Newsletter
     
Volume 1 | issue 1 | 15 September 2010
Go to the CWE website >>
 

The first CWE Newsletter launched

This Newsletter will come to you twice per year to inform you about the symposia of the CWE, about research opportunities, about activities of Stowa's Watermozaïek and to announce events and news. We are open for suggestions and contributions

Rob Fraaije (secretary CWE)
Jos Verhoeven (chairman CWE)

NEWS  

Next CWE Symposium

Wetland Restoration: It's all about dispersal, germination, establishment and succession

Antwerpen, 8 December 2010                                                   
University of Antwerpen, City Campus

Is everything everywhere? This symposium will focus mainly on processes of colonisation (dispersal, germination, establishment) and succession that are so important in nature restoration projects. Understanding these processes and the way they can be governed by active management is of paramount importance for the achievement of nature restoration targets.
Many thanks to CWE secretary Dr. Judith Sarneel

On 8 September 2010 Dr. Judith Sarneel defended her PhD thesis: Colonisation processes in riparian fen vegetation. In August 2010, she started her new job as Post-Doc researcher at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology to carry out research on the effects of flexible water level management on aquatic- and riparian vegetation. With this step in her career, she finished an enthusiastic and devoted time as secretary of the CWE. We thank Judith for her great efforts and wish all the best in her further career. The secretariat is taken over by Rob Fraaije, PhD student at the Ecology and Biodiversity group of Utrecht University.

Four CWE-AIOs have graduated

The CWE as a consortium has funded 8 collaborative Ph.D. projects about 5 years ago. Four AIOs have graduated in the past year. We congratulate Peter, Xin, Ronald and Dedmer with their new degree! This is the list:

 

18 November 2009: Peter Spierenburg (UU and RU), "The influence of rising CO2 availability on softwater vegetation"

 

31 May 2010: Xin Chen (RU and UU), "intraspecific variation in flooding-induced petiole elongation in Rumex palustris"

 

14 June 2010: Ronald van den Heuvel (UU and RU), "Nitrous oxide emission hotspots and acidic soil denitrification in a riparian buffer zone"

 

24 June 2010: Dedmer van de Waal (UvA and NIOO), "The C:N stoichiometry of harmful cyanobacteria: Do rising carbon dioxide levels affect toxin production and what could be the ecological implications?" 

 

Click here for an overview of all 8 projects

 

 

Two Ph.D's in the OBN 'Laagveen & Zeeklei' team

 

The OBN project team "Laagveenwateren" started a number of research projects in 2003, where CWE partners have collaborated. Recently, these projects resulted in a Final Report (in Dutch) and in two  Ph.D. graduations:

 

21 May 2010: Jeroen Geurts (RU):  Restoration of fens and peat lakes: a biogeochemical approach

 

8 September 2010: Judith Sarneel (UU): Colonisation processes in riparian fen vegetation



First CWE Symposium (April 2010) well-attended

The first CWE Symposium took place in Utrecht and was attended by 55 participants. The program was centered around the theme "Biogeochemical processes in wetlands".  See symposium poster >>.

Lectures focused on the newest insights in this fascinating field. 
 
Karsten Kalbitz revealed some insights on DOC in porewater and surface water in Dutch drained peatlands.
 Erik Struyff gave a nice overview of the recent knowledge gained on silica as an element in wetlands.
Mike Jetten presented some newly discovered microbiological pathways and organisms (anamox).
 Mariet Hefting reported on a study in Iceland on the effects of climate warming on decomposition, using naturally heated spots in a geothermal stream valley.
 Peter Spierenbrug, the first CWE aio who got his Ph.D., presented some of his results on the role of CO2 in softwater lakes
Finally, Lucas Stal talked about his studies of the role of algal mats and biofilms in controlling erosion and biogeochemical cycling saltmarshes and mudflats.



