Publications
Organic matter sources, fluxes and greenhouse gas exchange in the Oubangui River (Congo River basin) KU Leuven
The Oubangui is a major tributary of the Congo River, draining an area of ∼500 000 km2 mainly consisting of wooded savannahs. Here, we report results of a one year long, 2-weekly sampling campaign in Bangui (Central African Republic) since March 2010 for a suite of physico-chemical and biogeochemical characteristics, including total suspended matter (TSM), bulk concentration and stable isotope composition of particulate organic carbon (POC and ...
Spatial variability and temporal dynamics of greenhouse gas (CO2, CH4, N2O) concentrations and fluxes along the Zambezi River mainstem and major tributaries KU Leuven
© Author(s) 2014. Spanning over 3000 km in length and with a catchment of approximately 1.4 million km2, the Zambezi River is the fourth largest river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from the African continent. As part of a∼broader study on the riverine biogeochemistry in the Zambezi River basin, we present data on greenhouse gas (GHG, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) concentrations and fluxes ...
Dynamics of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) along the Zambezi River and major tributaries, and their importance in the riverine carbon budget KU Leuven
© Author(s) 2015. Spanning over 3000 km in length and with a catchment of approximately 1.4 million km2, the Zambezi River is the fourth largest river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from the African continent. We present data on greenhouse gas (GHG: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)) concentrations and fluxes, as well as data that allow for characterization of sources and dynamics of carbon ...
Functional community structure of African monodominant Gilbertiodendron dewevrei forest influenced by local environmental filtering University of Antwerp Ghent University
Monodominant patches of forest dominated by Gilbertiodendron dewevrei are commonly found in central African tropical forests, alongside forests with high species diversity. Although these forests are generally found sparsely distributed along rivers, their occurrence is not thought to be (clearly) driven by edaphic conditions but rather by trait combinations of G. dewevrei that aid in achieving monodominance. Functional community structure ...
Water quality assessment of streams and wetlands in a fast growing East African city Ghent University
The combination of rapid urbanization, industrialization, population growth, and low environmental awareness poses a major threat to worldwide valuable freshwater resources, which provide important ecosystem services to humans. There is an urgent need to monitor and assess these resources, as this information is indispensable for sustainable decision -making and management. In this context, we analyzed the chemical and ecological water quality ...
Importance of terrestrial subsidies for estuarine food webs in contrasting east African catchments KU Leuven
Little is known on the degree to which terrestrial organic matter delivered to tropical estuaries contributes to estuarine consumers. Here, stable isotope analysis is used to constrain this contribution for contrasting east African estuaries whose catchments differ in relative C3/C4 vegetation cover. As these two types of vegetation differ strongly in d13C, we anticipated that terrestrial subsidies would be reflected in a gradient in estuarine ...
Channel network structure determines genetic connectivity of landward-seawardAvicennia marinapopulations in a tropical bay Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Mangrove ecosystems along the East African coast are often characterized by a disjunct zonation pattern of seaward and landward Avicennia marina trees. This disjunct zonation may be maintained through different positions in the tidal frame, yielding different dispersal settings. The spatial configuration of the landscape and coastal processes such as tides and waves is expected to largely influence the extent of propagule transport and ...
Reconstructing the biogeochemistry of tropical aquatic ecosystems using elemental and stable isotope tracers in freshwater bivalve shells KU Leuven
Aquatic ecosystems are vulnerable to changes in land use, climate, and nutrient inputs, as the material they transport is directly influenced by a range of catchment characteristics. This is particularly true for tropical systems which are under increasing stress and are sensitive early indicators of catchment modifications. However, long-term datasets on discharge or aquatic biogeochemistry are virtually non-existent. An elegant method to ...