Dr. Ir. P.M. van Bodegom

I am associate professor at the section Systems Ecology, working at the interface of two or more sciences with expertise in soil science (MSc), plant physiology (PhD), microbiology (PhD) and ecology (since then). As I am intrigued by quantifying unquantified underlying patterns, I apply targeted experiments, but particularly data compilations and meta-analyses of databases and process-based modelling to:

contribute to the transformation of ecology into a quantitative discipline linked to other components of Earth Systems Sciences
 
I do this in international research networks (e.g. TERRABITES, TRY) in collaboration with Earth System modellers, ecologists and Remote Sensing scientists. I also give statistical advice for (advanced) ecological data analysis. Below you will find a number of topics on which I have been working recently.

Research projects (selection)

Trait-based modelling to predict (global) vegetation patterns. In a number of intricately linked research projects, we develop (trait-based) global vegetation models to complement or replace Plant Functional Type-based models. Using assembly theory concepts and probabilistic features in combination with large (trait) database compilations, we quantify the continuous responses of vegetation to environmental drivers to predict vegetation distribution in current and future climates.
With Bob Douma, Lieneke Verheijen, Yasmijn van der Knaap, Hans Roelofsen, Bernard Voortman, Yuki Fujita, Ruud Bartholomeus, Victor Brovkin, Flip Witte and others

Functioning of wetlands. Traits-based compilations of wetlands are scarce. Therefore, in this project we quantify global plant strategies of wetland plant species (including auxiliary experiments). These strategies are linked to biogeochemical cycling in wetlands to unravel and quantify soil-vegetation interactions, e.g. in terms of methane emissions. Insights are additionally applied to design nature restoration measures.
With Yasmijn van der Knaap, James Weedon, Frida Keuper, Sander Houweling and Sunu Hardiyanta

Traits-based approaches in microbiology. Traits-based approaches in microbiology are still in its infancy. In this project, we determine drivers of global microbial biomass distribution as well as functional strategies of soil micro-organisms and its impacts on potential enzymatic activities and soil fluxes.
With Sascha Krause, Paul Bodelier, Wilfred Roling

Links

PROBE       

TRY         

TERRABITES      

Vegetation function network       

MECOMECON   

Five selected publications

Van Bodegom, P.M., Douma, J.C., Witte, J.P., Ordoñez, J.C., Bartholomeus, R.P., Aerts, R. (2011) Going beyond limitations of plant functional types when predicting global ecosystem–atmosphere fluxes: exploring the merits of traits-based approaches. Global Ecology and Biogeography (in press)

Douma, J.C., R. Aerts, J. P. M. Witte, R. M. Bekker, D. Kunzmann, K. Metselaar & P.M. van Bodegom, 2011. A combination of functionally different plant traits provides a means to quantitatively predict a broad range of species assemblages in NW Europe. Ecography, in press.

van Bodegom, P.M., B.K. Sorrell, A. Oosthoek, C. Bakker and R. Aerts, 2008. Separating the effects of partial submergence and soil oxygen demand on plant physiology and growth upon flooding. Ecology 89: 93-104

Cornelissen J.H.C., P.M. van Bodegom, R. Aerts, T.V. Callaghan, R.S.P. van Logtestijn, J. Alatalo, F.S. Chapin, R. Gerdo, J. Gudmundsson, D. Gwynn-Jones, A.E. Hartley, D.S. Hik, A. Hofgaard, I.S. Jónsdóttir, S. Karlsson, J.A. Klein, J. Laundre, B. Magnusson, A. Michelsen, U. Molau, V.G. Onipchenko, H.M. Quested, S.M. Sandvik, I.K. Schmidt, G.R. Shaver, B. Solheim, N.A. Soudzilovskaia, A. Stenström, A. Tolvanen, Ø. Totland, N. Wada, J.M. Welker, X. Zhao and M.O.L. Team, 2007. Global negative vegetation feedback to climate warming responses of leaf litter decomposition rates in cold biomes. Ecol. Lett. 10: 619-627

van Bodegom, P.M., R. Wassmann and T.M. Metra-Corton, 2001. A process-based model for methane emission predictions from flooded rice paddies. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 15: 247-263

Full list of publications Peter van Bodegom

Full List of publications of the section Systems ecology including PDFs