S.H. Huls (Steven)

As a PhD-candidate in plant ecology, I am working in the Future Dikes project. Together with my promotors, we are studying how a species rich vegetation cover can improve the structural integrity of river dikes, now and in the future. By increasing the biodiversity, the vegetation as a whole produces more above- and belowground biomass, thereby strengthening the vegetation cover. Moreover, these biodiverse strips can function as habitat and corridor between nature areas for pollinators and other insects.
Doing so, we are effectively building with nature.

Due to climate change, the summers are getting warmer and dryer, and that could lead to damage in the structural integrity. Research has shown that a higher biodiversity also leads to more drought and heat mitigation. Therefore, we will also test these new seed mixtures on drought resistance to find out how we can best redesign our dike landscape.