ForNaLab
@fornalab.bsky.social
Forest & Nature Lab @Ghent University https://www.ugent.be/bw/environment/en/research/fornalab
VACATURE voor Wondergrond project 📣 We zoeken iemand die eerst als jobstudent aan de slag kan en daarna bijkomend als wetenschappelijk medewerker! Zie alle info 👇. Solliciteren kan tot 26 juni via email naar stephanie.schelfhout@ugent.be @stephschelfhout.bsky.social
More shrubs in the mountains?! 😮 Why would this be a problem for the local biodiversity? Shrubs are tall and can form dense canopies, eventually outcompeting many of the smaller alpine flowers. 📃by Thomas Vanneste onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Widespread Shrubification on European Mountain Summits
Based on vegetation resurveys from 572 plots of 1 m2 located on mountain summits spread across Europe's major mountain ranges, shrubification was calculated as the change in shrub cover between 2001 ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Can we use drones to meausure below-canopy forest microclimate? 🌳 Our study suggests that thermal cameras on drones show potential for predicting forest microclimate, particularly when derived from multiple flights across a growing season @lipingwei.bsky.social 📃: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Relationships between canopy surface temperature measured from drones and below-canopy forest microclimate in a tree diversity experiment - International Journal of Biometeorology
International Journal of Biometeorology - Understanding forest microclimate is critical for predicting forest ecosystem responses to climate change. Yet its fine-scale variability–driven by...
link.springer.com
📢New paper out by Isabelle van der Zanden & Lieke Moereels et al: Food forests support different — and often more — soil life than croplands & grasslands. Especially more organisms sensitive to disturbance or drought like fungi, woodlice & harvestmen. 🍄🪲🪱 🔗 doi.org/10.1038/s44185-026-00125-w
Planting food forests can increase soil biodiversity in agricultural landscapes of Northwest Europe - npj Biodiversity
npj Biodiversity - Planting food forests can increase soil biodiversity in agricultural landscapes of Northwest Europe
doi.org
Following a citizen science experiment conducted between 1952 and 1965, the FOURCAST project is repeating this experiment, focusing on April 4–5 to study climate change. Will you help us gather phenology observations of spring bloomers? www.plantentuinmeise.be/nl/nieuws/39... 📸Erwin Derous
🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅 Pieter Sanczuk talks about their new article, testing whether optical fibres can be used to measure microclimate temperatures in the forest 🌳 🌡️ @fornalab.bsky.social Read the blog here 👇 buff.ly/OlCR4Z3
European plant communities respond to climate warming differently! https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/european-plants-respond-unevenly-climate-warming Paper: https://short-url.org/1lYRM led by @fornalab.bsky.social & INBO, Belgium. UKCEH: Chris Andrews, Jan Dick & @jmbecologist.bsky.social
The Indianapolis Zoo Uproar Conservation Challenge is here! Help the Spiky Yellow Woodlouse come roaring back by casting your vote at UproarChallenge.com. Help our species advance to the next round and bring us closer to the $10,000 conservation prize for woodlice conservation!
🪱 In the Ugly Ducklings column of @eoswetenschap.bsky.social, the earthworm takes the spotlight. Earthworms recycle, aerate and structure the soil as if it were nothing. Or, less elegantly put: the most important poop machine in the world. Read the article here 👇 www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milie...
De belangrijkste kakmachine ter wereld
Darwins oproep om regenwormen meer te waarderen ligt bijna tweehonderd jaar achter ons, maar nog steeds onderschatten we dit ogenschijnlijk banale diertje.
eoswetenschap.eu
How come isopods end up in the late night show with @sethmeyerspencil.bsky.social ? First, enjoy the joke 😀👇 See below to get the story behind it 🧵 youtu.be/T58hOrsaGoI?...
Seth Holds a Surprise Inspection of His Monologue Writers in February 2026
YouTube video by Late Night with Seth Meyers
youtu.be
@fornalab.bsky.social colleague Pallieter De Smedt made it to the @nytimes.com with his paper on isopods 🤓🥳🤩 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/c...
