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  1. Predicting soil biodiversity to make food production more sustainable

    Press release
    Fields and meadows provide a range of key services, as long as the soil is healthy. A group of researchers and companies will study how farmlands can be returned to multifunctionality.
    Microscopie

  2. Live-in bacteria protect plants against infections

    Press release
    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.
    Zaailingen van suikerbieten, links goed groeiend door micro-organismen, rechts minder goed groeiend zonder micro-organismen

  3. No 'I' in Ecology: 150 years after Haeckel

    News
    As a new year begins, NIOO looks back not just on the past twelve months but on 150 years of ecology. We've come a long way since German biologist Ernst Haeckel first coined the term in 1866...
    After Haeckl: Liesbeth, Gerard & Jos

  4. The world's most spoken language is...Terpene

    Press release
    If you’re small, smells are a good way to stand out. A team of researchers led by the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has demonstrated for the first time that two different types of micro-organisms – bacteria and fungi – use fragrances, known as terpenes, to hold conversations. And that’s not all. “We actually believe that terpenes are the most popular chemical medium on our planet to communicate through.”
    Terpenes

  5. Micro-organisms will help African farmers

    Press release
    Sorghum is the fifth most important cereal in the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, many farmers rely on this grain for food and feed. But Striga, a parasitic weed, can have a devastating impact on crop yield. With an 8-million-dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, an international team will now explore the potential of soil microbes to offer crop protection. The Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) is coordinating this 5-year project.
    Working in a sorghum field

  6. Sniffing out your dinner in the dark: how miniature predators get their favourite soil bacteria

    Press release
    Tiny predators in the soil can literally sniff out their prey: soil bacteria, which communicate with each other using scent. A team of researchers from the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) has discovered that these predators - called protists - 'eavesdrop' on the bacteria's communication. It's a discovery that opens up perspectives for agriculture. The results are available online this month in The ISME Journal, from the publishers of Nature.
    Verm1

  7. Microbes for plant health

    Microbes can act as bodyguards for plants and can foster plant growth in other ways as well. At NIOO, we are digging into the mechanisms: in what ways do they interact? And how can we stimulate this, to make our agriculture more sustainable? Let's rewild our microbes!
    Sorghum field infected with the parasitic plant Striga

  8. Beneath your feet, soil microbes are getting fat

    News
    Microbes, like humans, can eat 'junk food' and grow fat. This even happens when you might not expect it, according to NIOO researcher Kyle Mason-Jones
    Microbes under your feet grow fat

  9. Sustainable use of land & water

    Healthy surface water and soils are essential for life on earth, providing diverse life-support functions. How are these ecosystem services affected by human activity, and how can we change this?
    Biodiversity in NIOO's grassland garden in summer

  10. Soil has no borders, and neither should soil policy

    News
    Zonder gezonde, biodiverse bodem geen gezonde samenleving. Maar hoe vertaal je dat in goed beleid?
    Soil policy banner