Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape (FNL)

At the end of August, ISEE - International Society for Environmental Epidemiology hosted their annual conference in Santiago, #Chile. FNL was represented by 2 researchers, Eva Beele & Melissa Lee, and even a former colleague, Dengkai Chi. They presented their work on how #greenspace and #urbanplanning can improve #humanhealth.  Congratulations to the #ISEE2024 organization for an engaging event!

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one or multiple colleagues in our #FNL Division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Ellen Desie: #restore – from the ground up 🍃 Ellen is establishing a research group in applied #restoration ecology at the Division Forest Nature and Landscape. In her research there will be a strong focus on #soil biota, as they are a central yet poorly valorized component for the long-term successful restoration of agro- and #ecosystems. She aims to enhance comprehension in this biological component of soil health, which can be leveraged for more effective restoration strategies. Her work will continue to be interdisciplinary, bridging different domains of ecology with #plant, soil, and #animal sciences, tackling this from an engineering perspective. #FNL #KUL #Researchinthespotlight #Researcherofthemonth #PhD #KULeuven

I am excited to announce the publication of another chapter from my PhD where I evaluated the capacity of Local Climate Zones to effectively assess surface heat in urban areas. In this study we found that the standard typology consisting of 17 classes has member LCZs too similar in physical characteristics and thus do not reflect as distinct thermal environments. Through statistical automated and semi automated algorithms we clustered the 17 classes into 6 groups that are thermally distinct for practical purposes. The real world does not run on statistical significance. A difference of 0.1 degrees between classes might be statistically significant enough to render the classes thermally distinct but it does not drive UHI mitigation policies because it isn't practically significant... Our method of clustering LCZs provides a local climate zone based framework that translates to practical significance where the difference in temperature between clusters is at least 1 degree. #KULeuven #FNL #UrbanClimatology

We are going for higher ground in our quest to better understand soil carbon dynamics! Really cool that this paper is published on the kick-off day of a new collaboration between KU Leuven and Jagiellonian University! So many great people are joining the team in the Gorce Mountains, including Lucasz Musielok, Bart Muys, Sascha Nijdam, Boris Jansen and Ellen Desie - stay tuned!!

Very excited to share that from September 1st I am appointed at KU Leuven - Departement Aard- en omgevingswetenschappen Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape (FNL) and KU Leuven Faculteit Industriële Ingenieurswetenschappen - Campus Geel as assistant professor. My ambition is to develop a research group in applied restoration ecology with a strong focus on soil biota, as they are a central yet poorly valorized component for the long-term successful restoration of agro- and ecosystems. It's clear to me that many restoration challenges should be tackled from the ground up! :) More info on restorefromthegroundup.com and do not hesitate to reach out!

Congratulations to Johanna Van Passel for the successful defense of her #PhD thesis! 👏 🎓 Or should we say Dr. Van Passel? Johanna presented her research on the impact of repeated #droughts on the stability of the #Amazon forest, which she investigated using #satellite images 🌳 📡 Johanna will continue her passion for research on #tropical forests with a postdoctoral fellowship at Ghent University. We wish our fantastic colleague the best on her exciting academic journey ahead!

Tuesday, Sofia Flores Vivar successfully defended her PhD thesis and has earned the title of Doctor in Bioscience Engineering!   Sofia looked into #naturebased solutions to help design functional and climate-robust urban greenery with a focus on #greenroofs in Lima, Peru. 🏬🍃 Congratulations, Dr. Flores Vivar! Sofia, you have been a wonderful colleague and you will be missed by FNL! We wish you the very best in your future endeavors!

Excited to share my first published paper! 📄🌱 "𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧-𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞? 𝐀 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰" In this paper, published in Frontiers in Environmental Science, we explore how domestic gardens can contribute to climate change adaptation in Western Europe. We emphasize the importance of enhancing the effectiveness of existing gardens through targeted Nature-based Solutions, recognize the potential of Citizen Science campaigns and governmental initiatives, and stress the need for evidence-based approaches. Discover the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/egzgbcxy A big thank you to Kelly Wittemans, Eva Beele, Valerie Dewaelheyns, Trui Steen, and Ben Somers. LIFE Programme, Klimaattuiniers, Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape (FNL), KU Leuven Instituut voor de Overheid, KU Leuven Plant Institute, LUSI - KU Leuven Urban Studies Institute

🌡️How can we keep our cities cool in the face of rising temperatures? Our cities are increasingly vulnerable to urban heat islands, impacting the health and well-being of residents. As part of the 𝐋𝐞𝐮𝐯𝐞𝐧.𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐥 project, Eva Beele from the Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape (FNL) mapped Leuven's microclimate using 100 low-cost weather stations and assessed the cooling effects of green infrastructures. Key findings: °Green cover will have different cooling effects depending on the location. °Increasing grass and shrub cover by 10% in grey, enclosed areas can significantly lower night-time temperatures. This emphasises the need for tailored strategies: conserve green spaces as urban forests, and transform grey areas into urban savannas with connected grasses and shrubs mixed with standalone trees. 🔗 Explore our publication: https://lnkd.in/eHeHxTDK 🔗 Find the real-time Leuven.cool data: https://leuven.cool 🔗 Download the Leuven.cool data: doi.org/10.48804/SSRN3F #ClimateResilience #SustainableCities #UrbanGreenSpaces #ClimateAction #GreenInfrastructure Ben Somers Raf Aerts LUSI - KU Leuven Urban Studies Institute

Samen met The Manchester Metropolitan University (VK) onderzoekt de KU Leuven hoe het gebruik van een tuin de samenstelling ervan beïnvloedt. Daarvoor heeft Janne Teerlinck jouw hulp nodig!   Woon je in Vlaanderen en heeft je huishouden exclusief toegang tot een tuin? Dan nodigen we je graag uit om deel te nemen aan deze bevraging.  Deze duurt ongeveer 10 tot 15 minuten. Door deel te nemen, help je ons om te begrijpen hoe mensen hun tuinen in Vlaanderen gebruiken. Daarnaast helpen jouw antwoorden ons ook om een beter beeld te vormen van het klimaatpotentieel van Vlaamse tuinen.  https://lnkd.in/ede-T5bS #klimaatadaptatie #potentieelvantuinen