Search
Filter by
Type
Tags
Dossiers
Themes
Departments
Active filters
10 search results
Search results
-
From Pioneer to Soil Prophet: 40 years belowground - Farewell symposium Wietse de Boer
On Thursday April 4 we'll have the Farewell Symposium and reception for our long-time colleague Prof. Dr Wietse de Boer (Department of Microbial Ecology at NIOO and Wageningen University). -
Suzanne McGowan appointed Professor of Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics
Meet the new Special Professor of Aquatic Ecosystem Dynamics: Suzanne McGowan. As of 2024 she is appointed at Utrecht University. Her chair offers a unique combination between the university's faculties of Science and Geosciences. McGowan integrates this with her main affiliation as the Head of Aquatic Ecology at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW). As a professor, she aims to uncover how water ecosystems have been functioning, and how the major changes on our planet affect this. -
Spotlight on living soil at COP15 biodiversity conference
The UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal (COP15) is discussing global action to reverse biodiversity loss. Healthy, living soil is of key importance. -
Plants provide power
Need a place to recharge your phone? Our roof features 25 m2 of energy-producing green! -
A living, breathing building
As sustainable as possible, in as many respects as possible: that was the imperative when the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) commissioned a new building. And we have done it! -
Farming microbial community for plant probiotic - MicroProFarm
A current challenge for modern agriculture is to meet the food production needs for an increasing global population while improving resource use efficiency and attenuating impacts on human health and environment. In order to maximize reliability and stability in agriculture, optimization of crop management and resource use efficiency have been considered the best approaches for a sustainable increase of crop yields under variable agro-ecological conditions, environments and years. For this purpose, one interesting and sustainable method is the use of natural plant biostimulants, a diverse class of products and microorganisms that enhance plant growth and other plant parameters, such as flowering, fruit set, crop productivity and nutrient use efficiency. In this context, several studies already demonstrated that plant biostimulants can induce morpho-anatomical, biochemical, physiological and molecular plant responses, not only improving crop productivity but also promoting protection against abiotic stresses, such as drought and salinity. Among the different biostimulant classes there are protein hydrolysates (PH), mixtures of polypeptides, oligopeptides and aminoacids originated from partially hydrolyzed animal and vegetal tissues. Even though the effect of PH were already observed in diverse crops, the mechanisms and behind their action are still scarcely studied, and their action can vary depending on their origin, characteristics, crop species, cultivars, growing conditions, time and mode of applications, among other parameters. The objective of this project is to evaluate the effect of protein hydrolysates in the growth, nutrient content and microbial communities of crops, if microbes are responsible for these effects, which are the mechanisms and if such effects are long-lasting. -
New NIOO department head Suzanne McGowan: "Water networks are the world’s waste disposal system"
New head of Aquatic Ecology Suzanne McGowan comes to NIOO with a passion for lakes, wide experience working across disciplines and a research and teaching record that includes Malaysia and Greenland. -
Learning from nature: Using plant-soil feedback effects to improve disease control and sustainability in greenhouse cut-flowers
In this post I will look back on our past project on using plant-soil feedbacks to improve the growth of Chrysanthemum, an important cut flower crop in The Netherlands. -
Live-in bacteria protect plants against infections
Micro-organisms living inside plant roots team up to boost the plant’s growth and tolerance to stress. This research is featured this week in the scientific journal Science. -
Caterpillars retrieve 'voicemail' by eating soil
Leaf-feeding caterpillars greatly enrich their intestinal flora by eating soil. It's even possible to trace the legacy effects of plants that previously grew in that soil through bacteria and fungi in the caterpillars.