Search

Governments around the world try to stimulate the development and use of renewable energy technologies, like wind energy. While wind turbines are increasingly being implemented, however, a lack of social acceptance at the local level remains an important challenge for developers of wind power plants. This article aims to explore the relative importance of social and institutional conditions and their interdependencies in the operational process of planning wind power schemes. The article not only focuses on how negative local social conditions can frustrate public policy (cf. NIMBY syndrome), but also on how positive local social conditions can compensate for a negative public policy framework. We analyzed the cases of implementing wind power of two actors (the regional energy distributor and small private investors) in the municipality of Zeewolde, the Netherlands. Both cases illustrate that the formal institutional framework (formal rules, procedures and instruments) is neutral in a certain sense. Social conditions - management styles, interests and informal contacts - put meaning in this framework. The way stakeholders deal with the prevailing institutional structure clarifies social acceptance and therewith implementation.

The growing use of bioenergy goes hand in hand with a heated public debate, in which conflicting claims are made regarding the amount of biomass that can be sustainably used for this purpose. This article assesses the current knowledge on biomass resource potentials and interrelated factors such as water availability, biodiversity, food demand, energy demand and agricultural commodity markets. A sensitivity analysis of the available information narrows the range of biomass potentials from 0-1500 EJ/yr to approximately 200-500 EJ/yr in 2050. In determining the latter range, water limitations, biodiversity protection and food demand are taken into consideration. Key factors are agricultural efficiency and crop choice. In principle, global biomass potentials could meet up to one third of the projected global energy demand in 2050. © 2010 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Aim - Species communities often exhibit nestedness, the species found in species-poor sites representing subsets of richer ones. In the Netherlands, where intensification of land use has led to severe fragmentation of nature, we examined the degree of nestedness in the distribution of Orthoptera species. An assessment was made of how environmental conditions and species life-history traits are related to this pattern, and how variation in sampling intensity across sites may influence the observed degree of nestedness. Location The analysis includes a total of 178 semi-natural sites in the Pleistocene sand region of the Netherlands. Methods - A matrix recording the presence or absence of all Orthoptera species in each site was compiled using atlas data. Additionally, separate matrices were constructed for the species of suborders Ensifera and Caelifera. The degree of nestedness was measured using the binmatnest calculator. binmatnest uses an algorithm to sort the matrices to maximal nestedness. We used Spearman’s rank correlations to evaluate whether sites were sorted by area, isolation or habitat heterogeneity, and whether species were sorted by their dispersal ability, rate of development or degree of habitat specificity. Results - We found the Orthoptera assemblages to be significantly nested. The rank correlation between site order and sampling intensity was high. The degree of nestedness was lower, but remained significant when under- and over-sampled sites were excluded from the analysis. Site order was strongly correlated with both size of sample site and number of habitat types per site. Rank correlations showed that species were probably ordered by variation in habitat specificity, rather than by variation in dispersal capacity or rate of development of the species. Main conclusions - Variation in sampling intensity among sites had a strong impact on the observed degree of nestedness. Nestedness in habitats may underlie the observed nestedness within the Orthoptera assemblages. Habitat heterogeneity is closely related to site area, which suggests that several large sites should be preserved, rather than many small sites. Furthermore, the results corroborate a focus of nature conservation policy on sites where rare species occur, as long as the full spectrum of habitat conditions and underlying ecological processes is secured.

