Conservator, teacher and researcher on plant diversity and ecosystem services at the Utrecht University Botanic Gardens & doctoral researcher on the relationships between plant diversity and plant-based ecosystem services at  the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development and University.

An overarching passion across my professional work are plants. I think that plants are cool but systematically overlooked and undervalued. Thereby we risk losing important and relevant plant diversity that can or is improving our daily lives. Therefore, I personally aim to cure this 'plant blindness' throughout my work.

My research focusses on to what extent the concept of ecosystem services can help nature conservation. Ecosystems provide services such as carbon storage, clean water and climate control and deliver goods such as timber, food and ornamentals, which benefit human wellbeing. These services and goods are collectively called 'ecosystem services'. It is hoped that by quantifying ecosystem services, new and better arguments can be found to help protect nature.

Importantly, it is commonly assumed that ecosystem services and biodiversity are closely related. In this view, protecting ecosystem services will also lead to protection of biodiversity. However, much remains unknown to what extent this is true and under what circumstances. It might be that not all species have a direct contribution to supplying ecosystem services. It might also be that, although an ecosystem or its biodiversity can deliver a service, there is no-one that can benefit from this service. Therefore, in order to assess the merit of the concept of ecosystem services for nature conservation, it is important to assess to what extent there are relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem services.

This is particularly relevant for tropical ecosystems. Tropical ecosystems, such as tropical forests, are increasingly being destroyed or degraded. This will not only lead to a loss of biodiversity, but also ecosystem services. If biodiversity and ecosystem services are indeed closely related, protecting the one may also protect the other. This is highly relevant as resources for nature conservation is often limited, especially in tropical areas.

Therefore, my research specifically focussed on tropical ecosystem services. My focal area is the Guiana Shield area in the Neotropics, which includes the countries of Guyana, Suriname, French-Guiana and parts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. As a plant enthusiast, my scope is on plants, and the plant-based ecosystem services they provide. See the Tab on 'research' for more specific information.

As a conservator I am involved in scientifically curating the plant collection of the Utrecht University Botanic Gardens. This unique plant collections spans over 9000 species, 2100 genera and 250 families of plants, making the Utrecht University Botanic Gardens the most biodiverse place in the Netherlands. For more information about the Utrecht University Botanic Gardens, see https://www.uu.nl/en/utrecht-botanic-gardens

As a teacher in multiple courses and student projects I endeavour to teach students about the wonderful world of plants. For more information about my teaching activities, see the Tab on ‘Teaching’.