Species rich grasslands provide ecosystem services such as floral and faunal diversity, livestock forage, carbon sequestration and water regulation. However, the best combinations of sward diversity and management intensity to achieve the above-mentioned ecosystem services are not fully known. To address …

Nature-based strategies, such as wave attenuation by tidal marshes, are increasingly proposed as a complement to mitigate the risks of failure of engineered flood defense structures such as levees. However, recent analysis of historic coastal storms revealed smaller dike breach dimensions if there were …

Animal burrows create discontinuities on the body of earthen levees that under certain circumstances can threaten their structural integrity through hydraulic alteration and surface erosion. Although it is a virtually established fact that discontinuities can undermine the structural integrity of levees, …

Research regarding relations between coastal vegetation types and accompanying erosion rates. Coastal erosion is a potential threat for ~100 million people that are living within one meter below mean sea level. Furthermore, it poses a threat to wildlife such as marine turtles, and plant communities that …

This thesis covers the topic of ‘Optimal management of equine pastures’. From the equine sector, a request was made for more knowledge on the topic of pasture management. The main problem with gaining information on this topic is not the lack of existing knowledge, but the knowledge being spread over …

During times of high activity by predators and competitors, herbivores may be forced to forage in patches of low‐quality food. However, the relative importance in determining where and what herbivores forage still remains unclear, especially for small‐ and intermediate‐sized herbivores. Our objective …

Urban green and shading are adaptation measures that reduce urban heat. This is evident from meteorological measurements and investigations with surveys and has been described in many papers (e.g. Klemm et al., 2015). The cooling effect of these adaptation measures is reflected by lower air temperatures …

Aanleiding van het onderzoek is het onbekend zijn van de vegetatietrends en de samenhang met de ontwikkelingen van abiotiek en beheer in het oostelijke gedeelte van de Nieuwe Sliedrechtse Biesbosch sinds de afsluiting van het Haringvliet in 1970. De Louw Simonswaard, Houwelingswater / Sneepkil en Kop …

In Europa is sprake van een algemene en alarmerende achteruitgang van bloembezoekende insecten zoals wilde bijen, zweefvliegen en vlinders. Deze insecten spelen een belangrijke rol bij de bestuiving van bloeiende planten. Deze bestuiving is zowel belangrijk voor de agrarische sector als de natuurbeheer. …

De prairiebeplanting is in de jaren ’90 in Europa terechtgekomen door interesse van diverse botanici en tuinarchitecten die zich in deze materie verdiepten. De trend begon rond deze jaren, waarbij grassen worden gecombineerd met vaste planten wat een natuurlijk karakter uitstraalt. Tijdens de aanleg …