pensoft’s portfolio, as well as introduce Pensoft journals to attendees discovering them for the first time.
Visitors were also particularly intrigued by several newly launched Pensoft journals. Developed in close collaboration with passionate researchers, these fresh outlets directly address key gaps in academic publishing.
One of the newly launched journals in the spotlight was Agricultural and Environmental Modelling (AEM), which provides a unique scholarly outlet thanks to its modern approach to publishing by increasing transparency, giving credit to research objects across the entire modelling research lifecycle. This is achieved through publishing specialised article types, such as: Formal Model, Model Testing and Calibration, Model Implementation and Documentation, Data Papers and Software Descriptions. These new publishing formats are designed to keep pace with advances in Modelling research and to make it FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) by enabling scholarly credit for diverse research outputs, often created by different groups of authors. For the time being, AEM remains a Diamond Open Access journal, meaning that it will not charge authors for open-access publication.
Other recently founded journals addressing emerging and fast-developing disciplines within the ecological field that took the spotlight were:
Individual-Based Ecology: launched to support understanding and predicting ecological systems’ response to rapidly changing and novel conditions by linking individual responses to responses at higher levels of organisation.
Advances in Pollinator Research: a multidisciplinary journal publishing research on pollination ecology, pollinator-plant interactions, pollinator health and drivers of pollinator declines, crop and wild flower pollination, pollinator conservation practices, molecular ecology of pollinators, pollinator and pollination monitoring, decision support for policy and socio-economics.
Journal of Regeneration: a multidisciplinary journal for the dissemination of research results on regeneration and tissue repair across phyla. These mechanisms can be framed within an evolutionary framework and integrate a variety of cellular processes involving stem cells, dedifferentiating or even transdifferentiating cells.
All of these journals operate with no article fees for either authors, nor readers.
To receive updates on new publications and relevant news, sign up for Email Alerts on any journal’s homepage. Creating a Pensoft account also allows users to easily customise their notification preferences, follow additional journals, or filter updates by research topic. You can also follow journals on social media, including BlueSky, Facebook and Linkedin.
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Supporting European Policy Through Priority Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs)
Delegates at the event showed strong interest in OBSGESSION’s first policy brief:“Prioritising Essential Biodiversity Variables (EBVs) to support European Union (EU) policy needs based on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.” To tackle a critical challenge in environmental monitoring, OBSGESSION focuses on prioritising key EBVs to directly support the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 – a roadmap designed to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery through 102 specific actions and sub-actions.
To align these policy needs with actionable data, the OBSGESSION team conducted an assessment to identify priority EBV candidates. By categorising EBV-applicable actions and indicators across different ecosystem realms and implementation stages, the project pinpointed the most essential variables needed to strengthen monitoring, reporting, and policy execution. The document is based on a deliverable by the project (D1.1 Policy Landscape and Needs Assessment).
This policy brief is part of a broader, ongoing effort within OBSGESSION to bridge the gap between biodiversity data and policy execution. To dive deeper into the science behind this topic, the project has hosted a dedicated seminar series exploring key aspects of the framework:
Bringing Methodologies to Life Across European Ecosystems
Beyond theoretical frameworks, OBSGESSION grounds its research in six biodiversity validation pilots across Europe. The case studies represent European biodiversity and ecosystem conservation challenges at scales varying from local to regional.Full details on each ecosystem pilot are now available in a collection of newly published pilot factsheets, which made their debut at the conference, where people could take a look at their digital versions.
Reading those materials gives an insight into the practical testing environment to demonstrate how Earth observation, field research, and ecological modelling come together to deliver actionable biodiversity insights. You can also check outOBSGESSION’s biodiversity pilots on the project’s website.
The OBSGESSION in a Nutshell video presents a concise overview of the project’s overarching mission and components.
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To relive the conference by exploring the detailed programme alongside the full abstracts, visit the conference website.
The beta release of an innovative collaborative stand-alone authoring tool transforms manuscript preparation with semantic enrichment and real-time collaboration capabilities.
Scholarly publisher and technology provider Pensoft Publishers announces the beta launch of ORPHO, a revolutionary online platform designed to streamline collaborative scientific writing and produce AI-ready, future-proof scholarly literature.
ORPHO presents a significant advancement in scholarly publishing technology, combining intuitive writing features with sophisticated semantic enrichment capabilities. The new platform builds upon Pensoft’s fifteen years of experience as a developer of semantic publishing infrastructure.
Key Features
Within a shared online workspace, researchers can start with built-in customisable templates, create their own or import an existing file. They can then team up with collaborators in real time using track changes, role-based user rights, inline comments, and document-level chat. More significantly, ORPHO automatically structures scientific content according to international publishing standards, making research outputs findable, discoverable, interoperable and reusable (FAIR) once published.
Unlike its predecessor, the ARPHA Writing Tool, ORPHO is available as a standalone real-time collaborative workspace decoupled from journals hosted on Pensoft’s ARPHA Publishing Platform. Once a manuscript is ready, authors receive AI-FAIR machine-readable content that can be formatted to meet multiple journal requirements at the click of a button.
The platform’s adaptability to domain-specific workflows is currently being piloted in biodiversity science. ORPHO integrates seamlessly with leading biodiversity data aggregators, including the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and PlutoF, via import and export facilities for structured data, making ORPHO particularly valuable for researchers handling taxonomic, ecological and biodiversity data.
ORPHO: A new intelligent workspace for scientific writing.
