syntax: also=some_other_conn_name
This means to base the current connection on some_other_conn_name, and only add new paramters. An example will explain this better:
conn host2net also=host2host rightsubnet=192.168.0.0/24 conn host2host left=%defaultroute right=vpn.headoffice.com
This is the same as writing:
conn host2net left=%defaultroute right=vpn.headoffice.com rightsubnet=192.168.0.0/24 conn host2host left=%defaultroute right=vpn.headoffice.com
So you can not only save yourself a few lines of config file, but also if say, right= changs to another address, you only need to change it once. On config files with 20+ conn defintions, this becomes a life saver.