Following a citizen science experiment conducted between 1952 and 1965, the FOURCAST project is repeating this experiment, focusing on April 4–5 to study climate change. Will you help us gather phenology observations of spring bloomers? www.plantentuinmeise.be/nl/nieuws/39... 📸Erwin Derous

🏅 Shortlisted for the 2025 Robert May prize! 🏅 Pieter Sanczuk talks about their new article, testing whether optical fibres can be used to measure microclimate temperatures in the forest 🌳 🌡️ @fornalab.bsky.social Read the blog here 👇 buff.ly/OlCR4Z3

European plant communities respond to climate warming differently! https://www.ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/news/european-plants-respond-unevenly-climate-warming Paper: https://short-url.org/1lYRM led by @fornalab.bsky.social & INBO, Belgium.  UKCEH: Chris Andrews, Jan Dick & @jmbecologist.bsky.social

The Indianapolis Zoo Uproar Conservation Challenge is here! Help the Spiky Yellow Woodlouse come roaring back by casting your vote at UproarChallenge.com. Help our species advance to the next round and bring us closer to the $10,000 conservation prize for woodlice conservation!

🪱 In the Ugly Ducklings column of @eoswetenschap.bsky.social, the earthworm takes the spotlight. Earthworms recycle, aerate and structure the soil as if it were nothing. Or, less elegantly put: the most important poop machine in the world. Read the article here 👇 www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milie...

How come isopods end up in the late night show with @sethmeyerspencil.bsky.social ? First, enjoy the joke 😀👇 See below to get the story behind it 🧵 youtu.be/T58hOrsaGoI?...

@fornalab.bsky.social colleague Pallieter De Smedt made it to the @nytimes.com with his paper on isopods 🤓🥳🤩 www.nytimes.com/2026/01/28/c...

📘🌿 Nieuw rapport gepubliceerd! “Metingen en analyse van het microklimaat – Nationaal Park Brabantse Wouden” Metingen in bossen, tuinen en langs fietsroutes 🚲🌳, in samenwerking met dept. Fysica ugent. #Zoniënwoud #BrabantseWouden #Microklimaat #Groen #UGent #PlantentuinMeise #KMI

Hiring! We are looking for a field assistant for the coming 7 months to support a large field campaign across Europe for the #Trees4Adapt project on climate change impacts on biodiversity in forests. Drivers license required. Apply online til 3/2! jobs.ugent.be/job-invite/2... @fbwugent.bsky.social

Verdienen complexe thema’s zoals klimaatverandering en het leed in Gaza een plek in de kleuterklas? Collega Leen Depauw mocht deelnemen aan een rondetafelgesprek bij @knack.be om deze vraag te beantwoorden. Het verslag daarvan lees je hier: www.knack.be/nieuws/belgi...

Remembrance day for lost species. Een ritueel aan UGent over biodiversiteitsverlies waar @fornalab.bsky.social aan mee werkte. #lostspeciesday www.scienceguide.nl/2025/12/de-u...

New Paper out in Nature Climate Change @natclimate.nature.com! 🌿 👇 Read the full paper from: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🌳 Weerstations tonen het regionale klimaat, maar in een bos gebeurt vaak iets heel anders. Daarom experimenteerden we binnen het MIRRA-project met sensoren en bouwden we een website om het microklimaat van het Aelmoeseneiebos live te volgen! 📄Ik schreef een blogpost voor @eoswetenschap.bsky.social

We published this open letter on #UrbanForests as essential(!!) infrastructure for climate resilience & biodiversity aimed at policymakers at #COP30. 4🗝️priorities🧵👇 @plantspeopleplanet.bsky.social @fornalab.bsky.social @fbwugent.bsky.social @meisebotanicgarden.bsky.social @westsyduhie.bsky.social

Prof Kris Verheyen in the news on the masting year of oaks! www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20... #mastjaar #sciencecommunication

New paper out! @methodsinecoevol.bsky.social We test whether optical fibres can be used to measure microclimate temperatures in the forest, and investigate what we can learn from it. 🧵👇 The full article is published Open Access: besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Tijdens de 🌳Week van het Bos🌳 belichten we het vaak onzichtbare bodemleven, met de regenwormen als sleutelspelers! 🪱🌿 Deze bodembewoners dragen bij aan een gezonde bodemstructuur, bevorderen waterdoorlaatbaarheid en spelen een centrale rol in de circulatie van voedingsstoffen. youtu.be/M98rEx6eAzE