Why ORPHO?
The name draws inspiration from multiple sources which reflect the tool’s philosophy and heritage. Named after Orphium: a unique plant genus endemic to South Africa whose sole species (Orphium frutescens) is known as the sea rose, ORPHO reflects the platform’s distinctive nature, heritage, and core philosophy.
It also evokes Orpheus, the legendary musician of ancient Thrace whose home region, the Rhodopi Mountains, lies in present-day Bulgaria, where ORPHO’s developer, Pensoft, is headquartered. The name thus honours the tool’s origins whilst embodying the exceptional creative performance it enables.
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Prof. Dr. Lyubomir Penev, founder and CEO of Pensoft, comments:
“We are well aware that researchers today face an overwhelming list of formatting requirements and technical demands in an AI-driven landscape. It is true that rapid technological advancement presents both immense opportunities and mounting complexities for researchers.
We built ORPHO to remove that friction by offering an intuitive, collaborative workspace that lets scientists focus on their research. As a scientific publisher, our mission is to make scholarly publishing a seamless, rewarding experience fit for the modern age.”
The beta release invites researchers, institutions and publishing platforms to trial ORPHO and provide feedback. Access is available at orpho.net.
Pensoft attended the 15th European Conference on Ecological Restoration (SERE2026) in Brest, France, where it presented a selection of EU-funded projects and scientific journals.
From 24 to 28 August 2026, Pensoft joined around 600 researchers and professionals at the 15th European Conference on Ecological Restoration (SERE2026) in Brest, France, bringing together the ecological restoration community to share knowledge, strengthen collaborations and explore new approaches to restoring ecosystems across Europe.
Hosted by the University of Brest in collaboration with the French Ecological Restoration Network (REVER) and the European Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER-Europe), SERE2026 provided a vibrant meeting point for researchers, practitioners and policymakers working across ecological restoration. The conference covered a broad range of topics, including wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, ecological networks and the implementation of European restoration policies.
Pensoft was there with a selection of EU-funded projects and open-access journals, offering conference participants the chance to discover new research, explore project results and learn more about opportunities to publish and share their work.
Pensoft at SERE 2026.
A showcase of Pensoft projects
The Pensoft team presented materials from a diverse group of EU-funded projects, reflecting the wide range of environmental research and collaboration supported through the Pensoft network.
The projects cover a broad spectrum of topics, from biodiversity and ecosystem restoration to forest resilience, environmental governance, ecosystem monitoring and nature conservation. Their presence at SERE2026 offered researchers an opportunity to discover ongoing initiatives and see how scientific knowledge is being translated into practical approaches for addressing environmental challenges.
The project materials attracted interest throughout the conference, with participants stopping by to learn more about individual initiatives and explore their latest activities and results.
From ecological restoration to open-access publishing
Alongside the projects, Pensoft presented a selection of its journals and publishing platforms.
The broad selection reflected the interdisciplinary nature of ecological restoration itself. Researchers working on biodiversity, ecosystems, conservation, environmental modelling, species diversity and regeneration could all find publication venues relevant to their work.
There was considerable interest in the journals throughout the conference, with discussions ranging from publishing research articles and project outputs to discovering new ways of sharing scientific data, ideas and results with the wider research community.
Celebrating excellent science
Scientific exchange was at the heart of SERE2026, and participants also had the opportunity to recognise some of the strongest contributions presented during the conference.
Several awards were presented based on votes from conference participants, highlighting outstanding talks and presentations.
Pensoft was pleased to contribute to these celebrations with the Best Talk Award. The award recognises an exceptional conference presentation and comes with a special prize: a free publication in a Pensoft journal.
This time around, the award went to Chloé Dagnelie of Gembloux AgrobioTech for her presentation: “Spontaneous succession under soil and landscape constraints: dispersal filtering and urban species pools shape brownfield true bugs communities”
By supporting awards such as this, Pensoft aims to encourage clear, engaging and impactful scientific communication while helping researchers share their work through open-access publishing.
Connecting research, restoration and communication
SERE2026 offered an inspiring setting for conversations about the future of ecological restoration and the role of research in supporting healthier and more resilient ecosystems.
For Pensoft, the conference was also an opportunity to bring together several strands of its work: supporting EU-funded research projects, publishing scientific knowledge through open-access journals and creating opportunities for researchers to connect, communicate and collaborate.
The strong interest in both the projects and journals showcased in Brest was a reminder of the value of bringing science and scientific communication together in one place.
As Europe moves towards ambitious restoration goals, strengthening the connections between research, practice, policy and communication will be essential. Events such as SERE2026 provide an important space for these connections to grow.
Pensoft was delighted to be part of the ecological restoration community in Brest and looks forward to continuing these conversations at future events.
Between 26-31 July, Pensoft Publishers joined more than 2,600 ecologists, researchers, and conservation professionals in Salt Lake City for the 111th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA2026).
Pensoft Publishers joined more than 2,600 ecologists, researchers, and conservation professionals in Salt Lake City for the 111th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA2026) between 26-31 July.
This year’s conference theme, “Ecology in an Era of Uncertainty,” could not have felt more timely. Uncertainty is nothing new to ecological research – it’s built into measurements, mechanisms, and predictions.
But new sources of uncertainty are now reshaping the field: the rise of artificial intelligence, post-pandemic shifts in career development, and growing instability in research funding. Throughout the week, the ESA community came together not only to share cutting-edge ecological research, but also to think collectively about how to navigate these emerging challenges – trading multidisciplinary, creative solutions to keep the field resilient in the face of what’s next.