Water Mosaic subsidies granted

 The Water Mosaic Program is a master plan for tackling questions from practitioners in water resources management by focusing and articulating such questions towards scientific research projects and by stimulating science groups and practitioner organisations to form consortia and seek funding. So far, there are 11 ongoing Water Mosaic Projects, 6 of which were funded by the WFD Innovation Fund of the Ministry of Verkeer en Waterstaat in The Netherlands. These projects have subjects such as:

- Developing measures to protect fish migration in pumping stations
- Developing procedures for implementing the EU Water Framework Directive
- Flexible water level management
- Remeandering streams
- Working with sludge removed from water bodies


For further information see STOWA watermoziek (in dutch) >>
or see STOWA's project descriptions (in dutch) >>


           Mission 2010-2015
 
The Centre for Wetland Ecology is a consortium of 20 academic research groups in The Netherlands and Flanders working on the ecology, biogeochemistry, microbiology and hydrology of wetlands and water bodies. The network was established in 2000 and has developed active collaborations by carrying out joint research projects. For the period 2010-2015, the CWE aims at enhancing the interaction between the worlds of fundamental research and management implementation regarding wetlands and water bodies (freshwater, brackish-water and coastal). Read full mission >>
 
Activities
The CWE provides a scientific platform by organizing two symposia per year, each oriented around a well-delineated scientific theme, for a combined audience of scientists and practitioners active in the water sector (i.e., representatives of water authorities, consulting firms, government agencies, applied knowledge institutes). 
 
Members
CWE currently has 20 member-research groups from the following academic research institutions:

• Utrecht University
• Radboud University Nijmegen
• Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO, KNAW)
• University of Amsterdam
• Wageningen University and Research Centre
• University of Antwerpen
• University of Gent
• University of Leuven

For a full list of partners, follow this link >>



Events

10 years of IBED at the University of Amsterdam
In September 2010, the Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) of the Universiy of Amsterdam celebrates its 10-year anniversary. The IBED will organize a symposium on 24 September in the Beurs van Berlage on the topic "Biodiversity: The Decennium Assessment" with prof David Tilman from the University of Minnesota. Read more >>
 
The end for the Center for Limnology Nieuwersluis
 
The Center for Limnology of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO), located in the Vijverhof estate bordering the Vecht river in Nieuwersluis since 1959, will close down later this year. The center will merge with the Center for Terrestrial Ecology in Heteren; the new and restructured NIOO will move into a new building on the campus of Wageningen University.

On 2 July there was a celebration at the Vijverhof to memorize the role of the Center for Limnology. A book with a history of the CL and a tribute to its research, called "Als water je lief is" was offered by the last director, Prof.dr. Riks Laanbroek, to three former directors, Dr. Han Golterman, Dr. Sicco Parma and Prof.dr. Wim van Vierssen. More information on the book >>

 
Courses and academic education

16-17 September 2010 Two-day course organised by STOWA: Biological sampling and presentation of the handbook Hydrobiology. Location NIOZ, Texel. More information (in Dutch) >>
Recent key publications

Methane consumption keeps emissions low in bogs

Methane consuming bacteria are active in the upper layer of bogs, as has recently been confirmed by a study in nine peatlands across the world led by researchers of Radboud University Nijmegen. The wider implication of the results is that peat bogs are quite low in methane emissions.
Nardy Kip et al. (2010) Global prevalence of methane oxidation by symbiotic bacteria in peat-moss ecosystems. Nature Geoscience 3: 617-621 >>
  
Progress in lake ecosystem modelling
 

A large number and wide variety of lake ecosystem models have been developed in the past decades. ‘Reinventing the wheel’ (many models follow the concept of others) and ‘having tunnel vision’ (focussing on one type of model while ignoring new and diverse approaches) should be avoided and are future challenges to make further progress. The aim of this paper is to improve awareness of existing models and knowledge of concurrent approaches in lake ecosystem modelling.

Mooij et al. (2010) Challenges and opportunities for integrating lake ecosystem modelling approaches. Aquat Ecol 44:633–667 >>


 
Macrophyte community composition influences effect of nutrient enrichment on submerged vegetation
 

In this study, macrophyte community composition strongly affected the amount of biomass production as well as the short-term response of vegetation to nutrient enrichment. Possibly an indirect effect on algal blooms occurs, as these only occurred at ponds with low macrophyte biomass.