Na de pissebedden een paar jaar terug, nu regenwormen 🪱 in de Week van het Bos!! 😍 regenworm poster! Trek het bos in met het lespakket voor kleuter- en lagere scholen, www.weekvanhetbos.be #wetenschapscommunicatie #anekoregenwormenwerkgroep #bodemleven @fornalab.bsky.social @bosplus.bsky.social

🌳Week van het bos🌳 In het Aelmoeseneiebos onderzoeken we hoe bossen reageren op complexe uitdagingen zoals klimaatverandering, luchtvervuiling, ... Onze collega's namen @eoswetenschap.bsky.social journalist Kim Verhaeghe mee in dit levend openluchtlaboratorium. www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milie...

The recent issue of the journal @eoswetenschap.bsky.social focusses on sustainable forests. Postdoc at our lab Pallieter De Smedt took an EOS reporter into the forest to discover the importance of litter dwelling fauna for ecosystem functioning. www.tijdschriftenwinkel.be/collections/...

Bravo @fornalab.bsky.social colleague @ellendevrieze.bsky.social with her talk “European cities manage their green space for people and biodiversity: a chance for urban (or ecosystem) restoration?” - collaboration with @valentinecology.bsky.social et al

@fornalab.bsky.social Colleague @eeraertsmaxime.bsky.social in action at the @gfoesoc.bsky.social conference in Würzburg with his Synthesis of apple pollination research reveals positive contributions from wild bees relative to those of honeybees. Surprising results depending on the metric!

Fresh global-analysis admirably lead by @eeraertsmaxime.bsky.social (+ @oliviabernauer.bsky.social PhD data) indicates native bee pollination services leads to higher-quality apples = improved weight & seed set. How do you like them apples? 🍎 besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

📣 new paper! 🌳🌱 We present a novel experimental platform showing that light and post-agricultural soil promote graminoid growth more than tree seedlings & the interaction with graminoids significantly affects seedling growth. New platform to study understory grassification! doi.org/10.1016/j.fo...

🌳🪲New paper out in Insect Conservation & Diversity!🪲🌳 Our new study explores how urbanisation affects the rusty click beetle (Elater ferrugineus) - a near-threatened saproxylic species related to old trees and deadwood-rich ecosystems. 📖 doi.org/10.1111/icad... @fbwugent.bsky.social

What are the benefits of mixing tree species? Kris, Pieter, Lander, @habenblondeel.bsky.social , and Leen shared all their scientific insights during the meeting of the Forest Research User Platform facilitated by @inbo.be See also: treedivnet.ugent.be/experiments/...

NEW research!📣 Abundance & functional traits of Elater ferrugineus along rural-urban gradients ! Paper led by Astrid Van den Bossche in collab with many great scientists across EU 🎉 @pieterdefrenne.bsky.social @jonlen.bsky.social @inbo.be @fspicher.bsky.social @kvanmeerbeek.bsky.social

Onze Pieter Vangansbeke schreef samen met Pallieter De Smedt (UGent) een artikel en natuurbericht over de invloed van bosranden en open plekken in het bos op #nachtvlinders. www.natuurpunt.be/nieuws/nacht...

ForNaLab at @nerdland.be festival 2025! The results are now online on our website: canopychange.ugent.be/Nerdland.htm... 🌡️ Microclimate mapping of the festival island! 🔬 Stomata counting for a citizen science experiment! ✨ BK Worm Charming!! 🍂 Soil fauna safaris! #citizenscience #burgerwetenschap

Are structurally complex forests better for pollinators? 🌳🐝 We tested the Structural Complexity Index (SCI) in 19 forest plots to predict wild bee and syrphid abundance and diversity. 🧵 👇 Full text: rdcu.be/epFkH @wimds.bsky.social #ForestEcology #Pollinators #Biodiversity #ForestManagement

Today we had the first meeting of the CLOVER project focusing on Climate Overshoot. Inspiring discussions from the start: it will be an interesting two years to come! More 👇 @fornalab.bsky.social

🌳 New paper out in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology! After a year of measuring the temperature and humidity below 200+ solitary tree crowns all over Europe, we found some interesting stuff! Find out more: doi.org/10.1016/j.ag... @fbwugent.bsky.social

💧 Bruges is becoming more intelligent with water – and we are thinking along! 🌱 @fbwugent.bsky.social is working on 'Waterwijs': a large-scale European project that focuses on smart management of water and climate-robust greenery. More 👉 lnkd.in/dCpdXn74

Kim Verhaeghe, science journalist for @eoswetenschap.bsky.social magazine, took a close look at the Aelmoeseneie Forest and the fascinating research we’re conducting there with ForNaLab. Kris, Eline, and @karen-depauw.bsky.social told him more about our forest research and took him into the woods!