The Opening Session
The Grand Ballroom was packed for the opening session, where Conference Chairs Daniel Stover and Andrea Swei welcomed attendees. Despite a challenging year for funding and travel, the 111th annual meeting of ESA 2026 hosted 2,600 registered attendees 330 sessions and 884 posters,
The opening address was delivered by Diane Pitaki, Chief Scientist and Vice President for Science at the National Wildlife Federation, who spoke about ecology standing at a crossroads amid the biodiversity crisis and shifting political headwinds, urging the community to actively “defend conservation science.”
Among the meeting’s standout moments was the plenary from Tanya Berger-Wolf, Professor of Computer Science and Ecology at Ohio State University and a leading figure in AI for ecology and biodiversity.
Notably, Berger-Wolf will be a keynote speaker at TDWG 2026 in Oslo (20-25 September) – where Pensoft Publisherswill once again be exhibiting, so stay tuned for future updates.
Situated right at the entrance of the exhibition hall, Pensoft’s booth revelled in attention from attendees throughout the week.
Pensoft’s team at ESA 2026 in Salt Palace Convention Center.
Pensoft’s busy stand at the 111th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
Pensoft’s busy stand at the 111th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America.
The beautiful Denitsa Peneva’s illustrations at ESA 2026.
A particular highlight was our trio of diamond open-access journals – free to publish in and free to read – that drew considerable interest from attendees:
Individual-Based Ecology promotes a distinctive individual-based perspective on ecology, aiming to bridge individual behaviour and broader ecological patterns.
Advances in Pollinator Research is designed as an innovative platform for the full spectrum of pollinator science, from pollination ecology and pollinator-plant interactions to molecular ecology, conservation, and more.
Agricultural and Environmental Modelling (AEM), meanwhile, offers an innovative approach to publishing, dedicated to advancing both the science and practice of modelling across agriculture, food systems, natural resources, and environmental sciences.
Brochure of the diamond open-access Individual Based Ecology Journal.
Close up photo of the Advances in Pollinator Research brochure at ESA 2026.
Nicole Nogoy, managing editor of Agricultural and Environmental Modelling at ESA 2026.
Attendees curious about AEM had the chance to speak directly with its Managing Editor, Nicole Nogoy, who was on site throughout the conference to discuss publishing opportunities and promote the journal’s search for Subject Editors.
We also introduced attendees to our newest addition, the diamond open-accessJournal of Regeneration. For those interested in sharing early-stage research or project outcomes, Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO) offered another avenue worth exploring, publishing everything from project proposals and data to policy briefs and null results.
Those looking for a new publisher or white-label solutions had the opportunity to exploreARPHA, Pensoft’s own publishing platform, which supports the full journey from manuscript writing and peer review to publication, dissemination, and archiving – all in one seamless workflow.
Combined brochure of EU-Funded project in which Pensoft participates.
Beyond the journals and publishing solutions, the team took the opportunity to spotlight some of Pensoft’s ongoing EU-funded projects, including our pollination initiatives and our continued work with eLTER.
This time around, our team created “Pensoft Species Quiz,” challenging booth visitors to identify the correct Latin name for a series of species beautifully illustrated by Denitsa Peneva. Being more than just a fun activity, it became a natural conversation starter – leading into deeper discussions about Pensoft’s journals, services, and potential collaborations with attendees.
Some of the winners from our quiz at ESA 2026.
Some of the winners from our quiz at ESA 2026.
Happy winners from our interactive quiz game at ESA 2026.
Attendees interacting with our fun quiz.
The Agricultural and Environmental Modelling Poster Award
AEM’s Managing Editor – Nicole Nogoy ran a poster competition at the meeting, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our week. Three researchers stood out:
Julian Resasco (University of Colorado, Boulder) took home the prize for overall best presentation with a hand-drawn comic-book poster on climate change effects on Basque country thistles;
Gwendolyn Lloyd (Indiana University) impressed us with her research on arthropods and mites in agricultural soils;
Emily Redding (Fort Hays State University, KS) joined in with a poster on fire suppression’s effects on Juniper-dependent bird species, having been inspired to bring modelling into her own research.
We also took part in a raffle organised by ESA, to which each exhibitor contributed a prize.
Kanchana Balasubramanian one of the winners of Pensoft Publishers’ raffle prizes at ESA2026.
Elizabeth Afkhami Searcy received our book “Mapping Ecosystem Services” as part of the Ecological Society of America’s conference raffle.
ESA2026 was a strong reminder of just how much energy – and uncertainty – is currently shaping the ecology community. Between thought-provoking plenaries on AI and conservation science, engaging conversations sparked by our species quiz, and the enthusiasm we saw around the AEM poster competition, it was a week full of meaningful connections for Pensoft.
We’re already looking forward to the next time, and we hope you’re looking forward to it, too!
Pensoft has been awarded the Seal of Recognition for the FAO AGRIS Active Data Provider of the Year for 2027. The seal is granted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations through its AGRIS initiative, and it recognises institutions that consistently share open-access agricultural research with the global community.
Notably, Pensoft joined the FAO AGRIS network back in 2024, and the organisation has renewed our seal every year since, a recognition we’re proud to have kept.
