Ecological research infrastructures in the Netherlands

Soil ecotron as seen from the sky

From experimental mini-ponds to research vessels, and from living labs to collections: in The Netherlands we have many ecological research facilities. This website provides a national overview of the large-scale ecological research infrastructures. 

For ecological researchers in the Netherlands this overview offers opportunities to team up with other researchers and to link to existing ecological research facilities and initiatives. Currently, the inventory of large-scale ecological research facilities focuses on ecotrons, scientific (data) collections, long-term field studies and research infrastructures for fieldwork.


Faciliteiten
  1. ARISE

    Faciliteit
    Naturalis Biodiversity Center
    University of Amsterdam (UvA)
    University of Twente
    Westerdijk Institute
    The ARISE project is building an infrastructure that will identify and monitor all multicellular species in the Netherlands.
    Microscopic images of insects from ARISE
  2. Avian blood sample collection

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    Since 1994, we collect genetic samples from insects (winter moth) and birds (mainly great tit, blue tit, pied flycatcher, oystercatcher and various waterfowl). The location and specifications of a sample can be found in our relational data warehouse. There are more than 170,000 blood samples, feathers and other tissues stored at NIOO. The samples can be used to investigate the genotype of an individual or population in relation to their fenotype.
    test tubes
  3. Bacterial collection

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    NIOO has a collection of thousands of bacterial strains isolated from different (semi-)natural and agricultural environments. Most are bacteria isolated from soils, rhizosphere or plant parts, but aquatic strains are present as well.
    Bacterial collection
  4. Bird Radar

    Faciliteit
    University of Amsterdam (UvA)
    The BirdScan radar is a radar to track aerial movement of animals. This information can be used to gain more insight in migration patterns and the influence of changes in the environment.
    Bird Radar
  5. CBS-KNAW collections and databases

    Faciliteit
    Westerdijk Institute
    The CBS-KNAW culture collection from the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute (WI-KNAW) is the largest in the world with more than 100.000 strains of fungi (including yeasts) and bacteria (including wild-type and mutant strains), hosts suitable for DNA research, genetically engineered plasmids, broad-host-range plasmids and phages.
    Culture collection Westerdijk
  6. Living Lab B7

    Faciliteit
    Dunes and coastal areas
    NIOO-KNAW
    Radboud University
    HAS Green Academy
    The aim of Living Lab B7 is best summarised as providing insights and KPI’s (critical performance indicators) to Greenport Duin- and Bollenstreek, Nationaal Park Hollandse Duinen and the Deltaplan Biodiversiteitsherstel to contribute to the practice of biodiversity recovery in rural areas on local, regional and national scales.
    Demoveld met rijen bloembollen en een insectenval
  7. National Research Fleet

    Faciliteit
    NIOZ
    The National Research Fleet of the Netherlands is operated by NMF, the National Marine Facilities at NIOZ and consists of three research vessels: RV Pelagia, RV Navicula and RV Adriaen Coenen. Each is dedicated to a specific area of operation, from the shallow waters of the Wadden Sea to open oceans around the world. In addition to the vessels, NMF operates a pool of seagoing equipment.
    RV Pelagia, NIOZ
  8. Palaeoecology Reference Collection

    Faciliteit
    University of Amsterdam (UvA)
    The Palaeoecology Reference Collection contains reference specimens and archived material from palaeoecological investigations.
    Ten Poaceae pollen grains from nine subfamilies
  9. Veluwe grassland plant collection

    Faciliteit
    Dry sandy areas
    NIOO-KNAW
    This is a systematic collection of eight plant species from five grassland sites in the Veluwe, for which some tissue from individual plants is stored at -80 °C. For each site, up to 10 individuals from each species have been sampled along a transect at two time points (late May and early August).
    Veluwe grassland plant collection
  10. Vogeltrekstation (Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography)

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    Ringersvereniging (bird banding society)
    Vogeltrekstation (Dutch Centre for Avian Migration and Demography) is a cooperation between NIOO-KNAW and the Ringersvereniging (bird banding society). It arranges the daily practicalities with relation to catching and ringing of wild birds for science, policy and conservation.
    house sparrow


 

www.eco-ri.nl is initiated and maintained by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), and supported by the Dutch universities and research institutes connected to NERN (Netherlands Ecological Research Network) and/or BiodiversityXL (Centre of Excellence for Netherlands Biodiversity Research).

The inventory of ecological research infrastructures is ongoing. 

 

Highlighted ecological research infrastructures

Institutes

Contact

Contact

If you have any additions to the inventory, please contact the NIOO Research Support Office via rso@nioo.knaw.nl