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Ciska  Veen's picture

Dr. Ciska Veen

Tenure Track

Terrestrial Ecology


Research expertise
  • Aboveground-belowground interactions
  • Community ecology
  • Decomposition
  • Grasslands
  • Grazing
  • Home-field advantage

  • Page last updated: 08-10-2021
    • CV
    • Groups
    • Peer-reviewed publications
    • Popular-scientific publications
    • Ancillary positions

    I am a Junior Group Leader at the Netherlands Institute in Ecology in Wageningen (the Netherlands). I am a soil ecologist interested to understand diversity, species composition and the functioning of ecological communities. Currently, my research focusses on the role of specialized microorganisms in driving C and N cycling, their feedback to plant communities, the impact of global environmental change on soil processes and the feedback of biogeochemical cycling to atmospheric C concentrations.

    Education and research positions

    • 1999 - 2005: BSc and MSc at University of Groningen (the Netherlands). Graduated Cum laude

    • 2005 - 2011: PhD study at University of Groningen (the Netherlands) on interactions between aboveground grazers and soil organisms; promotors: Prof. Han Olff & Prof. Wim van der Putten

    • 2011: postdoc at Netherlands Institute of Ecology (the Netherlands) on the impact of grazers on riparian vegetation. Advisor: Elisabeth Bakker

    • 2011 - 2014: postdoc at Swedish Agricultural University (Sweden) on home-field advantage in litter decomposition. Advisor: David Wardle

    • 2014 - current: Junior Group Leader and VENI-laureate at Netherlands Institute of Ecology (the Netherlands). ​ ​

    ​ ​

    Veen Junior Group
    The research in the Veen Junior Group focuses on how soil communities drive fundamental ecosystem functions. Our research focusses on the role of specialized...Read more

      2022

    • Lembrechts, J. J., van den Hoogen, J., Aalto, J., Ashcroft, M. B., De Frenne, P., Kemppinen, J., Kopecký, M., Luoto, M., Maclean, I. M. D., Crowther, T. W., Bailey, J. J., Haesen, S., Klinges, D. H., Niittynen, P., Scheffers, B. R., Van Meerbeek, K., Aartsma, P., Abdalaze, O., Abedi, M.,... Lenoir, J. (2022). Global maps of soil temperature. Global Change Biology, 28(9), 3110-3144. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16060
    • Mason-Jones, K. E., Robinson, S. L., Veen, G. F., Manzoni, S., & van der Putten, W. H. (2022). Microbial storage and its implications for soil ecology. ISME Journal, 16, 617–629. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-01110-w
    • 2021

    • Bradford, M. A., Maynard, D. S., Crowther, T. W., Frankson, P. T., Mohan, J. E., Steinrueck, C., Veen, G. F., King, J. R., & Warren, R. J. (2021). Belowground community turnover accelerates the decomposition of standing dead wood. Ecology, 102(11), [e03484]. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3484
    • Fanin, N., Lin, D., Freschet, G. T., Keiser, A. D., Augusto, L., Wardle, D. A., & Veen, G. F. (2021). Home-field advantage of litter decomposition: from the phyllosphere to the soil. New Phytologist, 231(4). https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.17475
    • Sterck, F., Vos, M., Hannula, S. E., de Goede, S., de Vries, W., den Ouden, J., Nabuurs, G-J., van der Putten, W., & Veen, C. (2021). Optimizing stand density for climate-smart forestry: a way forward towards resilient forests with enhanced carbon storage under extreme climate events. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 162, [108396]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2021.108396
    • Thakur, M. P., van der Putten, W. H., Wilschut, R. A., Veen, G. F., Kardol, P., van Ruijven, J., Allan, E., Roscher, C., van Kleunen, M., & Bezemer, T. M. (2021). Plant–Soil Feedbacks and Temporal Dynamics of Plant Diversity–Productivity Relationships. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 36(7), 651-661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2021.03.011
    • Geisen, S., Hu, S., dela Cruz, T. E. E., & Veen, G. F. (2021). Protists as catalyzers of microbial litter breakdown and carbon cycling at different temperature regimes. ISME Journal, 15, 618–621. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-020-00792-y
    • Veen, G. F., ten Hooven, F., Weser, C., & Hannula, E. (2021). Steering the soil microbiome by repeated litter addition. Journal of Ecology, 109(6), 2499-2513. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13662
    • Pan, Y., Yao, Z., Zhang, N., & Veen, G. F. (2021). The role of soil-borne fungi in driving the coexistence of Pinus massoniana and Lithocarpus glaber in a subtropical forest via plant-soil feedback. Journal of Plant Ecology, 14(6), 1189–1203. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtab058
    • 2020