Human impact on nature has been severe in the past centuries. Land use change is seen as the main driver of the loss of biodiversity worldwide. Conversion of natural ecosystems into agricultural land or urban areas has led to habitat loss and degradation for many plant species. Additionally, land use change typically results in a fragmented distribution of the remaining habitat. Habitat fragmentation may result in increased extinction risk of local populations of plant species, by a decreased local population size, increased edge:area ratio and increased isolation between local populations. To ensure connectivity between fragmented local populations, effective seed dispersal is of vital importance. Knowledge on dispersal capacity of plant species in fragmented habitats differing in spatial configuration is thus important for understanding (meta)population dynamics and for spatial optimisation of restoration measures. Although many studies have shown the importance of seed dispersal via surface water (hydrochory) for plant population and community patterns, and thus for biodiversity, the precise mechanisms determining hydrochorous dispersal capacity of plant seeds in different fragmented landscapes are underexposed in the literature. The aim of this thesis was to shed light on the contribution of hydrochory to seed dispersal in fragmented freshwater wetlands impacted by human activity, with special attention for the effect of landscape configuration and characteristics of the water body on realised dispersal distances. For this purpose an innovative combination of different research approaches including fieldwork, analyses of large datasets, experimental research and model development and simulations was used. The results showed that habitat fragmentation per se indeed has negative effects on species occurrence in freshwater wetlands. Therefore, it is important not only to improve habitat quality but also to consider spatial characteristics of the habitat of target species when deciding on plant conservation strategies in intensively used landscapes, such as fen areas in Western Europe and North America. Results of the seed dispersal experiments showed that unlike in rivers, seed transport in ditches was determined by wind speed and direction in stead of by water flow, enabling multidirectional seed dispersal. Model results showed that density or direction of the ditch network did not seem to influence simulated water dispersal distances substantially, whereas roughness of the ditch and obstructions in the ditch strongly limited seed dispersal distances. Hydrochorous dispersal contributed considerably to the total simulated dispersal of wetland plant seeds across agricultural landscapes, for both wind and water dispersal specialists. In contrast, simulated wind dispersal distances were nil for water dispersal specialists. Also for wind dispersal specialists, wind dispersal distances were limited. These results suggest that in a modern agricultural landscape with a network of ditches, water is an important dispersal vector for both typical wind and typical water dispersers. The importance of hydrochorous dispersal for connectivity within metapopulations of riparian species in a fragmented landscape may be greater than the importance of wind dispersal. Hence, improving the infrastructure of linear aquatic systems for hydrochrorous seeds could increase metapopulation viability of riparian species, wetland biodiversity, and the success of wetland restoration projects.

This paper provides key insights into different forest-­‐based business cases with positive ecological and social impacts, based on results from the ongoing research project ‘Business Cases for Biodiversity’, carried out by a research consortium consisting of the Copernicus Institute of Utrecht University, Nyenrode Business University and WWF Netherlands. Based on the collection and analysis of >150 examples of business cases across industries, the project provides content and process knowledge for practitioners aiming to develop business with a positive effect on biodiversity. The project is initiated and financed by the Dutch Ministry of Economy, Agriculture and Innovation (ELI).

Market-based instruments are increasingly being promoted as a promising measure to face the twin challenge of biodiversity conservation and development. In the realm of market-based approaches, an important instrument is the creation of biodiversity business: ‘commercial enterprises that generate profit via activities which conserve biodiversity, use biological resources sustainably and share their benefits equitably’.

Question: How do species traits and abiotic factors influence the extent of hydrochorous dispersal into and out of a small floodplain area along a free-flowing river in The Netherlands? Location: The Kappersbult nature reserve (53°07'28″N, 6°37'14″E), which is a floodplain along the Dutch River Drentsche Aa. Methods: Seeds transported by the river were collected in fine mesh nets for 24 consecutive hours once or twice a week for 1 year, upstream and downstream of the studied floodplain. Data on the captured seeds were related to species traits and abiotic factors and species composition in the floodplain. Results: The floodplain functioned both as a seed source and sink. High levels of river water seemed to promote seed transport to or from the floodplain. Seeds of riverbank species occurred significantly more often in the river water than expected. Net source species had significantly higher seed production, taller stature and higher seed buoyancy, but lower site elevation than net sink species. Seed weight was significantly higher for sink species than for other species. Conclusion: Our study found that inundation, and therefore more natural river water management, is a prerequisite for seed transport to and from a floodplain. The restoration of target floodplain vegetation may be successful for common species that produce many seeds and grow in proximity to the river. Consequently, it is expected that the probability of restoring vegetation types that occur further from the river, such as wet grasslands, by hydrochorous dispersal is low.

