Applicants: young scientists (ESR) and representatives of stakeholders involved in ragweed control

Achievements:  Skills on designing, performing, analysing and evaluating mowing/cutting experiments with and without competition aiming at the control of common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia). Training of how to measure and analyse the most relevant response variables for control efficacy. Knowledge about how to quickly evaluate field experiments with respect to efficacy in harming spontaneous ragweed populations.

Application: by sending a motivation letter, CV and SMARTER-questionnaire to Gerhard Karrer (gerhard.karrer(at)boku.ac.at ) until June 15th 2014. Furthermore, the participants have to follow the procedure of how to become a SMARTER participant (http://ragweed.eu/extranet/images/2/29/How_to_become_a_participant_of_SMARTER.pdf )

Selection and preliminary acceptance of applicants by the organizers via e-mail send by June 17th 2014. Maximum number of participants: 10.
Costs: Based on acceptance the participants can receive an individual grant by the COST-Action SMARTER at an amount of € 1150 each. The participants pay all expenses themselves (travel, accommodation, meal costs, registration fee). The local transport is included in the registration fee, but not the costs for hotel and meals that have to be paid directly at place. Reservations for hotels will be  made

Deposit: To be finally accepted the participants have to pay a deposit of € 250 to the organizer (see bank details below) by bank transfer until June 30th.
Owner:   Universitaet für Bodenkultur Wien, Dept. fuer Integrative Biologie,
IBAN:   AT953200008300500512
BIC:   RLNWATWW
Subject matter:  „7831009578-SMARTER-Summer-School“

Programme:
In Freising we will perform experimental work on Ambrosia plants grown in the glasshouse (biometric measures, biomass) followed by statistical analysis of the data. If there is time, we also will be able to visit German populations in the field. In Austria, it is planned to visit several experimental areas where optimization trials of mowing and adding competing vegetation were performed and ragweed populations on different habitat types. The participants will be trained in performing biometric measurements and evaluation of cutting regimes as well as soil seed bank sampling. On Saturday a final discussion round will be organized at the BOKU University with an option to demonstrate also ragweed soil seed bank analysis in the lab.

Details of procedure:
Arrival: latest on Sunday, July, 27th; 16:00, Vienna. Meeting point: Vienna Airport Taxi-Platform for flight arrivals.
End: Saturday, August, 2nd, 14:00, Vienna, Airport, 14:30 Vienna railway stations
The participants will be fetched at the airport in Vienna and be driven altogether to the hotel in Freising*), where we will stay for 3 nights. On Wednesday, July 30th we will travel back to Vienna by car (already organized) and have accommodation in a hotel nearby Vienna next to experimental plots. On Thursday we leave to see several experimental plots between Vienna and South-eastern Styria, having accommodation for 2 nights in a nice hotel thereabout. Due to the lack of enough space in some hotels we can offer single rooms only for few people. If you agree to share a room with another participant, please indicate this in your motivation letter. Of course shared rooms are less expensive. We will keep you informed for these details.  
The flight to and from Vienna must be organized by the participants. All other activities (accommodation, local transport) will be prepared by the organizer. The participants are asked to pay the registration fee as well as accommodation and meals during the summer school on their own. But the amount of individual grant to be given by SMARTER should cover +/- all expenses because we try to accommodate not too expensive.
*) If anybody prefers to go directly to Munich, please inform us about such plan. We wanted to start from Vienna and end at Vienna because flights are by far cheaper to and from the same destination compared to single flights to/from different destinations.

02.06.2014