The Systems Ecology section conducts research related to biogeochemistry, biodiversity, plant and soil microbial ecology, microbial cell biology, and ecological modelling.
Urgent environmental and societal challenges, such as the drivers and impacts of global climate change, land-use and nitrogen deposition, are an integral part of this research. Systems Ecology consists of a group of collaborative researchers with a wide range of perspectives and expertise required to tackle these complex challenges at the local, regional and global scale.
Across all these themes we are at the forefront of research on peatlands, grasslands and forests from temperate to tropical and polar regions. We work in transdisciplinary projects on land management and help to provide a scientific basis for policies needed to safeguard these environments and their associated ecosystem services into the future. Our teaching in the BSc Biology, the MSc Ecology & Evolution and other programs at VU is closely linked to our ecological research profile. We share our research themes with the section Ecology & Evolution.