    • Thakur, M. P., Bakker, E. S., Veen, G. F., & Harvey, J. A. (2020). Climate Extremes, Rewilding, and the Role of Microhabitats. One Earth, 2(6), 506-509. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2020.05.010
    • Zhu, Y., Veen, G. F., Wang, D., Wang, L., Zhong, Z., Ma, Q., Li, H., Li, X., Pan, D., & Bakker, E. S. (2020). Herbivore phenology can predict response to changes in plant quality by livestock grazing. Oikos, 129(6), 811-819. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.07008
    • Li, Y., Veen, G. F., Hol, W. H. G., Vandenbrande, S., Hannula, S. E., ten Hooven, F. C., Li, Q., Liang, W., & Bezemer, T. M. (2020). ‘Home’ and ‘away’ litter decomposition depends on the size fractions of the soil biotic community. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 144, [107783]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107783
    • Xiong, D., Wei, C., Wubs, E. R. J., Veen, G. F., Liang, W., Wang, X., Qi, L., van der Putten, W. H., & Han, X. (2020). Nonlinear responses of soil nematode community composition to increasing aridity. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(1), 117-126. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13013
    • Nutrient Network, Sitters, J., Wubs, E. R. J., Bakker, E. S., Crowther, T. W., Adler, P. B., Bagchi, S., Bakker, J. D., Biederman, L., Borer, E. T., Cleland, E. E., Eisenhauer, N., Firn, J., Gherardi, L., Hagenah, N., Hautier, Y., Hobbie, S., Knops, J. M. H., MacDougall, A. S.,... Veen, G. F. (2020). Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands. Global Change Biology, 26(4), 2060-2071. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.15023
    • Manrubia, M., van der Putten, W. H., Weser, C., & Veen, G. F. (2020). Rhizosphere and litter feedbacks to range‐expanding plant species and related natives. Journal of Ecology, 108(1), 353-365. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13299
    • Mason-Jones, K., Vrehen, P., Koper, K., Wang, J., van der Putten, W. H., & Veen, G. F. (2020). Short-term temperature history affects mineralization of fresh litter and extant soil organic matter, irrespective of agricultural management. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 150, [107985]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2020.107985
    • He, X., Hou, E., Veen, G. F., Ellwood, M., Dijkstra, P., Sui, X., Zhang, S., Wen, D., & Chu, C. (2020). Soil microbial biomass increases along elevational gradients in the tropics and subtropics but not elsewhere. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 29(2), 345-354. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13017
    • Barceló, M., van Bodegom, P. M., Tedersoo, L., den Haan, N., Veen, G. F., Ostonen, I., Trimbos, K., & Soudsilovskaia, N. A. (2020). The abundance of arbuscular mycorrhiza in soils is linked to the total length of roots colonized at ecosystem level. PLoS One, [e0237256]. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237256
    • 2019

