Publications

• Hautier Y, Barry KE, Hefting MM, Van Kuijk M, Pos ET, Verduyn GP, Johannes R, Kowalchuk GA & Soons MB (2024) The Biodiversity and Climate Variability Experiment (BioCliVE): Quantifying the role of biodiversity in buffering ecosystems against climatic variability. Research Ideas and Outcomes 10: e133454.
• Sandoval-Calderon AP, Soons MB, Van Kuijk M, Verweij PA, Barry KE & Hautier Y (2024) Camelid herding may homogenize Andean grassland plant communities. Ecological Indicators 167: 112590.
• He M, Barry KE, Soons MB, Allan E, Cappelli SL, Craven D, Doležal J, Isbell F, Lanta V, Lepš J, Liang M, Mason N, Palmborg C, Pichon NA, Da Silveira Pontes L, Reich PB, Roscher C & Hautier Y (2024) Cumulative nitrogen enrichment alters the drivers of grassland overyielding. Communications Biology 7: 309.
• Sandoval-Calderon AP, Rubio Echazarra N, Van Kuijk M, Verweij PA, Soons MB & Yann Hautier (2024) The effect of livestock grazing on plant diversity and productivity of mountainous grasslands in South America – A meta-analysis. Ecology and Evolution 14: e11076.
• Zhang P, Borer ET, Seabloom EW, Soons MB, Hefting MM, Kowalchuk GA, Adler PB, Chu C, Zhou X, Brown CS, Guo Z, Zhou X, Zhao Z, Du G & Hautier Y (2023) Space resource utilization of dominant species integrates abundance- and functional-based processes for better predictions of plant diversity dynamics. Oikos e09519.
• De Jager M & Soons MB (2023) Critical transitions and evolutionary hysteresis in movement: Habitat fragmentation can cause abrupt shifts in dispersal that are difficult to revert. Ecology and Evolution 13: e10147.
• Seale M, Zhdanov O, Soons MB, Cummins C, Kroll E, Blatt MR, Zare-Behtash H, Busse A, Mastropaolo E, Bullock JM, Viola IM & Nakayama N (2023) Environmental morphing enables informed dispersal of the dandelion diaspore. eLife 11: e81962.
• Van Leeuwen CHA, Soons MB, Vandionant LGVTI, Green AJ & Bakker ES (2023) Seed dispersal by waterbirds: a mechanistic understanding by simulating avian digestion. Ecography 2023: e06470.
• Van Leeuwen CHA, Villar N, Mendoza Sagrera I, Green AJ, Bakker ES, Soons MB, Galetti M, Jansen PA, Nolet BA & Santamaría L (2022) A seed dispersal effectiveness framework across the mutualism–antagonism continuum. Oikos 2022: e09254.
• Timmers R, Van Kuijk M, Verweij PA, Ghazoul J, Hautier Y, Laurance WF, Arriaga-Weiss SL, Askins RA, Battisti C, Berg A, Daily GC, Estades CF, Frank B, Kurosawa R, Pojar RA, Woinarski JCZ & Soons MB (2022) Conservation of birds in fragmented landscapes requires protected areas. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 20: 361-369.
• Van der Velde Y,  Temme AJAM, Nijp JJ, Braakhekke MC, Van Voorn GAK, Dekker SC, Dolman AJ, Wallinga J, Devito KJ, Kettridge N, Mendoza CA, Kooistra L, Soons MB & Teuling AJ (2021) Emerging forest–peatland bistability and resilience of European peatland carbon stores. PNAS 118: e2101742118.
• Treep HJ, De Jager M, Bartumeus F & Soons MB (2021) Seed dispersal as a search strategy: dynamic and fragmented landscapes select for multi-scale movement strategies in plants. Movement Ecology 9:4.
• Sebastián-González E, Lovas-Kiss A, Soons MB, Van den Broek B & Green AJ (2020) Waterbird seed-dispersal networks are similarly nested but less modular than those of frugivorous birds, and not driven by functional traits. Functional Ecology 34: 2283-2291.
• Zhang P, Hefting MM, Soons MB, Kowalchuk GA, Rees M, Hector A, Turnbull LA, Zhou X, Guo Z, Chu C, Du G & Hautier Y (2020) Fast and furious: Early differences in growth rate drive short-term plant dominance and exclusion under eutrophication. Ecology and Evolution 10: 10116-10129.
