Rudy Van Diggelen

Rudy Van Diggelen
University of Antwerp | UA · Department of Biology

professor

About

135
Publications
72,329
Reads
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4,814
Citations
Additional affiliations
November 2008 - September 2020
University of Antwerp
Position
  • Professor (Full)
March 2008 - October 2008
University of Groningen
Position
  • Senior Researcher
March 1987 - October 2008
University of Groningen
Position
  • Research Assistant

Publications

Publications (135)
Preprint
Full-text available
Understanding whether nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) or potassium (K) (co)limit productivity across biodiverse herbaceous habitats is crucial to guide management. Therefore, we investigated for 386 plots representing 13 nutrient-limited habitat types across Europe whether community N:P:K stoichiometry and limitation types differ along wide-ranging gr...
Article
Full-text available
The EU Nature Restoration Law (NRL) is critical for the restoration of degraded ecosystems and active afforestation of degraded peatlands has been suggested as a restoration measure under the NRL. Here, we discuss the current state of scientific evidence on the climate mitigation effects of peatlands under forestry. Afforestation of drained peatlan...
Article
Restoration of nutrient-enriched heathlands and similar dry habitats via topsoil removal requires the re-assembly of above and belowground communities to attain fully functional ecosystems. Top-soil removal provides unique opportunities to study the assembly processes, but research has traditionally focused on succession of the aboveground part of...
Article
Full-text available
Many degraded ecosystems need active restoration to conserve biodiversity and re‐establish ecosystem function, both highlighted targets of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and the proposed EU Nature restoration law. Soil translocation, where both plant propagules and their associated soil biota are co‐introduced, has increasingly been propose...
Article
Full-text available
Heathland restoration using topsoil removal requires the re‐colonization of above‐ and belowground communities. Oribatid mites play a key role in the comminution of organic matter and are frequently early colonizers during succession despite their limited mobility. Whereas the assembly of their communities may take decades, passive dispersal likely...
Article
A better understanding of factors controlling the distribution of soil organic matter (SOM) in differently stabilized pools in soils during ecosystem development is essential to more efficiently manage soil as a C sink and aid global warming mitigation. We, thus, investigated C and N stocks in bulk soil and differently stabilized soil fractions (fr...
Article
Peatland degradation is tightly connected to hydrological changes and microbial metabolism. To better understand these metabolism processes, more information is needed on how microbial communities and substrate cycling are affected by changing hydrological regimes. These activities should be imprinted in stable isotope bulk values (δ ¹⁵N, δ ¹³C) du...
Article
Heathlands are threatened habitats throughout the whole Europe, which have initiated numerous restoration programmes aimed mostly at plant community reconstruction; however, little is known about soil fauna restoration. Here we have studied newly established wet and dry heathlands in the Netherlands after topsoil removal of previously agricultural...
Article
Soil inoculation from plant species-rich into species-poor grasslands may enable the establishment of self-facilitating networks between microbes and vegetation, thereby steering ecosystem development. We conducted a three-year experiment that covered a wide range of post-agricultural grasslands to determine how succession is affected by the intera...
Article
Full-text available
Stream valleys are highly suitable to fulfil a rapidly growing list of policy demands and their restoration will yield significant contributions to climate, water and biodiversity goals. To clarify how this can be achieved, we formulated three alternative visions for stream valley restoration: wilderness (natural), arcadian (semi-natural) and util...
Article
Full-text available
Brook valleys are wet parts of the landscape where water is transported and partial decomposition of plant remnants has led to the formation of peat. Their complex geology resulted in steep hydrological and hydrochemical gradients and associated high biodiversity. From the Middle Ages onwards human influence has gradually levelled these gradients o...
Article
Full-text available
Peatlands have been drained for land use for a long time and on a large scale, turning them from carbon and nutrient sinks into respective sources, diminishing water regulation capacity, causing surface height loss and destroying biodiversity. Over the last decades, drained peatlands have been rewetted for biodiversity restoration and, as it strong...
Article
Full-text available
Drainage-induced shifts in physicochemical peat properties are irreversible on a decadal time span. We investigated whether carbon emissions from fen peat can be estimated using two proxies: current water levels and peat properties (as affected by drainage history, i.e. degradation legacy). We collected bare peat monoliths from a long-term drained...
