ORCID Profile
0000-0001-9421-527X
Current Organisation
KU Leuven
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2013
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 31-08-2021
DOI: 10.1101/2021.08.30.458254
Abstract: Natural pollination of species belonging to the pantropical orchid genus Vanilla remains poorly understood. Based on sporadic records, euglossine bees have been observed visiting flowers of Neotropical Vanilla species. Our research aimed at better understanding the pollinator attraction mechanism of the Neotropical species Vanilla pompona , a crop wild relative with valuable traits for vanilla crop improvement programs. Using video footage, we identified floral visitors and examined their behavior. The flowers of V. pompona attracted Eulaema cingulata males, which distinctively displayed two behaviors: floral scent collection and nectar search with the latter leading to pollen removal. Morphological measurements of floral and visitor traits showed that other Eulaema species may also act as potential pollinators. Additionally, we recorded natural fruit set in three populations and over a period of two years, tested for nectar presence and analyzed floral fragrances through gas chromatography - mass spectrometry. We observed a low natural fruit set (2.42%) and did not detect nectar. Twenty floral volatile compounds were identified, with the dominant compound trans-carvone oxide previously found to attract Eulaema cingulata males. We hypothesize a dual attraction of Eulaema cingulata males to V. pompona flowers, based on floral fragrance reward as the primary long-distance attraction, and food deception for successful pollen removal. Further research confirming this hypothesis is recommended to develop appropriate conservation policies for Vanilla crop wild relatives, which are the primary reserves of this crop’s genetic variation.
Publisher: National Inquiry Services Center (NISC)
Date: 15-09-2225
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 22-12-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2019
Publisher: European Forest Institute
Date: 09-2020
DOI: 10.36333/K2A02
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-03-2016
DOI: 10.1038/NCOMMS11109
Abstract: There is considerable evidence that bio ersity promotes multiple ecosystem functions (multifunctionality), thus ensuring the delivery of ecosystem services important for human well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship are poorly understood, especially in natural ecosystems. We develop a novel approach to partition bio ersity effects on multifunctionality into three mechanisms and apply this to European forest data. We show that throughout Europe, tree ersity is positively related with multifunctionality when moderate levels of functioning are required, but negatively when very high function levels are desired. For two well-known mechanisms, ‘complementarity’ and ‘selection’, we detect only minor effects on multifunctionality. Instead a third, so far overlooked mechanism, the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ effect, caused by the averaging of in idual species effects on function, drives observed patterns. Simulations demonstrate that jack-of-all-trades effects occur whenever species effects on different functions are not perfectly correlated, meaning they may contribute to ersity–multifunctionality relationships in many of the world’s ecosystems.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-11-2021
DOI: 10.1111/BTP.13034
Abstract: Natural pollination of Vanilla species remains poorly understood. Our research aimed at better understanding the pollinator attraction mechanism of the Neotropical species Vanilla pompona . Based on our results, we hypothesize that the identified pollinator Eulaema cingulata is attracted via a dual mechanism combining floral fragrance rewards and food deception. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2008
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-04-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-07-2021
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12829
Abstract: As of 2020, the world has an estimated 290 million ha of planted forests and this number is continuously increasing. Of these, 131 million ha are monospecific planted forests under intensive management. Although monospecific planted forests are important in providing timber, they harbor less bio ersity and are potentially more susceptible to disturbances than natural or erse planted forests. Here, we point out the increasing scientific evidence for increased resilience and ecosystem service provision of functionally and species erse planted forests (hereafter referred to as erse planted forests) compared to monospecific ones. Furthermore, we propose five concrete steps to foster the adoption of erse planted forests: (1) improve awareness of benefits and practical options of erse planted forests among land‐owners, managers, and investors (2) incentivize tree species ersity in public funding of afforestation and programs to ersify current maladapted planted forests of low ersity (3) develop new wood‐based products that can be derived from many different tree species not yet in use (4) invest in research to assess landscape benefits of erse planted forests for functional connectivity and resilience to global‐change threats and (5) improve the evidence base on erse planted forests, in particular in currently under‐represented regions, where new options could be tested.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.01.012
