Agro-ecosystems
The dominant land use in many landscapes in northwestern Europe is agriculture. Due to land-use intensification, biodiversity in agricultural landscapes has strongly declined. However, more and more it is recognized that biodiversity conservation and restoration in agro-ecosystems is important to help maintaining the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. Research at ForNaLab focuses on gaining a better understanding of the role of woody elements (hedgerows, small forest patches, agroforestry plantations, short rotation coppice systems, etc.) and other agri-environment measures (e.g. buffer strips, reduced fertilization) for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service delivery in agricultural landscapes.
Current projects
- AGFORPRO: Agroforestry in Flanders: an economically viable solution for the demand for agro-ecological production methods (more info)
- Ecological interactions between tree, soil, crop and environment in Flemish agroforestry-systems (more info)
- Ecological and socio-economic optimization of nature-oriented measures on agricultural land (more info)
- SmallFOREST: Biodiversity and ecosystem services of small forest fragments in European landscapes (more info)
- Ecosystem services of soil-dwelling arthropods in small forest remnants (more info)
- The influence of small forest fragments on pollination services in an agricultural landscape (more info)
- Woody networks in agricultural landscapes: floristic diversity, conservation and management scenarios (more info)
Finished projects