Division Forest, Nature and Landscape

16/07/2026

It’s conference season (part 2)! The last few months, many of our colleagues have been sharing their research in front of international audiences!

🗺️ GeoAI – 1st International Conference on Geospatial Artificial Intelligence – June 3-6 – Ghent, Belgium
GeoAI gathered researchers working at the intersection of artificial intelligence and geography, showcasing how geospatial AI can address scientific and societal challenges.

🌡️ MEB – Microclimate Ecology & Biogeography Conference – June 1-5 – Montpellier, France
MEB provided a space for discussing the latest developments in measuring and modeling microclimate and its applications in ecology, biodiversity, biogeography research.

☘️ WBF – World Biodiversity Forum – June 14-19 – Davos, Switzerland
WBF brought together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, businesses, and civil society to explore solutions for halting hashtag loss and translating biodiversity science into effective action and policy.

Congratulations for the great contributions Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Deniz Soysal, Christophe Metsu, Toon Lambrecht, Kato Vanpoucke, Wouter Strauven, Titus Top, Reinout Vandenabeele and Willem Goossens! 👏

15/07/2026

It’s conference season! The last few months, many of our colleagues have been sharing their research in front of international audiences!

🌍 EGU – European Geosciences Union – May 3-8 – Vienna, Austria
At EGU, one of Europe’s largest geoscience conferences, researchers in Earth, planetary, and space sciences discussed the latest advances in understanding our planet and its systems

🌿 ESP – Ecosystem Services Partnership 6th ESP Europe Conference – May 18-22 – Prague, Czech Republic
The ESP conference brought together experts in ecosystem services research crossing bridges from supply to demand, from ecology to socioeconomics, and from science to practice.

🌳 EFUF – European Forum on Urban Forestry – May 26-29 – Malmö, Sweden
At EFUF, researchers and practitioners explored innovative approaches to urban forestry, focusing on this year’s theme: “Diversity in urban forestry – bringing people, trees, and ideas together”.

Great contributions from Eva Beele, Melissa Lee, Eline Rega, Sofie Van Winckel, Karen Vancampenhout, Admasu Yirgalem and Keunbae Kim! 👏

24/06/2026

16/06/2026

Last week, we celebrated the PhD defence of Kelly Wittemans! 👏👏👏

Kelly successfully defended her thesis entitled "Towards Unlocking the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Potential of Domestic Gardens in Flanders, Belgium", earning the title of Doctor in Bioscience Engineering. Congratulations, Dr. Wittemans! 🌳

Her research reveals that domestic gardens hold great potential for climate change adaptation and mitigation, yet this potential varies considerably across regions, cities, the urban-rural gradient and even within individual gardens themselves. Kelly identifies urban morphology as a key structural constraint on garden benefits, while also demonstrating how socio-demographic characteristics shape the extent of those benefits.

Dear Kelly, thank you for bringing such warmth, positivity, and cheer to our division!

15/06/2026

Last Monday we celebrated the PhD defence of ! 🎓 👏

She successfully defended her PhD on “Large solitary trees as keystone structures – their contribution to ecosystem functioning”, and so obtaining the title of Doctor in Bioscience Engineering. Congratulations, Dr. Moeys! 🌳

Karlien’s message was clear: large solitary trees are extremely valuable, and are key assets in the landscape that should be more strictly protected. The bigger they are, the more services they provide.

We are extremely grateful for our years of working together, Karlien! Congratulations again, and best of luck in your next adventure at Zuid-Limburg.

15/06/2026

🚨 PhD vacancy: the FireRisk project (2/2) 🚨

We have two PhD vacancies on the FireRisk project.

The first PhD is on "the development of a locally calibrated spread model that accounts for land management and design scenarios". The PhD is situated in the sGlobe lab of Prof. Koenraad Van Meerbeek and PXL BIO-Research with Sam Ottoy.

The second PhD is on "the generation of near-real-time, high-resolution maps of loads, fuel moisture, conditions, and weather indices for improved risk assessment and management". The PhD is situated in the sGlobe lab of Prof. Koenraad Van Meerbeek and PXL BIO-Research with Sam Ottoy.

Interested? Find more details on linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dfornatlan_phd-vacancy-firerisk-activity-7471098782298980353-v2sI?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAADhaqOABwDA2noMwdDCocllxZXLS4F3oFC0

26/05/2026

Winnaars!

De poster op basis van de bachelorproef van Kjell Feyen, Fleur Gielen, Jarne Stoops and Jate Ver Elst, begeleid door Prof. Bart Muys, werd door hun medestudenten als beste aangeduid. Dit deden de studenten op basis van structuur, inhoud en vorm.

De bachelorproef handelt over bodemgezondheid in voedselbossen met regenwormen als bio-indicator. Nieuwsgierig? Bekijk de poster hier gerust even zelf.

Proficiat! 👏

26/05/2026

🚨 We zoeken naar deelnemers voor wetenschappelijk onderzoek! 🚨

Waarom spreekt het ene landschap ons meteen aan, terwijl een ander ons minder raakt? En hoe beïnvloeden keuzes in het beheer van bossen en tuinen de manier waarop we onze omgeving ervaren? Die vragen willen we beantwoorden!

Binnen die context zijn we voor de masterthesis van Isabelle Varley op zoek naar deelnemers voor een korte enquête!
✔ Ben je 18+ en woon je in Vlaanderen?
✔ Heb je 10–15 minuten tijd?
✔ Invullen kan het best op een computer of tablet

👉 Deelnemen kan via: https://lnkd.in/ehrj4FXm

Alvast bedankt voor jouw tijd en bijdrage!

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

19/05/2026

🚨New paper alert🚨

A new paper from our colleagues Adamasu Yirgalem, Prof. Karen Vancampenhout and Prof. Bart Muys has been published!

🧪 This study evaluated how scattered tree species affect soil fertility in enset homegardens of the Gamo Highlands in southern Ethiopia.

Key findings:
👉 Five tree species were commonly found in enset-producing homegardens.
👉 Tree species identity significantly influenced soil properties
👉 The tree species with older, larger specimens (Ficus sur) had a positive impact on the soil properties
👌 Overall, the tree species produced high-quality litter that can be used directly or mixed with inorganic fertilizers for soil amendment.

Want to know more? Read the article here:

Enset (Ensete ventricosum) is among the under-researched African crops that serve as a staple food crop in South Ethiopia. Despite potential benefits, tree s...

13/05/2026

🚨New paper alert🚨

A new paper by Eva Beele and Ben Somers explores the cooling efficiency of urban green spaces to help mitigate urban heat island effects. Read the key highlights of the paper and click on the link to learn more:

Urban green spaces are often presented as an easy answer to rising urban temperatures, but do they retain their cooling efficiency during prolonged heat and drought?
Using three years of citizen‑science weather data from 125 stations, we found that cooling efficiency is highly context‑dependent, influenced by heat intensity, humidity, solar radiation, and soil moisture.
🌳 Trees cool best during the day, but their performance drops sharply when soils dry out or atmospheric humidity rises.
🌱 Grasses and shrubs cool best at night, yet become less effective during intense heat or cloudy, humid atmospheric conditions.
💧 On the hottest days, soil moisture was essential to sustain cooling.

The takeaway: more green space isn’t enough. Cities need integrated water management to keep vegetation functioning under extreme heat and drought. And a diverse mix of vegetation is essential to support cooling both day and night.

Read the full article here (open access until June 29th): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2026.129922