Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Pallieter De Smedt, Willem Proesmans, Lander Baeten
Summary: The study found a high temporal complementarity between woodlice and millipedes, with millipede activity peaking in spring and woodlice showing a peak in summer. The timing of activity also depended on habitat openness, with millipedes peaking first in open habitat and later in closed habitat, while woodlice showed the opposite pattern.
INSECT CONSERVATION AND DIVERSITY
(2021)
Review
Biodiversity Conservation
Emiel De Lombaerde, Lander Baeten, Kris Verheyen, Michael P. Perring, Shiyu Ma, Dries Landuyt
Summary: The study synthesized data from 32 experimental studies to investigate the effects of understorey removal on tree regeneration in temperate forests. It found that in most cases, removing understorey vegetation can have positive effects on seedling survival and growth, with different tree species and forest conditions impacting the results.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Soil Science
Els Dhiedt, Lander Baeten, Pallieter De Smedt, Kris Verheyen
Summary: The choice of tree species and species combinations impacts the chemical properties of the soil in which they grow, but the effect of tree species richness was found to be little in the study, potentially due to factors such as young forest age, agricultural land-use history, and soil texture.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOIL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Soil Science
Pallieter De Smedt, Pepijn Boeraeve, Lander Baeten
Summary: The study found that terrestrial isopod activity in forests is more stable compared to open landscape habitats, indicating that climate stability in forests leads to more stable levels of terrestrial isopod activity. Activity patterns in anthropogenic habitats are more tempered compared to open landscape habitats, but highly variable, suggesting that more research is needed to unravel the underlying mechanisms.
SOIL BIOLOGY & BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Christian Messier, Juergen Bauhus, Rita Sousa-Silva, Harald Auge, Lander Baeten, Nadia Barsoum, Helge Bruelheide, Benjamin Caldwell, Jeannine Cavender-Bares, Els Dhiedt, Nico Eisenhauer, Gislene Ganade, Dominique Gravel, Joannes Guillemot, Jefferson S. Hall, Andrew Hector, Bruno Herault, Herve Jactel, Julia Koricheva, Holger Kreft, Simone Mereu, Bart Muys, Charles A. Nock, Alain Paquette, John D. Parker, Michael P. Perring, Quentin Ponette, Catherine Potvin, Peter B. Reich, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Florian Schnabel, Kris Verheyen, Martin Weih, Meike Wollni, Delphine Clara Zemp
Summary: As of 2020, the world has around 290 million hectares of planted forests, with 131 million hectares being monoculture forests. Monoculture forests provide timber but lack biodiversity and are more vulnerable to disturbances compared to diverse planted forests. Scientific evidence shows that functionally and species diverse planted forests are more resilient and provide greater ecosystem services. Promoting diverse planted forests requires raising awareness, incentivizing diversity in afforestation programs, developing new wood-based products, investing in research, and expanding the evidence base in under-represented regions.
CONSERVATION LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Sanne Van den Berge, Pieter Vangansbeke, Lander Baeten, Margot Vanhellemont, Thomas Vanneste, Tom De Mil, Jan Van den Bulcke, Kris Verheyen
Summary: Trees play an important role in climate change mitigation by absorbing atmospheric carbon and contributing to the bio-based economy. Trees growing in hedgerow systems have high density, continuous growth, and significant carbon sequestration capacity, which should be included in biomass and carbon budgets.
Article
Ecology
Ingmar R. Staude, Henrique M. Pereira, Gergana N. Daskalova, Markus Bernhardt-Roemermann, Martin Diekmann, Harald Pauli, Hans Van Calster, Mark Vellend, Anne D. Bjorkman, Jorg Brunet, Pieter De Frenne, Radim Hedl, Ute Jandt, Jonathan Lenoir, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Kris Verheyen, Sonja Wipf, Monika Wulf, Christopher Andrews, Peter Barancok, Elena Barni, Jose-Luis Benito-Alonso, Jonathan Bennie, Imre Berki, Volker Blueml, Marketa Chudomelova, Guillaume Decocq, Jan Dick, Thomas Dirnboeck, Tomasz Durak, Ove Eriksson, Brigitta Erschbamer, Bente Jessen Graae, Thilo Heinken, Fride Hoistad Schei, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Martin Kopecky, Thomas Kudernatsch, Martin Macek, Marek Malicki, Frantisek Malis, Ottar Michelsen, Tobias Naaf, Thomas A. Nagel, Adrian C. Newton, Lena Nicklas, Ludovica Oddi, Adrienne Ortmann-Ajkai, Andrej Palaj, Alessandro Petraglia, Petr Petrik, Remigiusz Pielech, Francesco Porro, Mihai Puscas, Kamila Reczynska, Christian Rixen, Wolfgang Schmidt, Tibor Standovar, Klaus Steinbauer, Krzysztof Swierkosz, Balazs Teleki, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Pavel Dan Turtureanu, Tudor-Mihai Ursu, Thomas Vanneste, Philippine Vergeer, Ondrej Vild, Luis Villar, Pascal Vittoz, Manuela Winkler, Lander Baeten
Summary: The study reveals a pattern of species turnover across different habitats, with smaller-ranged species being replaced by larger-ranged species, and communities shifting towards more nutrient-demanding species. Species from nutrient-rich habitats tend to have larger ranges.
