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Tag Archives: Ecology
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
Global impoverishment of natural vegetation revealed by ‘dark diversity’
Back in 2019, we ventured into the field with a rather unusual mission: to search for the biodiversity that wasn’t there. At first glance, this might seem counterintuitive – after all, we’re accustomed to documenting what exists. Yet, by exploring … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Biodiversity, Biology, climate change, Conservation, Dark diversity, Ecology, Ecosystems, Environment, Human influence, Nature
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Non-native plants in the worlds’ cities
Non-native species have been widely studied for decades, and their affinity with urban environments is no surprise to anyone in the field. However, just how many non-native species dwell in our cities was so far unknown. With a global consortium … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Biodiversity, Ecology, Environment, Global, Invasive species, Nature, Plant invasions, Plants, Research, Science
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When the same data tells a different story
Scientific research often presents itself as a search for truth—rigorous, objective, and driven by data. But what if the same dataset, analyzed by different researchers, leads to different conclusions? That’s exactly what happened when a group of ecologists, including myself, … Continue reading
Posted in Science
Tagged Ecology, Research, Science, Statistical analysis, Statistics
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Sensors with a view
Not all fieldwork pictures are equally breathtaking. While part of our team waded through the muddy mud of De Driehoek – one of our university campus’s last patches of nature – another group embarked on a rather more inspiring mission: … Continue reading
Posted in Belgium
Tagged Climbing, Ecology, Fieldwork, Microclimate, Outdoors, Plants, Rock climbing, Rock diversity, Science
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Temporal changes along mountain roads
In 2012, during my master’s thesis, we began monitoring vegetation along three Norwegian mountain roads with a clear goal: to track how these plant communities would change over time. Time, of course, is a relative concept, and nature operates on … Continue reading
Posted in Norway
Tagged Biodiversity, Ecology, Environment, Invasive species, Mountain ecology, Mountains, Nature, Plants, Science
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The 3D lab 