What has changed is the scale of our contribution. In 2024, Pensoft’s records on AGRIS numbered just under 15,000. Today, that figure has doubled to nearly 30,000, drawn from all 51 of our journals that fall within the scope of FAO AGRIS. The subjects covered are wide-ranging, spanning taxonomy, biodiversity, conservation and biogeography – these are all areas that feed directly into sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.
Through AGRIS, this research travels well beyond our own journals to researchers, policymakers and practitioners worldwide, adding to the shared pool of open knowledge that supports global food security and environmental sustainability. We’re glad to keep contributing to that effort, and look forward to continuing our work with FAO AGRIS in the years to come.
About FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Its goal is to achieve food security for all, ensuring that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 194 members, 193 countries and the European Union, FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
About Pensoft
Founded in 1992 “by scientists, for scientists,” Pensoft is an academic open-access publishing company well known worldwide for its cutting-edge publishing tools, workflows and methods for text and data publishing of journals, books and conference materials. In 2010, Pensoft became the first scientific publisher to introduce semantic enrichments in scholarly publications. Through its Research and Technical Development department, the company is involved in a range of research and technology projects.
Between 6-10 July, more than 850 participants from 25 countries gathered in Leiden, the Netherlands, for the 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026.
The congress was organised by the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and hosted at Leiden University (FWN/CML), in partnership with Hortus botanicus, Wageningen University & Research (WUR), and NIOO-KNAW, with support from the Leiden Biodiversity Network.
Opening ceremony of ECCB 2026
Head of PR and Journal Development representing Pensoft at ECCB 2026.
Exhibitor and poster hall at ECCB 2026.
Effective Biodiversity Conservation
Under the theme “Effective Biodiversity Conservation,” the congress brought together researchers, policymakers, and practitioners to explore how biodiversity can be safeguarded over the long term. Its core message was that effective conservation cannot rest on the efforts of conservationists alone. It requires coordinated, multidisciplinary, science-based action across society.
Opening ceremony of ECCB 2026.
Prof. Dr. Geert de Snoo and his “1% of GDP for safeguarding nature!” presentation
Dr. Laura Bosco, President of SCB Europe, opened the congress and set the scene for the week ahead. Prof. Dr. Geert de Snoo, one of the congress’s co-organisers, followed with the presentation: “1% of GDP for safeguarding nature!” – a call to set aside 1% of global GDP to help close the biodiversity funding gap, given that half of the world’s GDP depends on natural ecosystem services, and to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and oceans by 2030.
From there, the programme ran packed with symposia, roundtables, and workshops covering policymaking and effectiveness, conservation planning, new methods for measuring and quantifying biodiversity, eDNA for conservation, citizen science, and remote sensing, alongside a poster session held each day.
Pensoft at he 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology (ECCB) 2026.
Our stand stood out with professionally designed booth walls and enjoyed a strong flow of visitors throughout the congress. Delegates met Pensoft’s Head of Journal Development and PR, Iva Boyadzhieva, who answered questions about publishing opportunities and scholarly resources, including Advanced Books, Pensoft’s platform for publishing open-access monographs, edited volumes, and other book-length scholarly works.
People spinning Pensoft’s Fortune Wheel to win prizes.
People signing up to Pensoft’s newsletter and spinning the wheel.
For the first time, our booth also ran an interactive game, where visitors could spin a wheel to win some prizes. The game rules were simple: visitors filled out a subscription form for one or more journals, spun a wheel featuring the names of journals relevant to the congress, and won a sticker matching the journal they landed on.
Visitor at Pensoft’s booth at the 8th European Congress of Conservation Biology, interacting with the wheel.
Curiously, the illustrations on the vivid stickers are not coincidental: each features a scientific illustration by Denitsa Peneva of a species discussed in a publication from across Pensoft’s scholarly portfolio – a nod to the authors who chose one of our journals to share their research.
Individual-Based Ecology and Agricultural and Environmental Modelling on focus at ECCB 2026.
A particular highlight was our trio of diamond open-access journals, free to publish in and free to read, that drew considerable interest from attendees:
Individual-Based Ecologypromotes a distinctive individual-based perspective on ecology, aiming to bridge individual behaviour and broader ecological patterns.
Advances in Pollinator Research covers the full spectrum of pollinator science, from pollination ecology to conservation, designed as an innovative platform for the full spectrum of pollinator science, from pollination ecology and pollinator-plant interactions to molecular ecology, conservation and more.
Agricultural and Environmental Modelling, meanwhile, offers an innovative approach to publishing, dedicated to advancing both the science and practice of modelling across Agriculture, Food Systems, Natural Resources, and Environmental Sciences.
Familiar faces at the stand
Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Nature Conservation, Dr. Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth, at Pensoft’s booth at ECCB 2026.
Prof. Davy McCracken, Subject Editor at Nature Conservation.
Dr. Niels Raes, project coordinator of Biodiversity Meets Data at ECCB 2026.
Martina Viti and Annika Zuleger, authors that have published across Pensoft’s journal at ECCB 2026.
Our booth was visited by Nature Conservation’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief Annegret Grimm-Seyfarth. Earlier that week, she also co-organised a symposium, “How can Wildlife Detection Dogs contribute to effective biodiversity conservation in Europe?” As well as one of Nature Conservation’s Subject Editor, Prof. Davy McCracken and Dr. Niels Raes, the project coordinator of Biodiversity Meets Data.
We also met one of our authors, Andra Neagu, in person. We recently ran a PR campaign on her and her team’s research analysing more than 1,100 media reports from 2007 to 2024 to uncover patterns in wildlife poaching across Romania, which you can read here.
