It is a topical issue and has long been a research interest of NIOO: how do you restore nature? For example, former farmland can be made more suitable for nature again, and areas can be connected to each other. This approach could also help to mitigate the consequences of climate change. Furthermore, a growing amount of knowledge about rewilding has become available in recent years. It has become clear that, in the long run, rewilding yields strong ecosystems with more biodiversity.

Species can adapt over the course of time. As the lives of species are altered by climate change, a different seasonal timing could make them adapt to an early spring, for example. How does this work, and what are the limits to such adaptations?

During recent centuries, human activities have dramatically changed the habitats of wild animals, plants and micro-organisms. Ecologists at NIOO are interested in how species can adapt to these rapid changes, for example through (micro)evolution. The ability of organisms to do this has a major impact on biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems.

Worldwide, excessive nutrient loads in lakes and reservoirs have led to the rapid increase of harmful cyanobacteria. Blooms of these algae block the use of surface water for drinking, irrigation and recreation. Climate change is expected to further increase the frequency, duration, and magnitude of cyanobacterial blooms. Aquatic ecologists from NIOO are busy gaining more detailed insights into cyanobacterial blooms across scales, in future climates and in respect to toxicity.

Nutrient availability in natural ecosystems has increased due to anthropogenic activities like spill-over from agricultural ecosystems. In the Netherlands, this has led to the acidification of natural areas for example. At NIOO, we aim to understand the impact of nutrients on natural systems in more detail, to help to bring back the balance.

Climate change is amplified by greenhouse gas emissions. At NIOO, we work on the fundamental understanding of how gases such as methane, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide influence ecosystems. Our knowledge of carbon and nitrogen cycles provides insight into the potential of greenhouse mitigation tools. In a Dutch freshwater lake or the soil of a tropical rain forest.

At NIOO, we are on a mission to explore the strange world beneath our feet, to seek out new soil-borne life, uncover new miniature civilisations, and to boldly take humankind where it could not go before.

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!

Large-scale changes in climate and land use create opportunities for species from other parts of the world. What is the impact of these species on the local ecology, and when do they become ‘invasive’?

Carbon storage is a hot item. Almost literally, as it is closely linked to climate warming. NIOO researchers discover more and more about the role of the living soil within our planet's carbon cycle. That role is: very influential, invaluable and essential for a sustainable climate policy.