What we do
Nature research & society
Ecology is all about the interactions between organisms, and also between life and its inanimate environment. How is a tiny insect able to find its food plant kilometres away? How can so many species coexist, even in the smallest drop of water?
Our themes
Three themes together form the basis of our research
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Biodiversity
NIOO is in the right position to make a substantial and scientifically important contribution to the societal goal of the SDGs
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Climate change
What are the changes caused by global warming and how can ecology help to mitigate them?
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Sustainable use of land & water
Healthy surface water and soils are essential for life on earth, providing diverse life-support functions including nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration and oxygen generation, degradation of xenobiotics and providing substrates for plant growth and the
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Cooperate with us
The NIOO researchers are not merely looking for answers, but are primarily trying to discern general patterns and rules within this wide range of interactions. Finding and studying these patterns and rules is the essence of ecology.
History
NIOO-KNAW was created in 1992 by merging three important ecological research institutes of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW): CTE, CL and CEME. Initially, it was known as the ‘Netherlands Institute for Ecological Research’, but in September 2002 the name was simplified to ‘Netherlands Institute of Ecology’, the Dutch acronym being NIOO-KNAW.
Our facilities
Welcome to our ecological research facilities!
From greenhouses to algae bioreactors and from experimental ponds to DNA labs. Here, we and our national and international partners study nature with the topical questions for now and the our future.