Bakker et al. (2010) Effect of macrophyte community composition and nutrient enrichment on plant biomass and algal blooms. Basic Appl Ecol 11:432–439 >>

Awards

CWE-AIO Melis Akman wins Young Scientist Award

At the 10th International Society of Plant Anaerobiosis Conference, Melis Akman was selected as one of 4 winners of the Young Scientist Award based on her CV and her effective presentation of research activities. As PhD student, Melis studies flooding tolerance strategies of two wetland species of Rorippa. She is investigating the genetic basis of different strategies plants evolve to withstand flooding stress. She is interested in how physiology and genetics of stress tolerance relate to ecological and evolutionary processes that lead to speciation.
 
Dr. Isabelle Smallegange wins first Waddenacademie Prize

The annual Waddenacademie Prize is a monetary award of 5000 euro by the Waddenacademie, an institute of the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The thesis by Dr. Smallegange was one of four nominated for the prize, judged according to their originality, methodology, elaboration, conclusions and readability. Read more >>
 

Grants

 

IBED scientist receives TOP grant

Prof. dr. Jef Huisman, chair of the research group Aquatic Microbiology of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) received a prestigious TOP grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO). He will use the grant to study effects of rising CO2 concentrations on resource competition in plankton communities. Read more >>
Collaborative research projects
 
REFRESH: climate change and EU freshwater ecosystems
 

This international project with 25 partners from 16 countries started in February and will run for 4 years, with financial support of EU-FP7. The title "Adaptive Strategies to Mitigate the Impacts of Climate Change on European Freshwater Ecosystems" illustrates the ambition of the project. Focus will be on lakes, streams and wetlands; the research approach is a combination of metadata analysis, field studies across climatic gradients and field experiments. Three Dutch partners are in the project: WUR (Anne Besse and Piet Verdonschot); UU (Merel Soons and Jos Verhoeven) and Deltares (Victor Beumer and Harm Duel). More information on the project's web site >>

 

MECOMECON: Resilience of methane oxidizing communities

  

MECOMECON (MEthanortophic diversity and gene expression as COntrolling factors of global Methane CONsumption) is a collaborative research project involving 7 European research groups, which resides under the coordination of the ESF EUROCORES programme EuroEEFG (Ecological and Evolutionary Functional Genomics). Read more >>

 
'Autonome Neerwaartse Trend' IJssel- Markermeer
 
This research project involves several Dutch partners: Deltares, WUR, NIOO-KNAW, IMARES (WUR) and IVM (VU-Amsterdam), and will study the decline in ecological value of the IJssel- and Markermeer in the Netherlands. Read more >>
 
Contribution to diverse research projects by IBED
 
In different projects the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED) contributed to research on the impact of the invasive red swamp crawfish (Procambarus clarkii) in the Netherlands and the effects of pollutant exposure to geese in their wintering areas in continental Europe and Scotland. They found that an increased occurrence of the red swamp crawfish will almost always indirectly lower the ecological water quality assessment score of the Water Framework Directive (KRW). Contaminant levels in pink footed geese were three times higher than in barnacle geese, possibly caused by different pollutant exposure in their wintering areas. Read more about these projects >>

 

 

 

 

 
 
AGENDA
 
15 September 2010  Symposium about the situation of 'Toekomstbestendig Ecologisch Systeem' (TBES) and the Markermeer/IJmeer. More information (in Dutch) >>
 
8 October 2010      Farewell Lecture Prof.dr. J.M. van Groenendael, Professor Aquatic Ecology, Faculty of Science, Radboud University of Nijmegen
 
17-22 October 2010   Global Lake Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON) 11 symposium, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China. www.gleon.org >>
 
8 December 2010   CWE Symposium "Wetland restoration: It's all about dispersal, germination, establishment and succession", Antwerpen city campus
 
24-28 April 2011    Shallow Lake Conference 2011, Wuxi, China. Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Government of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province. More information >>
 
3-8 July 2011     Joint Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists, WETPOL and Wetlands Biogeochemistry, Clarion Congress Hotal Prague, www.sws2011.com >>

Editor CWE Newsletter
Jos T.A. Verhoeven

For more CWE news: http://www.wetland-ecology.nl
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