During 23-26 April 2014, 33 people from 16 countries with an interest in biomass burning research descended on Max Planck Societies’ Ringberg Castle in the Bavarian Alps to participate in the third workshop for the IGAC\iLEAPS\WMO Interdisciplinary Biomass Burning Initiative (IBBI). In the setting of the eclectic castle the workshop discussed opportunities foradvancing the scientific understanding of processes in biomass burning (BB) by connecting separate research communities, in order to improve air quality forecasts and climate predictions.