Andra Neagu, an author at Nature Conservation at Pensoft’s booth at ECCB 2026.
Andra Neagu next to her scientific poster at ECCB 2026.
Looking ahead
Closing ceremony of ECCB 2026.
Closing ceremony of ECCB 2026.
It was a pleasure to be part of ECCB 2026 and to connect with so many researchers, policymakers, and practitioners working toward effective biodiversity conservation.
Save the date: SCB’s 33rd International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2027) will be held in Puebla, Mexico, at the end of June or beginning of July 2027.
Held from 22-26 June 2026, the symposium brought together researchers working across the full spectrum of the field, from Earth Observation and vegetation databases to plant community interactions, seed regeneration, and long-term vegetation dynamics. From opening keynotes to the closing ceremony, the energy, curiosity, and collegiality of our community made this one for the books.
A Packed Scientific Programme
The opening ceremony of the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Pensoft’s stand at the 68th Annual Symposium.
Pensoft’s stand at the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Alongside the core symposium topics, this year’s programme featured seven special sessions on some of the field’s most pressing questions, including bringing different vegetation classification approaches together, plant biogeography and macroecology, scaling laws in vegetation ecology, belowground functional ecology and more.
Moreover, the session themed “Bringing the different vegetation classification approaches together”, sponsored by the IAVS Vegetation Classification Working Group, will be used as a basis for assembling a Special Collection in the open-access journal Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS).
Two of VCS’ Editors-in-Chief also took the stage this year: Prof. Jürgen Dengler shared a presentation called “Plant invasions in grasslands of Switzerland: invaders, spatial patterns and effects on biodiversity”.
While Dr. Idoia Biurrun presented “The power of scale: uncovering biodiversity patterns and environmental drivers in riparian forests”.
Spotlight On Our Vegetation Science Journals
Speaking of that journal, we’ve been proud collaborators with IAVS since 2020, when we launched Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) together as the association’s newest journal. At this year’s symposium, we had the chance to showcase both VCS and our other flagship vegetation title, Vegetation Ecology and Diversity (VED), to the community.
Vegetation Classification and Survey promotional materials from the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) is an international, peer-reviewed, online journal on plant community ecology, published on behalf of IAVS. It is devoted to vegetation survey and classification at any organisational and spatial scale, welcoming original papers that develop new vegetation typologies as well as applied studies, from vegetation mapping and ecosystem modelling to nature conservation and land-use management.
Five years after launch, VCS is boasting a2025 Scopus CiteScore of 4.7(up from 3.6 the year before), and the journal is now ranked Q1 across all the categories in which it is indexed.
Vegetation Ecology and Diversity promotional materials from the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Vegetation Ecology and Diversity (VED) is a peer-reviewed, open-access journal owned by the Italian Society of Vegetation Science (SISV). It publishes original research covering all aspects of vegetation, from plant communities to landscapes, with a particular focus on plant community ecology and vegetation surveys used to advance ecological models, classify vegetation, map ecosystems, and monitor and conserve European habitats.
A Productive Conversation About VCS’s Future
Pensoft’s team presenting during the Editorial Meeting at the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Editorial meeting at the 68th IAVS Symposium.
Editorial Meeting at IAVS 2026.
For Pensoft, one of the standout moments of the symposium was the VCS editorial meeting, where we had the chance to sit down with members of the journal’s editorial board for a candid and productive discussion about Vegetation Classification and Survey‘s current position and its prospects for future growth. It was a valuable opportunity to hear directly from the people shaping the journal’s direction and to plan the next steps together.
Pensoft’s Head of Marketing, Sales and Events with Susan WiserP resident of IAVS during the 68th Annual Symposium.
During the symposium, Pensoft’s stand was visited by Susan Wiser, President of IAVS, giving our on-site team the chance to discuss our ongoing publishing collaboration.
Celebrating The Next Generation Of Vegetation Scientists
Celia González-López receiving the Young Scientist Award at the 68th IAVS Annual Symposium.
Оne of the many highlights that week was seeing the Young Scientist Award go to Celia González-López, recognising her outstanding early-career contributions to the field. Curiously, González-López is among the co-authors of a recent paper in Natural History Collections and Museomics, describing a workflow for creating 3D-printed insect replicas to make museum collections more accessible for education and outreach.
Looking Ahead
Group photo at the end of the conference. Credit to IAVS.
It was a great pleasure to become part of the IAVS community, and we look forward to an even stronger collaboration and many productive achievements together in the years to come.
Save the date: the 69th IAVS Annual Symposium will be held in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana, from 12-16 July 2027.
You can follow Pensoft on Bluesky, Facebook, X and LinkedIn to keep up all the latest updates and the events we are attending.
A formal model published in the open-access Agricultural and Environmental Modelling Journal describes the development of APODEMUS, which aims to improve risk assessments of pesticides for the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) in European agricultural landscapes.
A team of international scientists and risk assessment experts has developed a foundational blueprint for an innovative population model, designed to improve environmental safety testing for agricultural pesticides. The tool, named APODEMUS (A POpulation Dynamical spatially Explicit Model of the wood moUSe), was recently published as a “Formal Model” – a novel article type, in the Agricultural and Environmental Modelling journal.
Bridging the Gap Between the Lab and the Field
Currently, environmental risk assessments rely heavily on laboratory toxicity tests (often using Norway rats instead of wild mice) and field studies. While field studies are realistic, they are highly expensive, time-consuming, and are often limited to a few specific locations, crops, and weather conditions.
Wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus). Photo credit to Laura Fokkema via Canva.
The wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) is extremely common across Europe and lives in a wide variety of habitats, including farmlands. Because they eat a broad diet of seeds, plants, and insects, they frequently forage in agricultural fields. Consequently, the European Union uses the wood mouse as a primary “focal species” to evaluate whether a plant protection product (pesticide) poses an unacceptable risk to small mammals.
APODEMUS acts as a virtual testing ground
By creating a population model, scientists can simulate complex, real-world agricultural landscapes and farming scenarios to predict how pesticide exposure impacts animal survival and reproduction over the long term.
How does it work?
Overview diagram of the conceptual population model for APODEMUS. The model simulates the wood mouse life cycle, growth and reproduction. Landscape composition is captured by habitat types (numbers) and influences the space use of the simulated wood mice. Exposures can be linked to the use of defined habitat patches and types. Credit to Singer et al., 2026.
Published as a Formal Model (a new peer-reviewed publishing format designed to make modelling research FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) by enabling scholarly credit for diverse research outputs and enhance the transparency and rigor of complex ecological and systems modelling). The current study focuses on the “conceptual model“, meaning the researchers have defined the biological and ecological rules the computer program will follow, essentially building a highly realistic “virtual wood mouse” before adding the complexities of exposure and effects of Plant Protection Products (PPPs) such as pesticides.
What differentiates APODEMUS from previous models is the explicit implementation of “Dynamic Energy Budget” that tracks how individual mice convert consumed food into energy for growth, body maintenance, and reproduction. These virtual mice are placed into realistic, grid-based landscapes (like woods, pastures, and crop fields) where they dynamically establish home ranges based on habitat attractiveness, with female territoriality naturally preventing overpopulation. Finally, the model simulates diet-based exposure by correlating the time a mouse spends foraging in specific fields to its food intake, which will be used in future updates to calculate exact pesticide ingestion.
Built on Massive Data and Unprecedented Collaboration
Number of publications providing at least one data item to inform a population model characteristic for the wood mouse. Credit to Singer et al., 2026.
To ensure the simulation is scientifically rigorous and acceptable to government regulators, a massive foundation of real-world data was used. The authors conducted a systematic review of 341 scientific publications, extracting 1,295 specific data points about wood mouse biology.
A key highlight of this study is that the model was built through a collaboration with stakeholders – including ecological experts, risk assessors, and chemical regulators – in a dedicated workshop. By following a European standard for ecological modeling such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and “Pop-GUIDE,” they ensured that every decision in the model’s design is highly transparent and justified.
What happens next?
The researchers are currently translating this conceptual blueprint into functioning computer code. Once the virtual wood mouse population is up and running, scientists will introduce virtual pesticide applications into the model. This will allow them to evaluate how individual mice absorb toxins, whether they survive, and whether the overall population can recover under various real-world farming scenarios.
Ultimately, APODEMUS offers an innovative foundational blueprint and a practical tool aimed at helping regulators accurately test the environmental safety of agricultural pesticides by simulating their long-term effects on wild animal populations across a variety of realistic landscapes that would be otherwise impossible to assess through physical field studies
Original study:
Singer A, Schmolke A, Becher MA, von Blanckenhagen F, van den Brink N, Grimm T, Ibrahim L, Imholt C, Jacob J, Jakoby O, Laucht S, Løvik AN, Martin T, Muñoz CC, Preuss TG, Galic N (2026) Concept for APODEMUS – a wood mouse population model for pesticide risk assessment. Food and Ecological Systems Modelling Journal 7: e175714. https://doi.org/10.3897/fmj.7.175714
Once again, Pensoft joined the ESP conference as an open-access scholarly publisher, publishing services provider, and a partner at Horizon Europe consortia.
Conference Organising Committee’s Davina Vačkářová thanks the ESP2026EU’s sponsors, exhibitors and partners. Photo courtesy of the ESP.
From 18 to 22 May 2026, the historic city of Prague, Czechia, hosted the 6th European Conference of the Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP). Set against a backdrop of global turning points, such as biodiversity declines and climate uncertainty, the event served as an important forum for discussing how ecosystem services can cultivate a sustainable and equitable future.
This year’s ESP European conference ran under the theme “Advancing ecosystem services knowledge for achieving a nature- and people-positive Europe.” Photo courtesy of the ESP.
The conference ran under the theme, “Advancing ecosystem services knowledge for achieving a nature- and people-positive Europe.” Attendees focused on how to translate major policy frameworks, including the EU Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and the new Nature Restoration Law, into inclusive and effective action that respects both nature and healthy ecosystems. A major talking point at the event was also the new path ahead of the ESP as it officially becomes an independent international community later in 2026. An election of a new Steering and Executive Committee has already been scheduled for October 2026.
For Pensoft, the ESP 2026 European conference was not only a wonderful occasion to meet once again many long-time partners and friends, including the ESP team itself; editors and loyal authors of our journals; and members of the international project consortia, where we are involved, but also an exciting opportunity to talk with new members of the ESP community and learn about the needs, interests and passions of a new generation of researchers in a rapidly changing scientific field.
Pensoft’s stand at the ESP 2026 Europe conference in Prague, Czechia.
As an open-science publisher well embedded in environmental research through its dozens of journals covering ecology, biodiversity conservation and other related fields, Pensoft Publishers also actively participated in the week’s dialogues, contributing unique perspectives on scientific communication.
