The Soil Physics and Land Use team’s mission is to manage soil sustainably by promoting responsible land use, paying particular attention to physical processes.
The Soil Physics and Land Use team conducts research on land use and soil processes, and their interaction. Applied process research is carried out on water flow and the transport of substances on spatial scales ranging from single points to river drainage basins. At the same time, the team is also looking into soil degradation problems, crop growth monitoring and modelling, and the development of methodologies for land use planning on scales ranging from single farms to drainage basins and regional scales. This team also manages the soil physics laboratory.
Research takes place in the Netherlands as well as elsewhere in the European Union and locations abroad. The team’s staff has broad, international research experience working on EU sponsored projects. As a result, the Soil Physics and Land Use team has access to large international networks.
The team manages and has at its disposal a broad range of data (in particular physical soil data), models and decision support systems for land use planning, land subsidance, water management, water movement and the transport of various substances, erosion, soil compaction and emission of greenhouse gases from soil. The team aims to achieve synergy and consistency in their current and future tool boxes through a combination of theory development, modelling, and field and laboratory measurements.
The Soil Physics and Land Use team members include:
Research
Jan van den Akker
Falentijn Assinck
Gerben Bakker
Erik van den Elsen
Marius Heinen
Rudi Hessel
Arie van Kekem
Jan van Kleef
Klaas Oostindie
Coen Ritsema
Bram de Vos
Henk Wösten
Research support
Betty Wennekes