Keynote Speakers
We are delighted to announce the keynote speakers for the XXVI International Grassland Congress in 2027. These distinguished experts are recognized worldwide for their work in various disciplines within grassland science. They will share their latest insights, innovations, and perspectives on the future of sustainable grassland systems.
Sally Archibald
University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa
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Sally Archibald
University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, South Africa
Sally Archibald is a South African ecologist at the University of the Witwatersrand whose research focuses on understanding the dynamics of savanna ecosystems under global environmental change. She integrates field ecology, remote sensing, ecosystem modelling, and biogeochemistry to investigate how interactions among disturbance agents shape plant life histories and regulate ecosystem functioning. She has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and has been cited over 18,000 times for her contributions to fire ecology and savanna ecology. Sally leads several long-term ecological research sites across southern Africa and has extensive experience in experimental studies of grassland functional ecology and biogeography. As co-chair of SEOSAW and the Global Grassy Group, she collaborates with researchers across Africa and internationally to develop comparable large-scale vegetation datasets. As co-PI of the Future Ecosystems for Africa (FEFA) programme, she leads interdisciplinary research to identify restoration and conservation pathways that support biodiversity, climate resilience, and sustainable development across Africa.
Dave Chapman
Lincoln University, New Zealand.
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David Chapman
Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln University, New Zealand
David is a New Zealand grassland scientist with 40+ years experience applying pasture plant ecophysiological principles in practical grazing systems in New Zealand and Australia. His PhD (1989) from the University of Reading, UK, marked an early career phase focused on quantifying responses in plant growth processes to variation in grazing management and implications for pasture yield and plant breeding objectives. Subsequently, as Foundation Professor of Pasture Science at the University of Melbourne, David led major projects developing grazing methods, forage combinations, and mechanistic pasture growth models to improve the productivity and profitability of Australian sheep and dairy farms. These themes continued after joining DairyNZ as Principal Scientist in 2010, with additional focus on: managing environmental impacts of intensive dairy systems; unravelling causes of, and solutions for, pasture persistence failure; and quantifying the economic contribution of plant breeding to the dairy industry. Notable outputs from his work include the pasture simulation model ‘DairyMod’ and the DairyNZ Forage Value Index. David has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand.
Imke de Boer
- Wageningen University & Research, The Netherlands
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- Nico Eisenhauer
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and Leipzig University, Germany
Nico Eisenhauer
Since 2014, Nico Eisenhauer is Full Professor (W3) for Experimental Interaction Ecology at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig and Leipzig University. Moreover, he is Speaker of the Jena Experiment, Head of the iDiv Ecotron and the MyDiv Experiment, and Co-Chair of Soil BON. His working group is broadly interested in the causes and consequences of biodiversity change in terrestrial ecosystems.
From 2000-2005, he studied at the TU Darmstadt and obtained his diploma in animal ecology with distinction. Afterwards, he did his doctoral studies at the TU Darmstadt on the subject „Earthworms in a plant diversity gradient: Direct and indirect effects on plant competition and establishment” and was awarded the doctorate (summa cum laude) in 2008. In 2012, he became Emmy Noether group leader at the TU Munich and habilitated at the Georg August University Göttingen (Venia Legendi in Ecology and Zoology). From 2012 – 2014, he worked as Associate Professor (W2) for Terrestrial Ecology at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
- Yingjun Zhang
China Agricultural University, China
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Yingjun Zhang
Yingjun Zhang is the Professor and Dean of college of grassland science and technology, China Agricultural University (CAU). He is the Secretary General of Chinese Grassland Society. As the Chief Scientist for China’s Forage and Grassland Research System (CFGRS), he is leading national forage production and grassland improvement, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture. The CFGRS research team consists of 35 scientists and 29 demonstration stations across the country, aiming to improve the forage production and supply via innovation of technology. He had received the John Dillon Memorial Fellowship Award, Outstanding Scientist from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China and China Association for Science and Technology, and New Century Excellent Talents from Ministry of Education.
Prof. Zhang conducts research and teaching in grassland management and ecology, forage production and utilization. As the first author or corresponding author, he has published 167 refereed papers, some of which were published in high impact journals, including Ecological Monographs, New Phytologist, Journal of Ecology, Ecology, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Plant and Soil, etc. He was invited to be a plenary speaker at the 22nd International Grassland Congress in 2013 and 8th International Rangeland Congress in 2016, and is an associate editor of Grass and Forage Science and co-editor in chief of Grassland Research.
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