Spatially explicit risk analysis: a new solution to contamination problems in the Metropolitan Delta

In the current paper a new conceptual outline for the ecological risk assessment of contamination will be adressed. In the first place risk assessment has to be spatially explicit, taking in account the spatial structure of the landscape (landscape ecotoxicology). Secondly the concept of SSRA (spatially structured risk assessment) being introduced: it is aimed at minimising the contact between organisms and contaninants by spatially structuring the landscape so that organisms will not forage at contaminated site

Повышение износостойкости поверхностей деталей машин путем нанесения регулярного микрорельефа

Een betere benutting van de biologische diversiteit maakt de landbouw minder afhankelijk van externe input zoals chemische gewasbeschermingsmiddelen en kunstmest. Het gaat daarbij om drie samenhangende onderdelen: 1. het erfelijk materiaal voor dieren, planten en micro-organismen; 2. de organismen en processen die de zogenaamde ecosysteemdiensten (bv bodemvruchtbaarheid) leveren; 3. de biologische en landschappelijke elementen die bestaan dankzij de landbouw. Een verkennend onderzoek is verricht binnen DLO, in nauw overleg met partijen als: LTO, CLM, Louis Bolk Instituut, LNV (directies Natuur, Platteland, Kennis en Landbouw) en VROM. In dit verslag komen aan de orde: groen-blauwe dooradering (zoals houtwallen en sloten) bij plaagonderdrukking, de invloed van bodemkwaliteit op het weren van ziektes, de invloed van bodemleven op de beschikbaarheid van nutriënten, de mogelijkheden op melkveebedrijven en de relatie tussen landbouw en de zogenaamde begeleidende biodiversitei

Landscape forming processes and diversity of forested landscapes : description and application of the model FORSPACE

In the project "Landschapsvormende processen en biodiversiteit" ("Landscape forming processes and bioversity") the spatial interactions between autonomous development of a vegetation and landscape forming processes were investigated and their implications for (bio)diversity at the landscape level were evaluated. For this purpose the model FORSPACE was developed which is a spatial explicit process model that describes vegetation dynamics and the impacts of landscape forming processes. In this study emphasis was paid to the effects of grazing by large herbivores and fire on the vegetation. Two approaches to analyse diversity at the landscape scale were developed: 1) a spatial analysis evaluating the time-evolution of dominant vegetation types, and 2) a metapopulation approach that describes the population dynamics of indicator species at the landscape scale depending on the availability of habitat. This report focuses on the methodological aspects of the study and thus acts as a reference for future applied studies. The model structure is described in detail, as well as the approach of spatial analysis and of the metapopulation dynamics of an indicator species. Much emphasis is paid on the validation of the driving processes for trees, herbs and grasses by evaluating controlled simulation experiments. In a case-study on the 200 ha of the Imbos, an area in the centre of the Netherlands, the impacts of grazing by herbivores and its interaction with different fire frequencies were evaluated