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By connecting these aspects, the goal is to better understand the full impact of thinning on the ecosystem and offer balanced forest management advice.

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This in turn affects the animals and insects living there. Sanne's PhD looks at thinning not just from the tree’s perspective, but also from the viewpoint of the forest microclimate and ground-dwelling macroarthropods like woodlice and ground beetles.

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One common strategy is removing trees (thinning) to reduce competition for water, a limiting resource during a drought. But thinning does not only affect the trees. Opening the forest canopy also changes the temperature and humidity inside the forest (the forest microclimate).

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As climate change leads to hotter temperatures and more unpredictable rainfall, forests face increasing pressure from droughts and other disturbances. This poses a major challenge for forest managers: how can we make our forests more resilient to droughts?

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one colleague in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Sanne Verdonck: Optimizing climate-smart forest management to alleviate drought stress in temperate forest systems.💧

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Kelly's PhD aims to unlock the climate change mitigation and adaptation potential of domestic gardens by combining remote sensing, spatial analysis, sensor networks, and citizen science to better understand garden characteristics, model their climate impact, and inform policymakers.

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 06/08/2025

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one or multiple colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Kelly Wittemans: Unlocking the climate change mitigation and adaptation potential of domestic gardens🌻🌼🌷

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

From estimating local households’ fuelwood and charcoal use to understanding how the surrounding forests responded over time. 🌳🔥Congratulations, Dr. Boogers! Thank you for being such a great colleague at FNL. Wishing you all the best in your next adventure! 👏

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 14/07/2025

At the end of June, Stef Boogers successfully defended his PhD! He presented his fascinating research on the environmental impact of human activities in the Sagalassos territory in Turkey.

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

She investigates the main drivers behind garden management decisions. Janne also examines the influence of garden use, explores barriers to change, and assesses if citizen science can support the uptake of more climate-resilient practices.

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Janne’s research focuses on what people do in their gardens and why, and how we can improve garden management to better support climate change adaptation. More specifically, she looks at which nature-based solutions (NBS) can be applied in these private outdoor spaces.

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 30/06/2025

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one or multiple colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Janne Teerlinck: The Climate Change Adaptation Potential of Garden Management, from a Socio-Ecological Perspective🌻🌼🌷

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

Yesterday, the #sGlobe team enjoyed a teambuilding day at the beautiful Hoge Venen Nature Park, organized by @kvanmeerbeek.bsky.social. A 16-kilometer hike sparked team connection, fresh research ideas, and a fun game—an ideal way to keep the team spirit thriving! 👏

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

De 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐝𝐚𝐠 𝐓𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 biedt een mix van lezingen, workshops, wandelingen, een fietstocht en een interactieve infomarkt. 📅 Maandag 20 oktober 2025 📍 VAC Leuven ℹ️ Meer info & inschrijven: www.kuleuven.be/garlock/stud...

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

He explores this from multiple perspectives, including future changes in species composition, future changes in functional traits composition, and functional drivers of temporal stability.

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Chang’s project harnesses the big data revolution in ecology to examine how climate and land cover change may affect the ecosystem functioning of European grasslands.

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 05/06/2025

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one or multiple colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of @changliulukas.bsky.social : Exploring the effects of climate and land-use change on ecosystem functioning of European grasslands 🌱

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Benieuwd naar ons onderzoek? Volg de resultaten op mijntuinlab.be! We posten er ook surveys, waardoor je zelf een belangrijke bijdrage kan leveren aan de wetenschap!

mijntuinlab.be

Mijn Tuinlab

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dfornatlan @dfornatlan.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

MaaiMeiNiet zet dit jaar in op het bewustzijn rond de rol van groen voor onze gezondheid. 💚 Onze tuinen en stedelijk groen zijn namelijk zeer belangrijk voor onze gezondheid. 🏡 Doe nu de test, en kijk hoe jouw tuin bijdraagt aan je gezondheid! www.knack.be/maaimeiniet/...

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... creating resilient, sustainable agroforestry systems that support both rural livelihoods and the environment! Ieben’s PhD is part of the CoffeeBridge and ClimCoff projects.

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From analyzing trade-offs between yield, carbon, and tree diversity, to uncovering belowground fungal diversity, identifying key yield drivers, and amplifying farmer voices on shade tree preferences, each chapter builds toward a common goal...

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Ieben explores how robusta coffee cultivation can balance productivity, environmental sustainability, and farmer priorities in the DRC, an under-studied though important region.

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Each month, we shine a spotlight on one or multiple colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Ieben Broeckhoven: Unpacking the Agroecological Potential of Robusta Coffee Systems in the DR Congo. 🍃☕

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We wish Dr. Vermeulen the best on her continuing academic journey as Liezl will take up a post-doc position at the @bgc-jena.mpg.de, working on mapping and modelling ecosystem functioning and functional traits of tropical forests in the Congo Basin using remote sensing.

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"When combined with in situ biodiversity data and traditional ecological knowledge, this approach reveals a powerful way to track and understand complex ecosystem dynamics—and to inform better management strategies in a rapidly changing world.”

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"I used remote sensing to uncover how drought, extreme rainfall, fire, elephants, soil and topography interact to drive ecological change."

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“My PhD research tackled one of the biggest challenges facing African ecosystems today: the speed at which climate change is reshaping them. From savannas to fynbos, these landscapes are changing fast—raising urgent questions about what they will look like in 5, 10, or 20 years."

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