A selection of currently or recently performed projects:
- Ecological restoration of calcareous grasslands
(Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality).
Species-rich grasslands on limestone-rich slopes are one of the most threatened vegetation types in the Netherlands. Despite a strongly improved management, the quality of these mesotrophic grasslands - rich in rare plant and animal species – still impoverishes. Aim of this project is to reveal the main causes of the ecological decline of these grasslands and to experimentally explore possibilities for ecological restoration of characteristic vegetation and faunal communities. It is carried out in close cooperation with Utrecht University, and Radboud University Nijmegen/Bargerveen Foundation.
Project leader: Loek Kuiters
Project nr: 5230499.02
Period: 2005-2008
Grazing as a management tool in nature reserves (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality).
The development of dynamic mosaic landscapes by large-scale, extensive grazing with cattle and horses was studied in several grassland, heathland and riverine forest landscapes, using long-term observations. Special attention was devoted to the dynamics of woody vegetation under the impact of ungulate grazing. Gained insights were combined with a desk study on the impact of grazing on flora, vegetation and fauna and brought together in an expertise system on internet (www.synbiosys.alterra.nl/begrazing).
Project leader: Loek Kuiters
Project nr: 382-10938/ 381-11037
Period: 2000-2004
Bioscore .
The BioScore project will develop a tool for linking pressures from policy sectors to the (change in the) state of biodiversity as measured by the presence and abundance of individual species. The tool to be developed will be a database that will contain information on the ecological preferences of individual species in relation to individual sectoral pressures and to selected Community policies as well as the EU headline biodiversity indicators.The tool will be made freely accessible on the Internet.
Natura 2000 – habitat types, species and sites .
A key action within the framework of the implementation of Natura 2000 in The Netherlands is to provide the people involved as well as the wider public with adequate information. So far, two books have been released dealing with the ‘habitat types’ and the ‘species of the Habitats Directive’. Within the next two years, three more volumes will be published, describing the sites (Special Protected Areas) that have been selected for the aimed network. The information is also made available on the Internet (www.minlnv.nl/natura2000).
Farming for Nature ("Boeren voor natuur") .
Farming for Nature (Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality) is an integrated approach to combine nature development, landscape management, clean water resources and ecological agriculture. It is based on the idea that farmers can play a more significant role in managing nature and landscape. The ultimate example is the so-called nature-oriented farm, which is self-contained: no manure, concentrates, or roughage are brought in from outside. Farmers still farm the land, but there income comes mainly from providing ‘green’and ‘bleu’ services to society.
The development of new farming systems is tested in two pilot areas: in the estate of Twickel in the eastern part of the Netherlands on sandy and loamy soils, and in the Polder van Biesland on clay-peat soils. Farming for Nature experiments have been accepted in July 2006 by the EU in Brussels as not distorting market conditions. (www.boerenvoornatuur.nl).
Project leader: Anton Stortelder
Project number: 5212403
Period: 2000-2008
Further information
- Vegetation and landscape level modelling
Aquastress, Selfregulation and forest development, Southeast Veluwe, FOWARA, DynaBeech, Ecosystem predictability and EvolTree are a few of the models and modelling area's we work on.
Project leader: Koen Kramer