• Overbeek CC, Harpenslager SF, Van Zuidam JP, Van Loon EE, Lamers LPM, Soons MB, Admiraal W, Verhoeven JTA, Smolders AJP, Roelofs JGM & Van der Geest HG (2020) Drivers of vegetation development, biomass production and the initiation of peat formation in a newly constructed wetland. Ecosystems 23: 1019–1036.
• Zhang P, Kowalchuk GA, Soons MB, Hefting MM, Chu C, Firn J, Brown CS, Zhou X, Zhou X, Guo Z, Zhao Z, Du G & Hautier Y (2019) SRU_D: A simple non-destructive method for accurate quantification of plant diversity dynamics. Journal of Ecology 107: 2155–2166.
• Nijp JJ, Temme AJAM, Van Voorn GAK, Kooistra L, Hengeveld GM, Soons MB, Teuling AJ & Wallinga J (2019) Spatial early warning signals for impending regime shifts: A practical framework for application in real-world landscapes. Global Change Biology 25: 1905-1921.
• Fraaije RGA, Poupin C, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2019) Functional responses of aquatic and riparian vegetation to hydrogeomorphic restoration of channelized lowland streams and their valleys. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 1007-1018.
• Van Zuidam JP, Van Leeuwen CHA, Bakker ES, Verhoeven JTA, IJff S, Peeters ETHM, Van Zuidam BG & Soons MB (2019) Plant functional diversity and nutrient availability can improve restoration of floating fens via facilitation, complementarity and selection effects. Journal of Applied Ecology 56: 235-245.
• De Jager M, Kaphingst B, Janse EL, Buisman R, Rinzema SGT & Soons MB (2019) Seed size regulates plant dispersal distances in flowing water. Journal of Ecology 107: 307–317.
• Kleyheeg E, Nolet BA, Otero-Ojea S & Soons MB (2018) A mechanistic assessment of the relationship between gut morphology and endozoochorous seed dispersal by waterfowl. Ecology and Evolution 8: 10857–10867.
• Treep HJ, De Jager M, Kuiper LS, Duman T, Katul GG & Soons MB (2018) Costs and benefits of non-random seed release for long-distance dispersal in wind-dispersed plant species. Oikos 127: 1330–1343.
• Baattrup-Pedersen A, Garssen AG, Göthe E, Hoffmann CC, Oddershede A, Riis T, Van Bodegom PM, Larsen SE & Soons MB (2018) Structural and functional responses of plant communities to climate change-mediated alterations in the hydrology of riparian areas in temperate Europe. Ecology and Evolution 8: 4120–4135.
• Kleyheeg E, Claessens M & Soons MB (2018) Interactions between seed traits and digestive processes determine the germinability of bird-dispersed seeds. PLoS ONE 13: e0195026.
• Fraaije RGA, Moinier S, Van Gogh I, Timmers R, Van Deelen JJ, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2017) Spatial patterns of water-dispersed seed deposition along stream riparian gradients. PLoS ONE 12: e0185247.
• Auffret AG, Rico Y, Bullock JM, Hooftman DAP, Pakeman RJ, Soons MB, Suárez-Esteban A, Traveset A, Wagner HH & Cousins SAO (2017) Plant functional connectivity - integrating landscape structure and effective dispersal. Journal of Ecology 105: 1648–1656.
• Garssen AG, Baattrup-Pedersen A, Riis T, Raven BM, Hoffman CC, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2017) Effects of increased flooding on riparian vegetation: field experiments simulating climate change along five European lowland streams. Global Change Biology 23: 3052-3063.
• Kleyheeg E, Treep HJ, de Jager M, Nolet BA & Soons MB (2017) Seed dispersal distributions resulting from landscape-dependent daily movement behaviour of a key vector species, Anas platyrhynchos. Journal of Ecology 105: 1279–1289.
• Kleyheeg E, Van Dijk JGB, Tsopoglou-Gkina D, Woud T, Boonstra D, Nolet BA & Soons MB (2017) Movement patterns of a keystone waterbird species are highly predictable from landscape configuration. Movement Ecology 5: 2.
• Soons MB, Hefting MM, Dorland E, Lamers LPM, Versteeg C & Bobbink R (2017) Nitrogen effects on plant species richness in herbaceous communities are more widespread and stronger than those of phosphorus. Biological Conservation 212: 390-397.