Abstract: Through litter decomposition enormous amounts of carbon is emitted to the atmosphere. Numerous large-scale decomposition experiments have been conducted focusing on this fundamental soil process in order to understand the controls on the terrestrial carbon transfer to the atmosphere. However, previous studies were mostly based on site-specific litter and methodologies, adding major uncertainty to syntheses, comparisons and meta-analyses across different experiments and sites. In the TeaComposition initiative, the potential litter decomposition is investigated by using standardized substrates (Rooibos and Green tea) for comparison of litter mass loss at 336 sites (ranging from -9 to +26 °C MAT and from 60 to 3113 mm MAP) across different ecosystems. In this study we tested the effect of climate (temperature and moisture), litter type and land-use on early stage decomposition (3 months) across nine biomes. We show that litter quality was the predominant controlling factor in early stage litter decomposition, which explained about 65% of the variability in litter decomposition at a global scale. The effect of climate, on the other hand, was not litter specific and explained <0.5% of the variation for Green tea and 5% for Rooibos tea, and was of significance only under unfavorable decomposition conditions (i.e. xeric versus mesic environments). When the data were aggregated at the biome scale, climate played a significant role on decomposition of both litter types (explaining 64% of the variation for Green tea and 72% for Rooibos tea). No significant effect of land-use on early stage litter decomposition was noted within the temperate biome. Our results indicate that multiple drivers are affecting early stage litter mass loss with litter quality being dominant. In order to be able to quantify the relative importance of the different drivers over time, long-term studies combined with experimental trials are needed.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2011
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 25-08-2009
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2011
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-09-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12849
Abstract: The importance of bio ersity in supporting ecosystem functioning is generally well accepted. However, most evidence comes from small-scale studies, and scaling-up patterns of bio ersity-ecosystem functioning (B-EF) remains challenging, in part because the importance of environmental factors in shaping B-EF relations is poorly understood. Using a forest research platform in which 26 ecosystem functions were measured along gradients of tree species richness in six regions across Europe, we investigated the extent and the potential drivers of context dependency of B-EF relations. Despite considerable variation in species richness effects across the continent, we found a tendency for stronger B-EF relations in drier climates as well as in areas with longer growing seasons and more functionally erse tree species. The importance of water availability in driving context dependency suggests that as water limitation increases under climate change, bio ersity may become even more important to support high levels of functioning in European forests.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2010
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 23-03-2016
DOI: 10.1111/GCBB.12338
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-05-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41597-021-00912-Z
Abstract: Earthworms are an important soil taxon as ecosystem engineers, providing a variety of crucial ecosystem functions and services. Little is known about their ersity and distribution at large spatial scales, despite the availability of considerable amounts of local-scale data. Earthworm ersity data, obtained from the primary literature or provided directly by authors, were collated with information on site locations, including coordinates, habitat cover, and soil properties. Datasets were required, at a minimum, to include abundance or biomass of earthworms at a site. Where possible, site-level species lists were included, as well as the abundance and biomass of in idual species and ecological groups. This global dataset contains 10,840 sites, with 184 species, from 60 countries and all continents except Antarctica. The data were obtained from 182 published articles, published between 1973 and 2017, and 17 unpublished datasets. Amalgamating data into a single global database will assist researchers in investigating and answering a wide variety of pressing questions, for ex le, jointly assessing aboveground and belowground bio ersity distributions and drivers of bio ersity change.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2006
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-11-2017
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.12868
Abstract: Humans require multiple services from ecosystems, but it is largely unknown whether trade-offs between ecosystem functions prevent the realisation of high ecosystem multifunctionality across spatial scales. Here, we combined a comprehensive dataset (28 ecosystem functions measured on 209 forest plots) with a forest inventory dataset (105,316 plots) to extrapolate and map relationships between various ecosystem multifunctionality measures across Europe. These multifunctionality measures reflected different management objectives, related to timber production, climate regulation and bio ersity conservation/recreation. We found that trade-offs among them were rare across Europe, at both local and continental scales. This suggests a high potential for 'win-win' forest management strategies, where overall multifunctionality is maximised. However, across sites, multifunctionality was on average 45.8-49.8% below maximum levels and not necessarily highest in protected areas. Therefore, using one of the most comprehensive assessments so far, our study suggests a high but largely unrealised potential for management to promote multifunctional forests.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2006
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2010
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-08-2015
DOI: 10.1007/S13280-015-0685-1
Abstract: The area of forest plantations is increasing worldwide helping to meet timber demand and protect natural forests. However, with global change, monospecific plantations are increasingly vulnerable to abiotic and biotic disturbances. As an adaption measure we need to move to plantations that are more erse in genotypes, species, and structure, with a design underpinned by science. TreeDivNet, a global network of tree ersity experiments, responds to this need by assessing the advantages and disadvantages of mixed species plantations. The network currently consists of 18 experiments, distributed over 36 sites and five ecoregions. With plantations 1–15 years old, TreeDivNet can already provide relevant data for forest policy and management. In this paper, we highlight some early results on the carbon sequestration and pest resistance potential of more erse plantations. Finally, suggestions are made for new, innovative experiments in understudied regions to complement the existing network.
