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.


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  1. Land van Ons - Warmond

    Faciliteit
    Fen and Sea Clay landscapes
    Agricultural and Rural Areas
    NIOO-KNAW
    Leiden University
    Naturalis Biodiversity Center
    The foundation 'Land van Ons' has obtained a peat meadow area near Leiden to increase biodiversity in this intensively used agricultural area. The goal is not to recreate nature, but to develop sustainable agricultural use of this land with the goal of increasing biodiversity in the area and developing management strategies that optimise its ecological, economic and recreational value.
    Land van Ons - Warmond

  2. Limnotrons

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    The limnotrons are nine stainless steel indoor mesocosms with a high level of control. The dimensions are: 0.97 m in diameter, depth between 1.32 m (side) and 1.37 m (centre), volume of 922 L. The vessels can be closed with a removable PMMA flange lid. In addition to the possibility of sampling vertically with specifically designed integrated water samples, sampling can also be done by using the sampling ports positioned at three depths.
    Limnotrons

  3. 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

  4. LTSER-platform Dutch Wadden Sea

    Faciliteit
    Marine and intertidal areas
    Dunes and coastal areas
    NIOZ
    Rijkswaterstaat
    NIOO-KNAW
    The Long-Term Socio-Ecological research platform Dutch Wadden Sea area is a large coastal area bordering the north of the Netherlands.
    Luchtfoto van Vlieland

  5. LTSER-platform Veluwe

    Faciliteit
    Dry sandy areas
    Radboud University
    NIOO-KNAW
    The area defined as ‘the Veluwe’ lies in the province of Gelderland, the Netherlands, West of the river IJssel and North of the river Rhine. The region hosts the largest connected nature area of the country. The natural landscape consists of a mix of forests, heathlands, sand drifts, lakes, and moorlands and is surrounded by agriculture, settlements, or infrastructure. This means there is a lot of interaction between humans and nature.
    Tongerense Heide

  6. Marker Wadden

    Faciliteit
    Large fresh water areas
    NIOO-KNAW
    The Marker Wadden is a newly constructed archipelago in lake Markermeer, which aims to improve the lake’s degrading food web by stimulating primary productivity. The archipelago consists of five islands that add a currently missing habitat type to the lake: shallow, sheltered waters with high nutrient availability and gradual land-water transitions.
    Marker Wadden 2018

  7. Mesocosms for soil-plant-insect interactions

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    A total of 40 mesocosms are distributed in five rows of eight mesocosms with a spacing of 0.5 m between them. In spring/summer we grow plant species that are currently expanding their range within Europe and species that belong to the same genus while being native in the Netherlands.
    Mesocosms soil-plant-insect interactions

  8. Microcosms

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) houses 36x10L microcosms (transparent polycarbonate carboys; NALGENE, Rochester, USA) for plankton research. The microcosms can be temperature-controlled in water baths (at 0.5 °C temperature resolution), and automatically stirred through magnetic stirrers mounted below the water baths.
    Microcosms

  9. NutNet Planken-Wambuis

    Faciliteit
    Dry sandy areas
    Agricultural and Rural Areas
    NIOO-KNAW
    Two of the most pervasive human impacts on ecosystems are alteration of global nutrient budgets and changes in the abundance and identity of consumers. In spite of the global impacts of these human activities, there have been no globally coordinated experiments to quantify the general impacts on ecological systems. The Nutrient Network (NutNet) is a grassroots, global research effort to address these questions within a coordinated research network comprised of more than 130 grassland sites worldwide.
    NUT-net Planken-Wambuis

  10. 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

  11. Research Vessel RV Dreissena

    Faciliteit
    University of Amsterdam (UvA)
    The research vessel RV Dreissena is used for (experimental) fieldwork programs on lake Markermeer.
    Research vessel Dreissena

  12. Soil ecotron

    Faciliteit
    NIOO-KNAW
    The ecotron consists of 60 cilinders with intact (non-disturbed) sand, peat or sea clay cores (20 each). For each soil treatment, ten of the cilinders are inoculated with soil from species-rich grassland with the same soil type. The other ten are inoculated with sterile soil from the same grassland. The cilinders are buried in an experimental garden.
    Bodembiodiversiteit onderzoeken


 

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

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