    • Veen, G. F., Jasper Wubs, E. R., Bardgett, R. D., Barrios, E., Bradford, M. A., Carvalho, S., De Deyn, G. B., de Vries, F. T., Giller, K. E., Kleijn, D., Landis, D. A., Rossing, W. A. H., Schrama, M., Six, J., Struik, P. C., van Gils, S., Wiskerke, J. S. C., van der Putten, W. H., & Vet, L. E. M. (2019). Applying the aboveground-belowground interaction concept in agriculture: Spatio-temporal scales matter. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7(AUG), [300]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00300
    • Veen, G. F., Wubs, E. R. J., Bardgett, R. D., Barrios, E., Bradford, M. A., Carvalho, S., De Deyn, G., De Vries, F. T., Giller, K. E., Kleijn, D., Landis, D. A., Rossing, W. A. H., Schrama, M., Six, J., Struik, P. C., van Gils, S., Wiskerke, J. S. C., van der Putten, W. H., & Vet, L. E. M. (2019). Applying the Aboveground-Belowground Interaction Concept in Agriculture: Spatio-Temporal Scales Matter. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00300
    • Manrubia, M., Snoek, L. B., Weser, C., Veen, G. F., & van der Putten, W. H. (2019). Belowground Consequences of Intracontinental Range-Expanding Plants and Related Natives in Novel Environments. Frontiers in Microbiology, 10, [505]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2019.00505
    • Veen, G. F., Snoek, B., Bakx-Schotman, J. M. T., Wardle, D. A., & van der Putten, W. H. (2019). Relationships between fungal community composition in decomposing leaf litter and home-field advantage effects. Functional Ecology, 33(8), 1524-1535. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13351
    • Manrubia, M., van der Putten, W. H., Weser, C., ten Hooven, F., Martens, H. J., Brinkman, E. P., Geisen, S., Ramirez, K., & Veen, G. F. (2019). Soil functional responses to drought under range-expanding and native plant communities. Functional Ecology, 33(12), 2402-2416. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13453
    • Veen, G. F., Fry, E. L., ten Hooven, F., Kardol, P., Morrien, E., & De Long, J. (2019). The Role of Plant Litter in Driving Plant-Soil Feedbacks. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 7, [fenvs.2019.00168]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2019.00168
    • De Long, J., Ellen, F., Veen, G. F., & Kardol, P. (2019). Why are plant-soil feedbacks so unpredictable, and what to do about it? Functional Ecology, 33(1), 118-128. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13232
    • 2018

    • Veen, G. F., van der Putten, W. H., & Bezemer, T. M. (2018). Biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships in a long-term non-weeded field experiment. Ecology, 99(8), 1836-1846. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2400
    • Bokhorst, S., Veen, G. F., Sundqvist, M. K., De Long, J. R., Kardol, P., & Wardle, D. A. (2018). Contrasting responses of springtails and mites to elevation and vegetation type in the sub-Arctic. Pedobiologia, 67, 57-64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedobi.2018.02.004
    • Bakker, E. S., Veen, G. F., Ter Heerdt, G., Huig, N., & Sarneel, J. M. (2018). High grazing pressure of geese threatens conservation and restoration of reed belts. Frontiers in Plant Science, 9, [01649]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2018.01649
    • Li, Y., Chen, X., Veen, G. F., Eisenhauer, N., Liang, Y., Zhou, X., Zhang, N., & Ma, K. (2018). Negative effects of litter richness on root decomposition in the presence of detritivores. Functional Ecology, 32(4), 1079-1090. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13057
    • Mariotte, P., Mehrabi, Z., Bezemer, T. M., De Deyn, G. B., Kulmatiski, A., Drigo, B., van der Heijden, M. G. A., Veen, G. F., & Kardol, P. (2018). Plant-Soil Feedback: Bridging Natural and Agricultural Sciences. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 33(2), 129-142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2017.11.005
    • Di Lonardo, P., Manrubia, M., De Boer, W., Zweers, A. J., Veen, G. F., & Van der Wal, A. (2018). Relationship between home-field advantage of litter decomposition and priming of soil organic matter. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 126, 49-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soilbio.2018.07.025
    • Veen, G. F., Keiser, A. D., van der Putten, W. H., & Wardle, D. A. (2018). Variation in home-field advantage and ability in leaf litter decomposition across successional gradients. Functional Ecology, 32(6), 1563-1574. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13107
    • 2017