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 24-08-2009
DOI: 10.1021/ES900613W
Abstract: Although the importance of green (evaporative) water flows in delivering ecosystem services has been recognized, most operational impact assessment methods still focus only on blue water flows. In this paper, we present a new model to evaluate the effect of land use occupation and transformation on water quantity. Conceptually based on the supply of ecosystem services by terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the model is developed for, but not limited to, land use impact assessment in life cycle assessment (LCA) and requires a minimum amount of input data. Impact is minimal when evapotranspiration is equal to that of the potential natural vegetation, and maximal when evapotranspiration is zero or when it exceeds a threshold value derived from the concept of environmental water requirement. Three refinements to the model, requiring more input data, are proposed. The first refinement considers a minimal impact over a certain range based on the boundary evapotranspiration of the potential natural vegetation. In the second refinement the effects of evaporation and transpiration are accounted for separately, and in the third refinement a more correct estimate of evaporation from a fully sealed surface is incorporated. The simplicity and user friendliness of the proposed impact assessment method are illustrated with two ex les.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2011
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 15-03-2016
Abstract: Numerous studies have demonstrated the importance of bio ersity in maintaining multiple ecosystem functions and services (multifunctionality) at local spatial scales, but it is unknown whether similar relationships are found at larger spatial scales in real-world landscapes. Here, we show, for the first time to our knowledge, that bio ersity can also be important for multifunctionality at larger spatial scales in European forest landscapes. Both high local (α-) ersity and a high turnover in species composition between locations (high β- ersity) were found to be potentially important drivers of ecosystem multifunctionality. Our study provides evidence that it is important to conserve the landscape-scale bio ersity that is being eroded by biotic homogenization if ecosystem multifunctionality is to be maintained.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2011
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-09-2019
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.5627
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2017
Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 02-05-2016
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 25-10-2019
Abstract: Earthworms are key components of soil ecological communities, performing vital functions in decomposition and nutrient cycling through ecosystems. Using data from more than 7000 sites, Phillips et al. developed global maps of the distribution of earthworm ersity, abundance, and biomass (see the Perspective by Fierer). The patterns differ from those typically found in aboveground taxa there are peaks of ersity and abundance in the mid-latitude regions and peaks of biomass in the tropics. Climate variables strongly influence these patterns, and changes are likely to have cascading effects on other soil organisms and wider ecosystem functions. Science , this issue p. 480 see also p. 425
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-03-2018
DOI: 10.1007/S00267-018-1024-7
Abstract: Life cycle assessment (LCA) has become a common methodology to analyze environmental impacts of forestry systems. Although LCA has been widely applied to forestry since the 90s, the LCAs are still often based on generic Life Cycle Inventory (LCI). With the purpose of improving LCA practices in the forestry sector, we developed a European Life Cycle Inventory of Forestry Operations (EFO-LCI) and analyzed the available information to check if within the European forestry sector national differences really exist. We classified the European forests on the basis of "Forest Units" (combinations of tree species and silvicultural practices). For each Forest Unit, we constructed the LCI of their forest management practices on the basis of a questionnaire filled out by national silvicultural experts. We analyzed the data reported to evaluate how they vary over Europe and how they affect LCA results and made freely available the inventory data collected for future use. The study shows important variability in rotation length, type of regeneration, amount and assortments of wood products harvested, and machinery used due to the differences in management practices. The existing variability on these activities sensibly affect LCA results of forestry practices and raw wood production. Although it is practically unfeasible to collect site-specific data for all the LCAs involving forest-based products, the use of less generic LCI data of forestry practice is desirable to improve the reliability of the studies. With the release of EFO-LCI we made a step toward the construction of regionalized LCI for the European forestry sector.
No related grants have been discovered for Bart Muys.