Biodiversity is being lost at an increased rate as a result of human activities. One of the major threats to biodiversity is infrastructural development. We used meta-analyses to study the effects of infrastructure proximity on mammal and bird populations. Data were gathered from 49 studies on 234 mammal and bird species. The main response by mammals and birds in the vicinity of infrastructure was either avoidance or a reduced population density. The mean species abundance, relative to non-disturbed distances (MSA), was used as the effect size measure. The impact of infrastructure distance on MSA was studied using meta-analyses. Possible sources of heterogeneity in the results of the meta-analysis were explored with meta-regression. Mammal and bird population densities declined with their proximity to infrastructure. The effect of infrastructure on bird populations extended over distances up to about 1 km, and for mammal populations up to about 5 km. Mammals and birds seemed to avoid infrastructure in open areas over larger distances compared to forested areas, which could be related to the reduced visibility of the infrastructure in forested areas. We did not find a significant effect of traffic intensity on the MSA of birds. Species varied in their response to infrastructure. Raptors were found to be more abundant in the proximity of infrastructure whereas other bird taxa tended to avoid it. Abundances were affected at variable distances from infrastructure: within a few meters for small-sized mammals and up to several hundred meters for large-sized mammals. Our findings show the importance of minimizing infrastructure development for wildlife conservation in relatively undisturbed areas. By combining actual species distributions with the effect distance functions we developed, regions sensitive to infrastructure development may be identified. Additionally, the effect distance functions can be used in models in support of decision making on infrastructure planning.

This paper aims at modelling the spatial distribution of the cockroach species Capraiellus panzeri, Ectobius lapponicus, Ectobius pallidus and Ectobius sylvestris within the Netherlands and comparing the habitat preferences of these species. Maxent was used to calculate habitat suitability and to identify environmental variables underlying the differences in observed distribution patterns. A sub-sampling procedure was employed to test model stability. Models were evaluated by calculating the Area Under the Curve (AUC). The analyses show that except for the costal dune area, the western part of the Netherlands is unsuitable for the species. Suitability predictions for C. panzeri, E. lapponicus and E. sylvestris are very similar, with suitable areas concentrated in the eastern and the north-eastern parts of the country and along the western coast. The prediction model for E. pallidus is somewhat more restricted, especially in the northern part of the country. Soil type, land cover and altitudinal range are most important in predicting the distribution of all species. A correspondence analysis was performed to identify the association between the species distribution and the most influential environmental variables. Correspondence analysis indicated that the species distributions are comparably associated with soil type and land cover while species appear to have different preferences with respect to altitudinal range.

This year we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the department of Science, Technology and Society (STS) of Universiteit Utrecht. However, our roots go back to the seventies when each university in the Netherlands decided to establish Science & Society groups which should play a role in (1) preparing students for later jobs and activities in society, (2) enhancing awareness about the social responsibility of scientists, and (3) creating insight in the connection and relations between different sciences.

Natuurwetenschappers compenseren CO2- uitstoot door steun aan Trésor De groep Natuurwetenschap en Samenleving (NW&S) van de Universiteit Utrecht heeft besloten om CO2 emissies als gevolg van vliegverkeer, te compenseren door middel van investeringen in bosbescherming in het Trésorgebied. Individuele burgers maakten al gebruik van het mechanisme van CO2-compensatie zoals beschreven op de website van Trésor (www.tresorrainforest.org, onder ‘Financiën’). NW&S is echter de eerste instelling die hierin stapt. Het gaat in eerste instantie om de vluchten die medewerkers van NW&S maakten in 2007.

"Je bent altijd zo kritsch, kun je ook wel eens enthousiast zijn?" Ik erken het. Ik zeg eerder 'ja, maar', dan 'goed zo'.

Moet een bioloog die biodiversiteit onderzoekt deze ook verdedigen of is zijn rol primair die van wetenschapper?

Vele studenten hebben werk gevonden in beleid en management, het bedrijfsleven en het onderwijs.

Forest degradation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. In the Brazilian Amazon it is responsible for 20 per cent of total emissions (Asner et al. 2005). In Indonesia, the forest stock is decreasing by a rate of six per cent a year, only one-third of which is due to deforestation (Marklund and Schoene 2006). In Africa, the annual rate of degradation is almost 50 per cent of the deforestation rate (Lambin et al. 2003). In 2007, the Conference of the Parties (COP 13) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) acknowledged the importance of degradation and included it in the proposed mechanism for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD). Addressing degradation has other important benefits, since it reduces the forest’s capacity to adapt to climate change and their ability to provide ecosystem and livelihood services.

Een wetenschapper moet zich niet bezig houden met politiek. Dat moet ze overlaten aan anderen.