Study

I studied physical geography in Utrecht and graduated in August 1999. Main topics were land degradation, GIS & Remote Sensing.

Crete

In summer 1997 I did my "final" MSc fieldwork on Crete together with Niels Smit. The fieldwork, with the topic "Desertification and Grazing on south Crete"was carried out in the framework of the European Union project "DeMon-2" (Satellite Based Desertification Monitoring in the Mediterranean Basin). The main topic was to investigate the degradation processes, gather data of these processes (what happens when en where..) and finally to give "proper management" advice. To reach the final goal we built a dynamic grazing model using PCRaster. Photographs of the study area can be found in my Photo Gallery.

Guyana

In Summer 1998 I did research in Guyana on soil conditions and microclimate in gaps and undisturbed tropical forest, again with Niels Smit. The Research was part of the PhD Research of Oscar van Dam. Photographs of the study area can be found in my Photo Gallery.

French Guiana

Winter 1999 I headed again to the tropical rain forests, this time to French Guiana as part of a biological expedition organised by Dr. R.C. Ek. The research was carried out in the Trésor Area.The privately owned Trésor Area is in 1995 purchased by the Trésor Foundation (Botanical gardens, Utrecht) to become a nature reserve. The area covering approximately 24 km2 is situated in The Montagnes de Kaw, which has been proposed to become a nature reserve of about 1000 km2. My assignment was to map abiotical factors, which influence vegetation composition and to evaluate the degree of (natural and human) disturbance in the Trésor Area. Photographs of the study area can be found in my Photo Gallery.