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. Photobioreactors

    Facility
    NIOO-KNAW
    Tubular photobioreactors used for cultivation of microalgae. They can be operated as batch (no dilution rate) or as chemostat (fixed dilution rate) for all types of media, including waste water. Volumes vary from 30 to 200L. Reactors in temperature controlled greenhouse. Mixing by aeration (CO2-enriched air or headspace recirculation). Automatic data logging of pH, temperature, light intensity and DO. pH can be controlled by acid/base addition.
    Water fowl facility
  2. Soil ecotron

    Facility
    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.
    Water fowl facility
  3. Veluwe grassland plant collection

    Facility
    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
  4. Waterfowl facility

    Facility
    NIOO-KNAW
    This is a facility for keeping waterfowl for behavioural and physiological research. The facility consists of an outdoor aviary and a building for birds indoors.
    Water fowl facility


 

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 and is expected to be completed over the course of 2023.