We were on @nerdland.be festival and it was FANTASTIC! ✨ Belgian Championship Worm Charming 🍂 Soil fauna safari's 🔬 Microclimate & stomata discovery Thanks everyone for sharing the science enthusiasm! @stephschelfhout.bsky.social @karen-depauw.bsky.social @wimds.bsky.social @fbwugent.bsky.social

The strength of photographs in ecological research! 📸 How can we use pictures to map vegetation changes in the Norwegian mountains? Find out in this article in @eoswetenschap.bsky.social: www.eoswetenschap.eu/natuur-milie... #ecologicalresearch #popularscience #photography #remotesensing #tundra

🌿 How does climate change affect biodiversity in forest & cities? In #FOURCAST, we study wood anemone's response to climate change at @Plantentuin & Fornalab. Help with our fieldwork 👉 lnkd.in/e5NiNZzQ Share photos on waarnemingen.be (Life Stage info)! More info: lnkd.in/epXGtyGi

Samenwerking ForNaLab, dept Fysica UGent en Nationaal Park Brabantse Wouden in het nieuws op @vrtnws.be ! www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/20... @fbwugent.bsky.social

It's #Natura2000Day! Natura2000 imperatives helped prompt Kris Verheyen to create a user-friendly tool predicting key understorey plant performance indicators across diverse environmental contexts, plus overstorey tree management. More from @fornalab.bsky.social 👉 cordis.europa.eu/project/id/8...

Ja hoor! Iemand nog een didgeridoo ook? Haal je beste regenworm charming skills boven komend weekend op Nerdland !! Zien we jullie daar?

Word nu zaterdag Belgisch Kampioen Worm Charming! Jawel! 25 teams vangen niet-gravend regenwormen en maken kans op de vetcoole Bronzen spade! Eeuwige roem aan alle deelnemers. Organisatie door ANEKO en @fornalab.bsky.social op @nerdland.be Festival! www.nerdlandfestival.be/nl/programma...

New research out! 🌳🌾 Together with ILVO and Belgian Soil Science Service, we developed CARAT, a free and easy-to-use tool to simulate carbon sequestration in agroforestry systems! 🔗 Article: link.springer.com/article/10.1... 🧪 Tool: www.agroforestryvlaanderen.be/nl/nieuws/ko...

🌲🔍 Exciting vacancies at ForNaLab! 🔍🌲 We're looking for 3 (!) passionate PhD candidates to explore the effects of global change on forest biodiversity. #PhD #ForestResearch #CanopyChange #Trees4Adapt #Biodiversity www.ugent.be/bw/environme...

And if you want to work with us in Trees4Adapt - first recruitments are starting already: PhD position at @fornalab.bsky.social and @ilmatieteenlaitos.fi

Visitors at the de-sealing experiment at Campus Sterre!

This #grasslandnerd is a #forestgirl for 2 days. Helping my @fornalab.bsky.social colleagues with the Canopy Change fieldwork in the Belgian forest plots. The fieldwork brings them to over 8 countries and lasts for 3 months, so a lot of work for PhD students Fien and Ewout. But also a big adventure🌳

New publication on the issues with the EU Nature Restoration Law concerning urban biodiversity. Lets set ambitious targets and make them happen! @fornalab.bsky.social

Worm charming challenge in Wageningen @sbl-wur.bsky.social the funniest event of the year. We went dressed as Belgian Badgers 🦡 and played didgeridoo to get the worms out. Enjoyed it very very much @fornalab.bsky.social and ANEKO regenwormenwerkgroep. Next month we organize it @nerdland.be

Colleague Ellen went back to Ruhr University Bochum in April and had a great time!

Eline Lorer defended very succesfully her PhD on global change effects on undersotrey phenology! Big congratulations Eline!! 🥂🎉