Article
Ecology
Eva DeCock, Iris Moeneclaey, Stephanie Schelfhout, Margot Vanhellemont, An De Schrijver, Lander Baeteni
Summary: Biodiversity is declining rapidly, leading to a decrease in ecosystem functions. Ecosystem restoration is necessary to counter this decline. While the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has been extensively studied, the relationship between ecosystem restoration and functioning is less studied. In this observational study, ecosystem functions were measured in grasslands undergoing restoration management. The results showed that as grasslands became more restored, plant richness increased and ecosystem functioning improved. However, when studying ecosystem functioning, value judgments must be considered, as high functioning does not necessarily mean well functioning from all stakeholder perspectives.
RESTORATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Emiel De Lombaerde, Pieter Vangansbeke, Jonathan Lenoir, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Jonas Lembrechts, Francisco Rodriguez-Sanchez, Miska Luoto, Brett Scheffers, Stef Haesen, Juha Aalto, Ditte Marie Christiansen, Karen De Pauw, Leen Depauw, Sanne Govaert, Caroline Greiser, Arndt Hampe, Kristoffer Hylander, David Klinges, Irena Koelemeijer, Camille Meeussen, Jerome Ogee, Pieter Sanczuk, Thomas Vanneste, Florian Zellweger, Lander Baeten, Pieter De Frenne
Summary: This study investigates the capacity of forest canopies to buffer understorey temperature and predicts that the difference between temperatures inside and outside forests will increase with accelerating climate change.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xin Jing, Bart Muys, Lander Baeten, Helge Bruelheide, Hans De Wandeler, Ellen Desie, Stephan Hattenschwiler, Herve Jactel, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Tommaso Jucker, Paul Kardol, Martina Pollastrini, Sophia Ratcliffe, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Federico Selvi, Karen Vancampenhout, Fons van der Plas, Kris Verheyen, Lars Vesterdal, Juan Zuo, Koenraad Van Meerbeek
Summary: Tree species diversity promotes multiple ecosystem functions and services. However, the effects on aboveground wood productivity and temporal stability differ between different regions, with leaf area index enhancing productivity but negatively affecting stability, and soil nutrient availability and fine root biomass having differing impacts. Positive effects of tree species richness on productivity are found in arid regions, while positive effects on stability are found in humid regions, indicating a possible disconnection between the two aspects.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Iris Moeneclaey, Stephanie Schelfhout, Margot Vanhellemont, Eva DeCock, Frieke Van Coillie, Kris Verheyen, Lander Baeten
Summary: Excess soil phosphorus often limits the ecological restoration of degraded semi-natural grasslands in Western Europe. Studying the responses of different plant species and communities to soil phosphorus availability can help us understand the restoration trajectories of grassland ecosystems.
BASIC AND APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Iris Moeneclaey, Lander Baeten, Kris Verheyen, Frieke Van Coillie
Summary: Understanding the soil nutrient status is crucial for the successful restoration of species-rich semi-natural grasslands. Plants can indicate soil nutrient availability through their growth. Reflectance spectroscopy has the potential to estimate vegetation nutrient content quickly and efficiently, providing information about soil nutrient availability for plants.
APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Forestry
Els Dhiedt, Lander Baeten, Pallieter De Smedt, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Kris Verheyen
Summary: Trees have a significant impact on the chemistry of topsoil, with the degree and direction of this impact depending on the tree species. Nutrient-poor trees have the potential to degrade soil fertility, while nutrient-rich trees can improve soil quality. In this study conducted in the Bialowieza Forest in Poland, the effects of tree species on topsoil chemistry were investigated on a small scale. The results showed that the concentration of total carbon, availability of phosphorus and base cations, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio were higher near the trees. However, the pH was not affected by distance. Different tree species had varying effects on the proximity of trees, with nutrient-poor trees having a more negative impact on pH and base cations compared to nutrient-rich trees. The study suggests the importance of mixing nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor species and the choice of tree species in terms of topsoil chemical composition at a small scale within a forest stand.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Naomi Terriere, Evelien Glazemaekers, Seline Bregman, Geertrui Rasschaert, Sjarlotte Willems, Filip Boyen, Luc Lens, Lander Baeten, Kris Verheyen, Frank Pasmans, Diederik Strubbe, An Martel
Summary: Hedgehog diphtheric disease (HDD) is a fatal ulcerative skin disease, and hedgehogs in Belgium serve as important reservoirs of multiple zoonotic bacteria, with Corynebacterium ulcerans and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato associated with hedgehog skin pathology and mortality.
TRANSBOUNDARY AND EMERGING DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Josiane Segar, Henrique M. Pereira, Lander Baeten, Markus Bernhardt-Roemermann, Pieter De Frenne, Nestor Fernandez, Frank S. Gilliam, Jonathan Lenoir, Adrienne Ortmann-Ajkai, Kris Verheyen, Donald Waller, Balazs Teleki, Jorg Brunet, Marketa Chudomelova, Guillaume Decocq, Thomas Dirnbock, Radim Hedl, Thilo Heinken, Bogdan Jaroszewicz, Martin Kopecky, Martin Macek, Frantisek Malis, Tobias Naaf, Anna Orczewska, Kamila Reczynska, Wolfgang Schmidt, Jan Sebesta, Alina Stachurska-Swakon, Tibor Standovar, Krzysztof Swierkosz, Ondrej Vild, Monika Wulf, Ingmar R. Staude
Summary: Ungulate populations are increasing in Europe, while atmospheric nitrogen deposition is eutrophying forests. The increase in herbivory is associated with elevated species turnover over time, but this turnover depends on nitrogen levels. Under low nitrogen deposition, herbivory benefits threatened and small-ranged species, but this trend is reversed under high nitrogen deposition. Herbivores also reduce shrub cover, increasing light levels and exacerbating nitrogen effects.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