The Karolinum: the seat of Prague’s Charles University hosted the pre-conference training sessions, the Opening ceremony and the Welcome reception on Monday. Photo courtesy of the ESP.
The sixth European installment of the conference kicked off on Monday, 18 May, at the Karolinum, the historic seat of Charles University. The energy of a dynamic, highly engaging week was set perfectly by a lavish evening ceremony filled with speeches from renowned local figures, traditional music, and cultural performances. Yet, long before the opening notes played, the Karolinum was already buzzing, having hosted a full slate of pre-conference training sessions throughout the day.
A get-together for the editors and loyal authors of the open-access peer-reviewed One Ecosystem – the Ecology and Sustainability Data Journal took place on Monday at the Karolinum (Prague, Czechia).
Just ahead of the opening ceremony, our team at Pensoft hosted a semi-formal get-together for the editors and loyal authors of the open-access peer-reviewed One Ecosystem – the Ecology and Sustainability Data Journal. This year, the scholarly outlet, launched in collaboration between Pensoft, the ESP and the ESMERALDA Horizon 2020 project, now succeeded by the Horizon Europe-funded project SELINA, celebrated its tenth anniversary.
Chaired by Editor-in-Chief Prof. Benjamin Burkhard and Pensoft’s Head of Journal Development and PR Iva Boyadzhieva, the meeting recapped the best moments from One Ecosystem’s first decade and inspired discussions and ideas for the journal’s future. They also referred to the recently published editorial titled “Ten years of innovation and the way ahead in scientific publishing in One Ecosystem”. The piece reflects on the journal’s journey since its 2016 launch and addresses modern challenges in academic publishing, such as reviewer fatigue and the rapid rise of generative artificial intelligence.
Over the last ten years, One Ecosystem has established itself as a unique journal in the field, thanks to its commitment to openly sharing the research data underpinning each publication. It also offers a versatile range of article types. These include traditional formats (e.g. Research Article, Review Article, Data Paper), innovative options (e.g. Software Description, R Package, Single-media Publication), as well as ones specifically devised for the community, such as Ecosystem Inventory, Ecosystem Service Mapping and Ecosystem Accounting Table.
So far, the journal has published over 200 papers authored by scientists from all continents, accumulating more than 1,500,000 views, 600 citations, and 6,000 online mentions. Today, the journal’s editorial board comprises 50 experts representing diverse geographies and professional fields. One Ecosystem is indexed in over 60 relevant scholarly databases, including Scopus and Web of Science, and holds a Q1 ranking on Scopus. Authors also benefit from a swift turnaround time, with an average of just 2.5 months from submission to acceptance, and articles typically published within three months of submission.
Keynote speeches at the first conference day were delivered by Jakub Kronenberg (University of Lodz), Alessandra La Notte (Senior consultant on natural capital accounting) and Ben Delbaere (LIFE Programme).
On Tuesday, the main schedule opened with inspiring keynote speeches, with Jakub Kronenberg (University of Lodz) examining the transition towards relational values of nature, Alessandra La Notte (Senior consultant on natural capital accounting) sharing two decades of insights into natural capital accounting, and Ben Delbaere (LIFE Programme at ELMEN EEIG) demonstrating how the European LIFE Programme supports a nature- and people-positive society.
Later in the day on Tuesday, Pensoft’s Iva Boyadzhieva, Head of Journal Development and PR, gave a talk on the topic of scholarly communication as part of a session organised and hosted by the Early Career Researchers (ECR) division of the ESP: Young Ecosystem Services Partnership (YESS) and focused on building practical skills and fostering careers for young researchers.
Pensoft’s Iva Boyadzhieva gave a talk titled “Scholarly Communication: Lessons from the publisher’s kitchen” as part of the YESS session “The Early Career Lab: Skills, Identity, and Growth for the Next Generation of Ecosystem Services Researchers”.
Boyadzhieva shared insights into how authors and publishers can work collaboratively to transform scholarly publications into scientific knowledge that is accessible to everyone, everywhere, regardless of professional background or expertise, by drawing on real-life examples and automated publication processes.
One Ecosystem’s Editor-in-Chief Prof. Benjamin Burkhard.
One Ecosystem’s Editor-in-Chief Prof. Benjamin Burkhard at the ESP session “The Changing Landscape of Academic Publishing on Ecosystem Services Research: Editors’ Perspectives.”
The One Ecosystem journal took center stage once again on Friday afternoon during a panel session titled, “The Changing Landscape of Academic Publishing on Ecosystem Services Research: Editors’ Perspectives.” The event brought together the Editors-in-Chief of the three ESP-associated journals for an engaging open discussion about the shifting dynamics of scientific literature. Sharing insights gained from One Ecosystem’s 10-year journey, Burkhard highlighted how authors of research who work closely with their publishers can support knowledge sharing and empower researchers. In the case of One Ecosystem, this collaboration translates to increased visibility, discoverability, reusability and citability of the published work, as well as rapid and hassle-free authoring and peer review experience, all thanks to the automated workflows and human-centric approaches provided through the publishing solutions of the ARPHA publishing platform.
It is worth issuing a reminder that manuscripts submitted in 2026 and accepted for publication in One Ecosystem journal are eligible for a 10% discount on the article publication charge (APC).
Despite excellent on-site organization, many sessions struggled to accommodate the massive turnout.Photo courtesy of the ESP.
