Category Archives: Science

A tale of homogenisation

I’ve always been intrigued by ecological scaling – it’s literally in my title: Assistant Professor in Ecological Scaling. One of the main reasons we care so much about scaling is that ecological theories don’t always hold up when we change … Continue reading

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We just love hearing the sound of nature

In a region like Flanders – dense, busy, and full of human activities of all shapes and sizes – the problem of noise pollution is increasingly recognized. We often think of that noise as something we can measure in decibels. … Continue reading

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SoilTemp is now MEB!

Over the past six years, I’ve poured my heart into SoilTemp. What started as a vision for a global soil temperature database quickly grew into something much more: a living, breathing community of researchers passionate about microclimate ecology. From the … Continue reading

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BioTime 2.0

If we want to understand how biodiversity is shifting in this rapidly changing climate, we need two critical ingredients: microclimate time series and biodiversity time series. (And yes, let’s not forget good soil data – but let’s keep it simple … Continue reading

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What mountain roads do to root-associated fungi

Some papers just hit harder than others. And this latest one – just out in Molecular Ecology – sits right at the top of the epic scale. The topic? The impact of mountain roads on plant-fungal interactions. Here’s the thing: … Continue reading

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The Tea Bag Index: simple on the surface, complex beneath

Oftentimes the simplest scientific methods hide a whole iceberg of complexity. The Tea Bag Index (TBI) is no exception. On the face of it, it’s brilliantly straightforward: bury some green and rooibos Lipton tea bags, dig them up after about … Continue reading

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