• Soons MB, de Groot GA, Cuesta Ramirez MT, Fraaije RGA, Verhoeven JTA & de Jager M (2017) Directed dispersal by an abiotic vector: Wetland plants disperse their seeds selectively to suitable sites along the hydrological gradient via water. Functional Ecology 31: 499–508.
• Verhoeven JTA, Beltman B, Janssen R & Soons MB (2017) Delineating landscape-scale processes of hydrology and plant dispersal for species-rich fen conservation: the Operational Landscape Unit approach. Wetlands Ecology and Management 25: 761–774. 
• Kleyheeg E, Klaassen M & Soons MB (2016) Seed dispersal potential by wild mallard duck as estimated from digestive tract analysis. Freshwater Biology 61: 1646-1758.
• Wubs ERJ, Fraaije RGA, de Groot GA, Erkens RHJ, Garssen AG, Kleyheeg E, Raven BM & Soons MB (2016) Going against the flow: a case for upstream dispersal and detection of other uncommon dispersal events. Freshwater Biology 61: 580-595.
• Soons MB, Brochet AL, Kleyheeg E & Green AJ (2016) Seed dispersal by dabbling ducks: an overlooked dispersal pathway for a broad spectrum of plant species. Journal of Ecology 104: 443–455.
• Fraaije RGA, ter Braak CJF, Verduyn B, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2015) Dispersal versus environmental filtering in a dynamic system: drivers of vegetation patterns and diversity along stream riparian gradients. Journal of Ecology 103: 1634–1646.
• Fraaije RGA, ter Braak CJF, Verduyn B, Breeman LBS, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2015) Early plant recruitment stages set the template for the development of vegetation patterns along a hydrological gradient. Functional Ecology 29: 971-980.
• Garssen AG, Baattrup-Pedersen A, Voesenek LACJ, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2015) Riparian plant community responses to increased flooding: a meta-analysis. Global Change Biology 21: 2881-2890.
• Van Dijk J, Kleyheeg E, Soons MB, Nolet BA, Fouchier R & Klaassen M (2015) Weak negative associations between avian influenza virus infection and movement behaviour in a key host species, the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). Oikos 124: 1293–1303.
• Kleyheeg E, van Leeuwen CHA, Morison MA, Nolet BA & Soons MB (2015) Bird-mediated seed dispersal: reduced digestive efficiency in active birds modulates the dispersal capacity of plant seeds. Oikos 124: 899-907.
• Garssen AG, Verhoeven JTA & Soons MB (2014) Effects of climate-induced increases in summer drought on riparian plant species: a meta-analysis. Freshwater Biology 59: 1052-1063.
• Sarneel JM, Beltman B, Buijze A, Groen R & Soons MB (2014) The role of wind in the dispersal of floating seeds in slow-flowing or stagnant water bodies. Journal of Vegetation Science 25: 262-274.
• Dorland E, Stevens CJ, Gaudnik C, Corcket E, Rotthier S, Wotherspoon K, Jokerud M, Vandvik V, Soons MB, Hefting MM, Aarrestad PA, Alard D, Diekmann M, Dupre C, Dise NB, Gowing DJG & Bobbink R (2013) Differential effects of oxidised and reduced Nitrogen on vegetation and soil chemistry of species-rich acidic grasslands. Water air and soil pollution 224: 1664.
• Pazos GE, Greene DF, Katul GG, Bertiller MB & Soons MB (2013) Seed dispersal by wind: towards a conceptual framework of seed abscission and its contribution to long-distance dispersal. Journal of Ecology 101: 889-904.
• Soomers H, Karssenberg D, Soons MB, Verweij PA, Verhoeven JTA & Wassen MJ (2013) Wind and water dispersal of wetland plants across fragmented landscapes. Ecosystems 16: 434-451.
• Sarneel JM & Soons MB (2012) Post-dispersal probability of germination and establishment on the shorelines of slow-flowing or stagnant water bodies. Journal of Vegetation Science 23: 517-525.
