Veen Group
Veen Group
Terrestrial Ecology
Background
Soil communities, including for example bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and micro-arthropods, determine ecosystem functioning. More than 60% of all organisms live in soils and they drive vital functions for life on earth, in particular soil carbon storage, plant growth, and above- and belowground biodiversity. Yet, soil communities are under pressure from global changes and intensive land use resulting in reduced ecosystem functioning. Understanding how soil communities impact on ecosystem functioning is essential to find solutions for restoration of soils and sustainable use of land, both in nature and agriculture.
What we do
In the Veen group we work on multiple research projects to (1) obtain a mechanistic understanding of the role of soil organisms in ecosystem functions (focusing on carbon and nutrient cycling) and (2) develop and test strategies for restoring soil communities in natural and agricultural ecosystems.
Research infrastructure
To address our questions we use greenhouse and field experiments, state-of-the-art molecular and chemical techniques and analysis of large databases. We maintain long-term experiments in the field and bring together large databases on soil biodiversity to test impacts of soil management on soil communities and ecosystem functions across time and space. Our research fits within the NIOO themes on biodiversity, global climate change and sustainable use of land and water.
