Environmental Sciences

Ecosystems are exposed to human-induced global environmental changes, such as land use intensification, nutrient loading, water distribution disruptions, climate change, ecosystem degradation and fragmentation. Gaining insight into how ecosystems influence and respond to such global changes is one of the main frontiers in environmental sciences today.

Mission

Our mission is to understand interactions between global changes and ecosystem processes, for sustainability of ecosystem services to humans. 

Research themes

Global Change and Ecosystems
We use an experimental and dynamic system approach, linking patterns, biotic and abiotic ecosystem processes. We develop spatial dynamic models and link them to field data. We are interested in feedbacks between environmental change and ecosystems on multiple spatial scales.
    Soil and hydrological processes in terrestrial ecosystems are major components in the global cycling of carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and water. Cycling of water and nutrients in ecosystems depend on human interventions, environmental conditions and biotic processes, including their interactions. Resource limitation, stress and plant species interactions (facilitation and competition) determine ecosystem productivity and biodiversity. We study whether ecosystems become carbon sinks or sources, and how nutrient cycling is affected by global changes. Key issues are the effects of climate change, human interventions and nutrient cycling on interactions between species, their migration and adaptation, and how this affects ecosystem functioning. Ecohydrology and related biodiversity patterns are essential knowledge for ecosystem restoration and nature conservation.
    Understanding of mechanisms underlying feedbacks between different environmental components (ecosystems, hydrology, nutrient cycling and climate), and the consequences for ecosystem processes and functioning is needed. We question how environmental compartments interact in paleo, actuo and future. We upscale local processes such as nitrogen and phosphorus enrichment to continental scales. Positive feedbacks between environmental compartments can lead to non-linear critical transitions and tipping points in ecosystems and climate.  Examples are crashes in ecosystem productivity, biodiversity and food webs, resulting in deserts. We contribute to the understanding of such ecosystem changes at various spatial scales and to the development of spatial indicators for ecosystem sustainability. 
    We generate knowledge and develop methods for decision support systems aimed at ecosystem sustainability. Elucidating the causes and effects of environmental problems, and using this scientific knowledge for environmental policy, bridges the gap between science and policy.

Research is strongly linked with the Master's programme Sustainable Development.

We participate in the national research school Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment (SENSE) and many international networks
The research group is part of the Copernicus Institute for Sustainable Development and Innovation