• Stevens CJ, Gowing DJG, Wotherspoon KA, Alard D, Aarrestad PA, Bleeker A, Bobbink R, Diekmann M, Dise NB, Dupre C, Dorland E, Gaudnik C, Rotthier S, Soons MB & Corcket E (2011) Addressing the impact of atmospheric Nitrogen deposition on Western European grasslands. Environmental Management 48: 885-894.
• Brederveld RJ, Jaehnig SC, Lorenz AW, Brunzel S & Soons MB (2011) Dispersal as a limiting factor in the colonization of restored mountain streams by plants and macroinvertebrates. Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 1241-1250.
• Sarneel JM, Soons MB, Geurts JJM, Beltman B & Verhoeven JTA (2011) Multiple effects of landuse changes impede the colonization of open water in fen ponds. Journal of Vegetation Science 22: 551-563.
• Nathan R, Katul GG, Bohrer G, Kuparinen A, Soons MB, Thompson SE, Trakhtenbrot A & Horn HS (2011) Mechanistic models of seed dispersal by wind. Theoretical Ecology (Special issue in honor of Simon Levin) 4: 113-132.
• Sarneel JM, Geurts JJM, Beltman B, Lamers LPM, Nijzink MM, Soons MB & Verhoeven JTA (2010) The effect of nutrient enrichment of either the bank or the surface water on shoreline vegetation and decomposition. Ecosystems 13: 1275-1286.
• Wichmann MC, Alexander MJ, Soons MB, Galsworthy S, Dunne L, Gould R, Fairfax C, Niggemann M, Hails RS & Bullock JM (2009) Human-mediated dispersal of seeds over long distances. Proceedings of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciences 276: 523-532.
• Verhoeven JTA, Soons MB, Janssen R & Omtzigt N (2008) An Operational Landscape Unit approach for identifying key landscape connections in wetland restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology 45: 1496-1503.
• Soons MB & Bullock JM (2008) Non-random seed abscission, long-distance wind dispersal and plant migration rates. Journal of Ecology (Special feature on plant dispersal) 96: 581-590.
• Soons MB, van der Vlugt C, van Lith B, Heil GW & Klaassen M (2008) Small seed size increasesthe potential for dispersal of wetland plants by ducks. Journal of Ecology (Special feature on plant dispersal) 96: 619-627.
• Soons MB (2006) Wind dispersal in freshwater wetlands: Knowledge for conservation and restoration. Applied Vegetation Science (Special issue on wetlands) 9: 271-278.
• Jongejans E, Soons MB & de Kroon H (2006) Bottlenecks and spatiotemporal variation in the sexual reproduction pathway of perennial meadow plants. Basic and Applied Ecology 7: 71-81.
• Soons MB, Messelink JH, Jongejans E & Heil GW (2005) Habitat fragmentation reduces grassland connectivity for both short-distance and long-distance wind-dispersed forbs. Journal of Ecology 93: 1214-1225.
• Katul GG, Porporato A, Nathan R, Siqueira M, Soons MB, Poggi D, Horn HS & Levin SA (2005) Mechanistic analytical models for long-distance seed dispersal by wind. American Naturalist 166: 368-381.
• Nathan R, Sapir N, Trakhtenbrot A, Katul GG, Bohrer G, Otte M, Avissar R, Soons MB, Horn HS, Wikelski M & Levin SA (2005) Long-distance biological transport processes through the air: can nature's complexity be unfolded in silico? Diversity and Distributions (Special issue on long-distance dispersal) 11: 131-137.
• Soons MB & Ozinga WA (2005) How important is long-distance seed dispersal for the regional survival of plant species? Diversity and Distributions (Special issue on long-distance dispersal) 11: 165-172.
• Soons MB, Heil GW, Nathan R & Katul GG (2004) Determinants of long-distance seed dispersal by wind in grasslands. Ecology 85: 3056-3068.
• Soons MB, Nathan R & Katul GG (2004) Human effects on long-distance wind dispersal and colonization by grassland plants. Ecology 85: 3069-3079.
• Soons MB & Heil GW (2002) Reduced colonization capacity in fragmented populations of wind-dispersed grassland forbs. Journal of Ecology 90: 1033-1043.

