Yasmijn van der Knaap

Introduction

Hi! I am a PhD student at the sub department of Systems Ecology since January 2011. I completed my MSc in Forest and Nature Conservation at Wageningen University in June 2010. During my study I specialised in ecology. For my master thesis I adapted a dynamic vegetation model in order to model the effects of climate change on Dutch peat bogs, with a special focus on drought pulses.

Research project

This PhD project is part of the national research program Knowledge for Climate, theme three (Climate Adaptation for Rural Areas), work package two (Water and biodiversity in the future climate). This project aims to assess the effects of climate change and adaptive strategies on the rural landscape in the Netherlands. My research focuses on the optimization of water storage in stream valleys in the elevated landscape on postglacial sand deposits.
This will be done by linking a hydrology model to a trait-based vegetation model. Both models need to be extended first for which additional research is required. Due to the increasing risk of summer drought and intense summer showers, drought and inundation events may follow one another in rapid succession. How stream valley vegetation responds to such event sequences is not clear. I will therefore first conduct a drought and inundation experiment to test for the effects of drought and inundation interaction on vegetation functioning, before I start extending the models.
Once models have been extended and validated, different climate change scenarios will be applied with and without water storage adaptation strategies (i.e. aquifer storage and recovery, storage at the source, storage in stream floodplains and groundwater recharge). This way I aim to simulate the effect of several water storage measures on stream valley hydrology and other environmental services in the catchment and the consequences for vegetation distribution. This research will contribute to a better understanding of the role of stream valleys in a future climate, which is poorly understood at present.

Supervisors

Prof. dr. Rien Aerts (VU University)

Prof. dr. Marc Bierkens (Deltares)
Dr. Peter van Bodegom (VU University)

Drs. Remco van Ek (Deltares)