Chapter
Full-text available
Until the large-scale application of artificial fertilizer in the 20th century, heathlands were a characteristic and essential element of the agricultural system on sandy soils in NW Europe. Attempts to increase the total area of the small remaining heathlands by converting agricultural areas are only partially successful. Reasons for such low succ...
Article
Full-text available
De weg vooruit Op 19 oktober 2020 verscheen de rapportage ‘State of Nature in the EU’ (EEA, 2020), waarin gesteld wordt dat op Europees niveau maar liefst 81% van de habitats in slechte staat verkeert, waarbij veengebieden, graslanden en duinhabitats het meest achteruitgaan. Ontginning, verdroging en vermesting hebben ook in beekdalvenen in de Lag...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Evaluation of effects of mowing with wetland tracks and ceasing of mowing in groundwater fens on vegetation, biomass and microtopography. Field experiment in Drentse Aa, Netherlands
Article
Full-text available
Op veel plaatsen in Nederland vindt natuurontwikkeling plaats op voormalige landbouwgrond. Voordat deze gronden geschikt zijn voor de ontwikkeling van soortenrijke natuurtypen, moet de voedselrijkdom vaak drastisch lager worden. Een van de manieren om dit te doen is door de voedselrijke bovenlaag af te graven. Hiermee wordt het landbouwkundige verl...
Article
Full-text available
Many of the world’s peatlands have been affected by water table drawdown and subsequent loss of organic matter. Rewetting has been proposed as a measure to restore peatland functioning and to halt carbon loss, but its effectiveness is subject to debate. An important prerequisite for peatland recovery is a return of typical microbial communities, wh...
Article
Full-text available
Dispersal limitation, biotic interactions, and environmental filters interact to drive plant and fungal community assembly, but their combined effects are rarely investigated. This study examines how different heathland plant and fungal colonization scenarios realized via three biotic treatments – addition of mature heathland‐derived sod, addition...
Article
Full-text available
Sinds het midden van de vorige eeuw heeft de Nederlandsenatuur te lijden gehad van overmatige zuur- en stikstofdepositie. Maatregelen om de effecten hiervan te bestrijden, leidden niet altijd tot het gewenste resultaat en hadden soms dermate sterke neveneffecten dat ze eerder ongewenst waren. Sinds kort is steenmeel in beeld als middel dat mogelijk...
Article
Full-text available
Floristic diversity, succession and dynamics of post-cultural fallows in the Mbobero locality (Kabare Territory, South Kivu, DR Congo) A synchronic study was carried out in fallow land divided into three age classes (0-3 years, 4-7 years and more than 8 years) of the Mbobero site in post-cropping fallows as a fundamental component of agrarian lands...
Article
Hans Joosten, Franziska Tanneberger and Asbjørn Moen (editors) (2017) Schweizerbart Science Publishers, Stuttgart, 780 pages, €94.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 978‐3‐510‐65383‐6. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Article
Many endangered plant species remain absent in rewetted, previously drained fens. We performed a 3-year introduction experiment with endangered fen species (9 Carex- and 6 bryophyte species) in 4 hydrologically restored fens to investigate which factors hamper establishment and survival. Carex species were introduced as adults and seedlings, mosses...
Article
Although plant-soil interactions are increasingly recognized as an important factor in ecosystem restoration, their effects on community assembly during de novo ecosystem establishment are largely unknown. In a heathland restoration trial after topsoil removal we introduced either only aboveground heathland species with fresh herbage or both above-...
Article
Full-text available
Low phosphorus (P) availability limits plant biomass production in fens, which is a prerequisite for the persistence of many endangered plant species. We hypothesized that P limitation is linked to soil iron (Fe) content and soil Fe : P ratios as iron compounds provide binding sites for dissolved P, presumably reducing P availability to plants. We...
Article
Full-text available
With the case of Flanders (northern part of Belgium) we present an integrated approach to calculate accurate losses of wetlands, potentials for restoration, and their ecosystem services supplies and illustrate how these insights can be used to evaluate and support policy making. Flanders lost about 75% of its wetland habitats in the past 50–60 year...
Article
Full-text available
Anthropogenic eutrophication of wetlands may have a significant impact on the global biogeochemical silicon (Si) cycle, as Si filtering by wetland vegetation codetermines fluxes of Si towards the oceans. We experimentally investigated how macronutrient (NPK) enrichment alters total Si storage and Si stoichiometry in litter from six wetland species...