Peer-reviewed publications in Dutch

• Knegt C, Van Wijngaarden K, Verweij PA & Soons MB (2021) De effecten van Zonneparken op vegetatie. Onderzoek in dertien Nederlandse zonneparken naar vegetatie, bodem en microklimaat. Landschap 2021/2: 81-89.
• Dorland E, Bobbink R, Soons MB & Rotthier S (2011) Dalende stikstofdepositie is nog niet afdoende voor herstel van droge heischrale graslanden. De Levende Natuur 112: 220-224.
• Soons MB (2001) Verspreiding van zaden (boekbespreking). Natuurhistorisch Maandblad 90: augustus 2001.

Handbooks 

• Van de Haterd R, Grutters B, Droog M, Achterkamp B, Soomers H & Soons MB (2018) Ecologische sleutelfactoren Verspreiding en Connectiviteit. Tussenrapportage. STOWA uitgave.

Contributions to books

• Green AJ, Soons MB, Brochet AL & Kleyheeg E (2016) Dispersal of plants by waterbirds. PP 147-195 in: Sekercioglu ÇH, Wenny DG & Whelan CJ. Why Birds Matter: Avian Ecological Function and Ecosystem Services. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
• Johnson RK, Battarbee RW, Bennion H, Hering D, Soons MB & Verhoeven JTA (2010) Climate change: defining reference conditions and restoring freshwater ecosystems. PP 203-235 in: Kernan M, Moss B & Battarbee RW. Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems: direct effects and interactions with other stresses. Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
• Jeppesen E, Moss B, Bennion H, Carvalho L, DeMeester L, Feuchtmayr H, Friberg N, Gessner MO, Hefting MM, Lauridsen TL, Liboriussen L, Malmquist H, May L, Meerhoff M, Olafsson JS, Soons MB & Verhoeven JTA (2010) Interaction of climate change and eutrophication. PP 119- 151 in: Kernan M, Moss B & Battarbee RW. Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems: direct effects and interactions with other stresses. Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.

PhD thesis

• M.B. Soons (2003) Thesis: Habitat fragmentation and connectivity: Spatial and temporal characteristics of the colonization process in plants. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Supervised PhD theses

• A.G. Garssen (2019) Thesis: Effects of increased drought and flooding episodes on stream riparian vegetation. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
• H.J Treep (2018) Thesis: Flying cheap. Modelling the passive movement of plants and animals. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands. 
• R.G.A. Fraaije (2016) Thesis: Plants living on the edge. Colonization processes of aquatic and riparian vegetation along restored lowland streams. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
• E. Kleyheeg (2015) Thesis: Seed dispersal by a generalist duck. Ingestion, digestion and transportation by mallards (Anas platyrhynchos). Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
• J.M. Sarneel (2010) Thesis: Colonisation processes in riparian fen vegetation. Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Datasets

• Timmers R et al. (2021) Conservation of Birds in Fragmented Landscapes Requires Protected Areas, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.wpzgmsbn9.