General Botany and Nature Management

The APNA unit covers fiveresearch domains: 1. vegetation research and spatio-temporal vegetation analysis - target vegetation types: mangroves, temperate deciduous forests, cork oak forests, vegetation of seepage zones (including types of wetlands); - methods: classical Braun-Blanquet relevés, PCQM transects, airborne and spaceborne remote sensing, GIS, application of hydrological modelling, wood anatomy and environmental stress, socio-economic surveys. 2. genetic diversity, genetic structure plant populations and taxonomy - target taxa: aquatic macrophytes, old growth forest herbaceous plants, willow, mangrove tree species, cork oak; - methods: isoenzyme analysis, PCR-based techniques, classical taxonomic methodology, including herbarium BRVU. 3. limnology (freshwater ecology) and water quality research - target areas: African lakes, brooks in temperate regions, seepage zones; - methods: limnological methodology, phytoplankton studies, EIA. 4. nature management and nature management policies - target areas: nature management in the above-mentioned areas, particularly periurban ecosystems; - methods: above mentioned laboratory and fieldwork, questionnaire-based surveys, management planning. The Brussels area (including the Zonien forest) is of particular interest for the vegetation and nature management studies as well as for the freshwater and water quality surveys done in the research group. 5. bio-accoustics of amphibians in the Indian subcontinent