Throughout the week, the daily program featured eight parallel session tracks covering a wide range of topics, many closely aligned with ESP Working Groups and National Networks. A dedicated poster session took place on Wednesday afternoon.
One of the field excursions offered ESP 2026 Europe delegates the challenge of an intense, half-day climbing experience in a nature park just outside Prague. Photo courtesy of ESP.
On Thursday, delegates had the opportunity to join one of several field excursions. These ranged from a visit to the unique rewilding reserve located in the former military area in Milovice, to a walk through the Prague Pasture: one of the city’s most remarkable natural sites, and an intense climbing experience just outside Prague.
Zdeněk Ent was awarded Best Poster for his poster, “Experiencing Ecosystem Services: Art, Sensory Engagement and Transformative Learning in Peri-Urban Landscapes”. In a yearly tradition, part of the award includes a free publication in the One Ecosystem journal.
Following an ESP tradition, the three highest-voted posters were recognised during Friday’s closing ceremony, with the first-prize winner receiving a free publication in One Ecosystem, sponsored by Pensoft. This year, the Best Poster Award went to Zdeněk Ent from Prague Institute of Planning and Development for the poster “Experiencing Ecosystem Services: Art, Sensory Engagement and Transformative Learning in Peri-Urban Landscapes”.
During the week, Pensoft’s exhibition stand welcomed dozens of inquiries regarding the publisher’s tailored journal portfolio. Visitors also expressed keen curiosity about the publishing services and self-developed platform available to journal owners, book authors, and conference organizers. Meanwhile, delegates showed notable interest in several titles, both well-established journals like Nature Conservation, NeoBiota, Metabarcoding & Metagenomics and One Ecosystem, and newly launched ones, including Individual-based Ecology and Advances in Pollinator Research.
A lot of Pensoft stand’s visitors were also pleased to see that there was a new player amongst the journals of Pensoft aimed at an emerging field in ecology. The recently rebranded Agricultural and Ecological Modelling (AEM) provides a unique scholarly outlet thanks to its modern approach to publishing by increasing transparency, giving credit to research objects across the entire modelling research lifecycle. This is achieved through publishing specialised article types, such as: Formal Model, Model Testing and Calibration, Model Implementation and Documentation, Data Papers and Software Descriptions. These new publishing formats are designed to keep pace with advances in Modelling research and to make it FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) by enabling scholarly credit for diverse research outputs, often created by different groups of authors. For the time being, AEM remains a Diamond Open Access journal, meaning that it will not charge authors for open-access publication.
AEM also has a focus on open science and reproducibility; it is currently archived in four databases (CLOCKSS, Zenodo, Portico, and Zendy) and indexed in over 40 services, including AGRICOLA, CABI, ChronosHub, CNKI, FAO AGRIS, ResearchGate, and Swisscovery, among others. You can learn more about AEM in the latest editorial.
For those who missed the opportunity to sign up for the journals’ newsletters at the stand, they can do this by filling in their email address from the homepage of the journal they are interested in, or by updating their profiles in the Pensoft system.
Undoubtedly, amongst the greatest highlights at the Pensoft’s stand was the Horizon Europe-funded GREEN TALENT project, where our Project Department leads the project’s Work Package dedicated to Communication, Dissemination and Exploitation.
The conference delegates were intrigued to learn about the international initiative’s aim to build biodiversity and climate capacity at national, trans-European and global levels, with a focus on Widening Countries. The partners at Green Talent: both from academic and non-academic backgrounds, are to contribute expertise, training, and secondments and connect pilot projects to broader EU and global networks. One of the ways the GREEN TALENT consortia does this is by designating four Demonstration Pilots (a.k.a. Demo Hubs) in four Widening countries: Malta, Greece, Cyprus and Bulgaria, where secondees can benefit from real-world experience and foster partnerships across sectors, while working on scalable solutions to climate and biodiversity challenges, acting as collaboration hubs between academic and non-academic sectors.
Members of the Horizon Europe-funded GREEN TALENT project consortium. Photo courtesy of ESP.
Having only kicked off a year ago and set to run for four years in total, there are many new developments and results yet to be announced from GREEN TALENT, including a Capacity-Building Platform that will allow users to browse various opportunities and events meant to help them improve their skills; to get in touch and foster collaboration with other experts; and to learn about best practices from across different institutions and relevant companies. This is why we strongly recommend visiting the GREEN TALENT, signing up for the project’s newsletter and following the initiative on BlueSky and Linkedin.
GREEN TALENT’s project coordinator, Prof. Dr. Mario V. Balzan, presented at a session dedicated to sustainable and inclusive approaches to ecosystem services tailored to the needs of islands.
In addition to the various GREEN TALENT information brochures and promo materials present at the Pensoft stand, people at the conference could spot quite a few of the project’s members around the ESP venue. There were several talks by GREEN TALENT representatives, including the project’s coordinator: Prof. Dr. Mario V. Balzan (Ecostack Innovations). His talk, part of the session “Islands at the forefront of sustainable and inclusive ecosystem services approaches” examined governance and knowledge gaps in pollinator ecosystem services on small islands, where he used Malta as a case study.
The signature journal stickers by Pensoft were once again a common sight at the ESP conference in Prague. Photo courtesy of ESP.
Ultimately, the conference successfully highlighted the tools needed to drive sustainable development across Europe. Through active contributions to both the overarching policy discussions and the targeted skill-building sessions for the next generation of researchers, Pensoft continued its commitment to making environmental science open, transparent, and globally accessible.