Article
Oligotrophic semi-natural systems are threatened by high levels of nitrogen deposition. To mitigate these effects, drastic techniques such as sod-cutting and topsoil removal are applied to reduce nitrogen loads in existing systems and expand their area on former agricultural fields. We assessed the effects of these techniques along with the influen...
Article
Eutrophication is a major threat for the persistence of nutrient-poor fens, as multilevel feedbacks on decomposition rates could trigger carbon loss and increase nutrient cycling. Here, we experimentally investigate the effects of macronutrient (NPK) enrichment on litter quality of six species of sedge (Carex sp.), which we relate to litter decompo...
Article
The reduction of human use in many grassland systems across Europe has led to bush encroachment and a loss of biodiversity. Low intensity grazing systems by livestock has often been used as a cost-effective management tool to counteract this process. However, not all semi-natural grasslands are suitable for this due to large distance from human set...
Article
Full-text available
Rewetted, previously drained fens often remain sources rather than sinks for carbon and nutrients. To date, it is poorly understood which soil characteristics stimulate carbon and nutrient mobilization upon rewetting. Here, we assess the hypothesis that a large pool of iron in the soil negatively affects fen restoration success, as flooding-induced...
Data
Sulfur mobilization. Mobilization of total dissolved Sulfur (S) over time (t = 0, 30 and 127 days) in the pore water of 40 soil cores that differ in experimental water level treatment (rewetted or drained) and initial soil iron content (high or low). Soil cores were classified into 4 groups: rewetted iron-poor fens (n = 10 cores from 2 sites), drai...
Article
The importance of linear habitat elements connecting core habitat patches for biodiversity conservation is still poorly understood. We surveyed reed strips along drainage ditches and reed marshes in an agricultural landscape to assess how both the density of linear habitat elements and the area of core habitat affect diversity and community composi...
Article
Full-text available
Abstract This article focuses on the use and the vocabulary of 323 specimens representing 52 species woody species that were collected from three ethnosocio- linguistic groups (Shi, Tembo and Pygmies) living in the ecological corridor of Kahuzi -Biega National Park (KBNP). This area consists of a transitional forest between the vegetation of the pl...
Article
Full-text available
Global land-use intensification and drainage has altered the biogeochemical properties of many peatlands, and concomitant eutrophication has led to a loss of low-competitive fen species. We investigated the hypothesis that removal of a degraded and eutrophied top peat layer, thereby exposing an underlying peat layer, can improve conditions for rich...
Article
Full-text available
Fens represent a large array of ecosystem services, including the highest biodiversity found among wetlands, hydrological services, water purification and carbon sequestration. Land-use change and drainage has severely damaged or annihilated these services in many parts of North America and Europe; restoration plans are urgently needed at the lands...
Article
Full-text available
Bij de uitwerking van de instandhoudingdoelen voor Natura2000 zijn beekdalen onderkend als belangrijke gebieden voor herstel van het habitattype H7140 Overgang- en Trilvenen. Dit roept vragen op over het beheer van vernatte beekdalvenen. Traditioneel worden deze beekdalgebieden gemaaid en door technische innovaties in het beheer kunnen terreinbehee...
Article
Full-text available
Zabraňuje velká koncentrace železa úspěšné obnově minerálně bohatých slatinišť? Camiel J. S. A g g e n b a c h 1,2 , Hans B a c k x 2 , Willem Jan E m s e n s 2 , Ab P. G r o o t j a n s 3,4 , Leon P. M. L a m e r s 3 , Alfons J. P. S m o l d e r s 3,5 , Pieter J. S t u y f z a n d 1,6 , Lesław W o ł e j k o 7 & 2 D e d i c a t e d t o K a m i l R...
Article
Full-text available
Nous signalons la présence des espèces nouvellement reportées pour la flore Ptéridologique de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC), découvertes lors de notre exploration dans la forêt des montagnes du Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega (PNKB), et indiquons leurs conditions écologiques et leurs distributions géographiques. La méthodologie utilisée e...
Article
Full-text available
Cette étude se focalise sur la vérification de l’hypothèse que l’altitude influence l’occurrence de la flore des Fougères et leurs alliées au sein de l’écosystème forestier des montagnes du Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega. Un échantillonnage de la végétation y a été effectué en considérant 24 parcelles localisées par paires le long de 12 transects in...