    • Bradford, M. A., Veen, G. F., Bonis, A., Bradford, E. M., Classen, A. T., Cornelissen, J. H. C., Crowther, T. W., De Long, J. R., Freschet, G. T., Kardol, P., Manrubia, M., Maynard, D. S., Newman, G. S., Van Logtestijn, R., Viketoft, M., Wardle, D. A., Wieder, W. R., Wood, S. A., & van der Putten, W. H. (2017). A test of the hierarchical model of litter decomposition. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1, 1836-1845. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0367-4
    • Veen, G. F., De Long, J. R., Kardol, P., Sundqvist, M. K., Snoek, B., & Wardle, D. A. (2017). Coordinated responses of soil communities to elevation in three subarctic vegetation types. Oikos, 126(11), 1586-1599. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.04158
    • Ter Heerdt, G. N. J., Veen, G. F., Van der Putten, W. H., & Bakker, J. P. (2017). Effects of temperature, moisture and soil type on seedling emergence and mortality of riparian plant species. Aquatic Botany, 136, 82-94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2016.09.008
    • Sarneel, J. M., & Veen, G. F. (2017). Legacy effects of altered flooding regimes on decomposition in a boreal floodplain. Plant and Soil, 421(1-2), 57-66. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-017-3382-y
    • Cortois, R., Veen, G. F., Duyts, H., Abbas, M., Strecker, T., Kostenko, O., Eisenhauer, N., Scheu, S., Gleixner, G., De Deyn, G. B., & van der Putten, W. H. (2017). Possible mechanisms underlying abundance and diversity responses of nematode communities to plant diversity. Ecosphere, 8(5), [e01719]. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.1719
    • Sitters, J., Bakker, E. S., Veldhuis, M., Veen, G. F., Venterink, H. O., & Vanni, M. J. (2017). The stoichiometry of nutrient release by terrestrial herbivores and its ecosystem consequences. Frontiers of Earth Science, 5, [feart.2017.00032]. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2017.00032
    • 2016

    • Zhang, N., van der Putten, W. H., & Veen, G. F. (2016). Effects of root decomposition on plant–soil feedback of early– and mid–successional plant species. New Phytologist, 212(1), 220-231. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14007
    • Bakker, E. S., Wood, K. A., Pagès, J. F., Veen, G. F., Christianen, M. J. A., Santamaría, L., Nolet, B. A., & Hilt, S. (2016). Herbivory on freshwater and marine macrophytes: a review and perspective. Aquatic Botany, 135, 18-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2016.04.008
    • van der Putten, W. H., Bradford, M., Brinkman, E. P., van de Voorde, T. F. J., & Veen, G. F. (2016). Where, when and how plant-soil feedback matters in a changing world. Functional Ecology, 30(7), 1109-1121. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12657
    • 2015

    • Veen, G. F., Sundqvist, M. K., Metcalfe, D., & Wilson, S. D. (2015). Above-ground and below-ground plant responses to fertilization in two subarctic ecosystems. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 47(4), 693-702. https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0014-085
    • Veen, G. F., Sundqvist, M. K., & Wardle, D. A. (2015). Environmental factors and traits that drive plant litter decomposition do not determine home-field advantage effects. Functional Ecology, 29(7), 981-991. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12421
    • Veen, G. F., Freschet, G. T., Ordonez, A., & Wardle, D. A. (2015). Litter quality and environmental controls of home-field advantage effects on litter decomposition. Oikos, 124(2), 187-195. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01374
    • Kardol, P., Veen, G. F., Teste, F. P., & Perring, M. P. (2015). Peeking into the black box: A trait-based approach to predicting plant-soil feedback. New Phytologist, 206(1), 1-4. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13283
    • De Long, J. R., Kardol, P., Sundqvist, M. K., Veen, G. F., & Wardle, D. A. (2015). Plant growth response to direct and indirect temperature effects varies by vegetation type and elevation in a subarctic tundra. Oikos, 124(6), 772-783. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01764
    • 2014

    • Veen, G. F., De Vries, S., Bakker, E. S., Van der Putten, W. H., & Olff, H. (2014). Grazing-induced changes in plant–soil feedback alter plant biomass allocation. Oikos, 123(7), 800-806. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2013.01077.x
    • Sarneel, J. M., Huig, N., Veen, G. F., Rip, W., & Bakker, E. S. (2014). Herbivores enforce sharp boundaries between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems, 17(8), 1426-1438. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-014-9805-1
    • 2013

    • Schrama, M., Veen, G. F., Bakker, E. S., Ruifrok, J. L., Bakker, J. P., & Olff, H. (2013). An integrated perspective to explain nitrogen mineralization in grazed ecosystems. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 15(1), 32-44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2012.12.001
    • Veen, G. F., Sarneel, J. M., Ravensbergen, L., Huig, N., van Paassen, J., Rip, W., & Bakker, E. S. (2013). Aquatic grazers reduce the establishment and growth of riparian plants along an environmental gradient. Freshwater Biology, 58(9), 1794-1803. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12168
    • Revilla, T. A., Veen, G. F., Eppinga, M. B., & Weissing, F. J. (2013). Plant-soil feedbacks and the coexistence of competing plants. Theoretical Ecology, 6(2), 99-113. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-012-0163-3
    • 2012