These Pets Are Armored, Spiky and Pricey. Poachers Want to Cash In.
nytimes.com
📘🌿 Nieuw rapport gepubliceerd! “Metingen en analyse van het microklimaat – Nationaal Park Brabantse Wouden” Metingen in bossen, tuinen en langs fietsroutes 🚲🌳, in samenwerking met dept. Fysica ugent. #Zoniënwoud #BrabantseWouden #Microklimaat #Groen #UGent #PlantentuinMeise #KMI
Hiring! We are looking for a field assistant for the coming 7 months to support a large field campaign across Europe for the #Trees4Adapt project on climate change impacts on biodiversity in forests. Drivers license required. Apply online til 3/2! jobs.ugent.be/job-invite/2... @fbwugent.bsky.social
Verdienen complexe thema’s zoals klimaatverandering en het leed in Gaza een plek in de kleuterklas? Collega Leen Depauw mocht deelnemen aan een rondetafelgesprek bij @knack.be om deze vraag te beantwoorden. Het verslag daarvan lees je hier: www.knack.be/nieuws/belgi...
Remembrance day for lost species. Een ritueel aan UGent over biodiversiteitsverlies waar @fornalab.bsky.social aan mee werkte. #lostspeciesday www.scienceguide.nl/2025/12/de-u...
‘De universiteit is geen toeschouwer: over biodiversiteitsverlies, ecologische rouw en samenwerking met activisten’ - ScienceGuide
Hoogleraar Stef Craps (Universiteit Gent) legt uit waarom hij als academicus samenwerkt met XR-activisten.
scienceguide.nl
New Paper out in Nature Climate Change @natclimate.nature.com! 🌿 👇 Read the full paper from: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Global bias towards recording latitudinal range shifts - Nature Climate Change
The authors consider studies reporting species range shifts and demonstrate a geometric bias in sampling along latitudinal, rather than longitudinal, gradients. This bias may favour the corroboration ...
nature.com
🌳 Weerstations tonen het regionale klimaat, maar in een bos gebeurt vaak iets heel anders. Daarom experimenteerden we binnen het MIRRA-project met sensoren en bouwden we een website om het microklimaat van het Aelmoeseneiebos live te volgen! 📄Ik schreef een blogpost voor @eoswetenschap.bsky.social
De vinger aan de pols: realtime microklimaat in het Aelmoeseneiebos
Weerstations vertellen ons wat er gebeurt met het klimaat in onze regio, maar het microklimaat in een bos kan zich heel anders gedragen. Dit microklimaat wor...
eoswetenschap.eu
We published this open letter on #UrbanForests as essential(!!) infrastructure for climate resilience & biodiversity aimed at policymakers at #COP30. 4🗝️priorities🧵👇 @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social @fornalab.bsky.social @fbwugent.bsky.social @meisebotanicgarden.bsky.social @westsyduhie.bsky.social
Plants, People, Planet@plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social · 9mo agoIn their Open Letter, Manuel Esperon-Rodriguez, et al. highlight the importance of #UrbanForests as essential infrastructure to policy makers at #COP30, which begins today in Brazil 👇 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #NatureBasedSolutions #PlantScience 🧵
Prof Kris Verheyen in the news on the masting year of oaks! www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20... #mastjaar #sciencecommunication
Zie jij ook opvallend veel eikels liggen? Uitzonderlijk 'mastjaar' voor eiken | VRT NWS: nieuws
Zomer- en wintereiken verliezen opvallend veel eikels dit jaar. Dat komt omdat ze in een uitzonderlijk 'mastjaar' zitten. Dat is een periode waarin een boom of plant meer vruchten draagt dan gemiddeld...