Article
Full-text available
This study comprises a phytogeographical analysis of forest ferns and their allies of the Kahuzi Biega National Park (KBNP), located in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The phytogeographical and floristic affinities and dissimilarities were investigated for forested areas of the Albertine Rift, Continental Africa and some mountainous areas outsi...
Article
Full-text available
Understanding the factors determining the size and extent of Si cycling in wetlands is important, as more and more research shows they interact strongly within riverine Si fluxes. One key factor is the size of the ecosystem Si reservoir, which strongly depends on the occurrence of organisms specialized in biological Si processing. Our study was aim...
Article
Full-text available
An ethnobotanic survey has been made in the surroundings of the Kahuzi Biega National Park (KBNP) in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Our aims were to document the use of Pteridophytes by the neighbouring population of KBNP Mountains, and to link our data with conservation issues. Our inventories show that 41 Pteridophytes specie...
Chapter
Not so long ago, ecological restoration was considered to be mainly a site - level activity where certain measures were taken to reverse an unwanted situation or unwanted developments. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that ecosystems do not function independently from their surroundings and that spatial relations matter a great deal (Hobb...
Article
Full-text available
To understand patterns of variation in species biomass in terms of species traits and environmental variables a one-to-one approach might not be sufficient, and a multitrait multienvironment approach will be necessary. A multitrait multienvironment approach is proposed, based on a mixed model for species biomass. In the model, environmental variabl...
Article
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RESUME.-Le présent article se consacre sur la checklist des Ptéridophytes du Parc National de Kahuzi-Biega qui se trouve à l'est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RD Congo). Au total 5987 spécimens conservés aux herbariums en Belgique, en Pays-Bas et de la RD Congo ont été analysés. Les spécimens ont été identifiés et groupés dans les famille...
Article
Clonality resulting from the growth of specialized organs is common among plants in wetland habitats. We hypothesize that different wetland habitats select for different attributes of clonal traits. This hypothesis is based on studies of individual species but has not been previously tested at the level of habitat. We compared the functional divers...
Article
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Question: How do species traits and abiotic factors influence the extent of hydrochorous dispersal into and out of a small floodplain area along a free-flowing river in The Netherlands? Location: The Kappersbult nature reserve (53°07′28″N, 6°37′14″E), which is a floodplain along the Dutch River Drentsche Aa. Methods: Seeds transported by the river...
Article
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We investigated the effects of different restoration treatments on the development of fen meadow communities: (1) depth of topsoil removal, with shallow (circa 20 cm) and deep (circa 40 cm) soil removal applied, (2) transfer of seed-containing hay, and (3) access of large animals. We carried out a full factorial experiment with all combinations of...
Article
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We carried out an eco-hydrological analysis to evaluate the most important effects of land use changes on the hydrological functioning of a fen system in Poland. We measured water levels (hydraulic heads) and water flow along a transect through the study area and also analysed land use changes using historical maps. Major hydrological changes occur...
Article
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The majority of fens in Europe have been transformed for agricultural purposes and have disappeared or become degraded. Fen meadows that developed under low-intensity management of fens also have become degraded. In this paper, we consider the available restoration methods, biotic constraints for restoration and new prospects and approaches for the...
Article
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Clonal multiplication is a predominant type of reproduction in wetland species. However, both wetlands and plant organs of clonal growth are diverse, thus due to different stress factors operating in various wetlands preponderance of plants with specific clonal growth organs (CGOs) can be expected. To test this hypothesis the CGO spectra of wetland...
Article
Full-text available
1. The extent to which seedling recruitment contributes to local functional diversity depends on the environmental filters operating in a plant community. Classical community assembly models assume that habitat constraints and competition act like hierarchical filters with habitat filtering as the dominant one. Alternative models assume a synergic...
Article
Full-text available
Fens in Central Europe are characterised by waterlogged organic substrate and low productivity. Human-induced changes due to drainage and mowing lead to changes in plant species composition from natural fen communities to fen meadows and later to over-drained, degraded meadows. Moderate drainage leads to increased vegetation productivity, and sever...
Article
Full-text available
1. The extent to which seedling recruitment contributes to local functional diversity depends on the environmental filters operating in a plant community. Classical community assembly models assume that habitat constraints and competition act like hierarchical filters with habitat filtering as the dominant one. Alternative models assume a synergic...