Sustainable land use and management should be multifunctional and take into account the latest advances in basic and applied ecology to meet the challenges of biodiversity conservation. Global land use change and unsustainable land management practices are considered to be the main causes of today's loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functions. The aim of the GfÖ24 conference of the German Society for Ecology is to present, discuss and promote ecological knowledge that contributes to innovative land use and management strategies.