    • Veen, G. F., Geuverink, E., & Olff, H. (2012). Large grazers modify effects of aboveground–belowground interactions on small-scale plant community composition. Oecologia, 168(2), 511-518. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2093-y
    • 2011

    • Veen, G. F., & Olff, H. (2011). Interactive effects of soil-dwelling ants, ant mounds and simulated grazing on local plant community composition. Basic and Applied Ecology, 12(8), 703-712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2011.10.001
    • 2010

    • Veen, G. F., Olff, H., Duyts, H., & Van der Putten, W. H. (2010). Vertebrate herbivores influence soil nematodes by modifying plant communities. Ecology, 91(3), 828-835. https://doi.org/10.1890/09-0134.1
    • 2008

    • Veen, G. F., Blair, J., Smith, M., & Collins, S. (2008). Influence of grazing and fire frequency on small-scale plant community structure and resource variability in native tallgrass prairie. Oikos, 117(6), 859-866. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16515.x

      2021

    • Veen, G. F., van der Zanden, I., & NIOO-KNAW (2021). Hoe goed zijn voedselbossen voor de bodem? Nature Today. Nature Today. https://www.naturetoday.com/intl/nl/nature-reports/message/?msg=27550
    • 2019

    • Veen, G. F., Snoek, B., Bakx-Schotman, J. M. T., Wardle, D. A., & van der Putten, W. H. (2019). Fungi play a home match: Plain Language Summary. (8 ed.) (Functional Ecology). https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2F1365-2435.13351&file=fec13351-sup-0001-Summary.pdf
    • van Rijssel, S. Q., Meesters, K. C. E. P., van der Putten, W. H., & Veen, G. F. (2019). Onderdrukking van Rhizoctonia solani in gangbare en biologische landbouwgronden. Gewasbescherming, 50(2), 52. https://www.knpv.org/db/upload/documents/Gewasbescherming/2019gb50nr2.pdf
    • Manrubia, M., van der Putten, W. H., Weser, C., ten Hooven, F., Martens, H. J., Brinkman, E. P., Geisen, S., Ramirez, K., & Veen, G. F. (2019). Soil functional responses to drought under range-expanding and native plant communities: Lay Summary. (12 ed.) (Functional Ecology). https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2F1365-2435.13453&file=fec13453-sup-0001-Summary.pdf
    • 2018

    • Veen, G. F., Keiser, A. D., van der Putten, W. H., & Wardle, D. A. (2018). Home-field advantage in leaf litter decomposition across successional gradients: lay summary. (Functional Ecology; No. 20180403). https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2018/04/03/home-field-advantage-in-leaf-litter-decomposition-across-successional-gradients/
    • Li, Y., Chen, X., Veen, G. F., Eisenhauer, N., Liang, Y., Zhou, X., Zhang, N., & Ma, K. (2018). Negative effects of litter richness on root decomposition in the presence of detritivores: lay summary. (Functional Ecology; No. 20180206). https://fesummaries.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/negative-effects-of-litter-richness-on-root-decomposition-in-the-presence-of-detritivores/
    • De Long, J., Ellen, F., Veen, G. F., & Kardol, P. (2018). Why are plant-soil feedbacks so unpredictable, and what to do about it? (Functional Ecology). https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2F1365-2435.13232&file=fec13232-sup-0001-Summary.pdf
    • 2012

    • Sarneel, J. M., Hidding, B., Van Leeuwen, C. H. A., Veen, G. F., van Paassen, J., Huig, N., & Bakker, E. S. (2012). Effecten van waterpeilfluctuatie op vegetatie. (Flexibel Peil: van denken naar doen, 2010-2012). NIOO. http://watermozaiek.stowa.nl/upload/publicaties/Deelrapport%20Flexpeil.%20Effecten%20van%20waterpeilfluctuatie%20op%20vegetatie.pdf

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