vrt.be
New paper out! @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social We test whether optical fibres can be used to measure microclimate temperatures in the forest, and investigate what we can learn from it. 🧵👇 The full article is published Open Access: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Continuous quantification of forest microclimate temperatures in space and time using fibre‐optic technology
Most species experience microclimate temperatures, that is, variable and fine-grained thermal conditions determined by atmospheric conditions interacting with biotic and abiotic components of the ...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Tijdens de 🌳Week van het Bos🌳 belichten we het vaak onzichtbare bodemleven, met de regenwormen als sleutelspelers! 🪱🌿 Deze bodembewoners dragen bij aan een gezonde bodemstructuur, bevorderen waterdoorlaatbaarheid en spelen een centrale rol in de circulatie van voedingsstoffen. youtu.be/M98rEx6eAzE
Na de pissebedden een paar jaar terug, nu regenwormen 🪱 in de Week van het Bos!! 😍 regenworm poster! Trek het bos in met het lespakket voor kleuter- en lagere scholen, www.weekvanhetbos.be #wetenschapscommunicatie #anekoregenwormenwerkgroep #bodemleven @fornalab.bsky.social @bosplus.bsky.social
🌳Week van het bos🌳 In het Aelmoeseneiebos onderzoeken we hoe bossen reageren op complexe uitdagingen zoals klimaatverandering, luchtvervuiling, ... Onze collega's namen @eoswetenschap.bsky.social journalist Kim Verhaeghe mee in dit levend openluchtlaboratorium. www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milie...
Een levend laboratorium
Door klimaatverandering, luchtvervuiling, ziekten en plagen worden bossen steeds kwetsbaarder. Tegelijk vormen ze een van de krachtigste bondgenoten in de st...
eoswetenschap.eu
The recent issue of the journal @eoswetenschap.bsky.social focusses on sustainable forests. Postdoc at our lab Pallieter De Smedt took an EOS reporter into the forest to discover the importance of litter dwelling fauna for ecosystem functioning. www.tijdschriftenwinkel.be/collections/...
EOS editie 10/2025
Dossier: Duurzame bossen · Het bos van morgen: Kunnen onze inheemse bomen de klimaatopwarming aan, of moeten we inzetten op zuidelijke soorten? · In een handvol bosgrond lever meer dieren dan ...
tijdschriftenwinkel.be
Bravo @fornalab.bsky.social colleague @ellendevrieze.bsky.social with her talk “European cities manage their green space for people and biodiversity: a chance for urban (or ecosystem) restoration?” - collaboration with @valentinecology.bsky.social et al
@fornalab.bsky.social Colleague @eeraertsmaxime.bsky.social in action at the @gfoesoc.bsky.social conference in Würzburg with his Synthesis of apple pollination research reveals positive contributions from wild bees relative to those of honeybees. Surprising results depending on the metric!
Fresh global-analysis admirably lead by @eeraertsmaxime.bsky.social (+ @oliviabernauer.bsky.social PhD data) indicates native bee pollination services leads to higher-quality apples = improved weight & seed set. How do you like them apples? 🍎 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Global synthesis of apple pollination research highlights general pollen limitation and positive contributions of wild bees compared to honeybees
Our study highlights that pollen limitation is common in this global crop. While managed honeybees are dominant pollinators, a diverse community of wild bees contributes significantly to apple pollin...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
📣 new paper! 🌳🌱 We present a novel experimental platform showing that light and post-agricultural soil promote graminoid growth more than tree seedlings & the interaction with graminoids significantly affects seedling growth. New platform to study understory grassification! doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...
🌳🪲New paper out in Insect Conservation & Diversity!🪲🌳 Our new study explores how urbanisation affects the rusty click beetle (Elater ferrugineus) - a near-threatened saproxylic species related to old trees and deadwood-rich ecosystems. 📖 doi.org/10.1111/icad... @fbwugent.bsky.social
Functional trait variation of an emblematic saproxylic beetle along rural‐to‐urban gradients across Europe
Urbanisation reduced the local abundance of Elater ferrugineus L., but tree cover increases it. This deadwoods species can persist even in highly urbanised areas. The traits of E. ferrugineus do not...
doi.org
