Projects
Towards a strategy for the sustainable management of fragmented orchid populations: integrating ecology and population genetics. KU Leuven
Impact of climate on the local abundance, regional distribution and community ecology of orchids. KU Leuven
As a result of increased concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere the average temperature on land is >1°C higher than in preindustrial times and rainfall and temperature regimes have become more extreme and variable. These climatological changes can be expected to have major implications for the distribution and abundance of plants and animals. This is especially true for orchids, which for their survival not only depend on ...
Speciation through fungi? The role of mycorrhizal associations in orchid diversification (MYCASOR). KU Leuven
Speciation through fungi? De role of mycorrhizal associations in orchid diversification. KU Leuven
Quantifying the extent fungal mycorrhizal communities affect orchid niche breadth and geographical distribution KU Leuven
Understanding the factors that underlie species distributions is a fundamental goal of ecology. With climate change there is increased importance to quantify how species distributions will change in a European context. Orchids are particularly sensitive to environmental conditions. Mycorrhizas are vitally important in determining the population occurrence of orchids, as orchid seeds rely entirely on fungi to provide nutrients in order to ...
Mycorrhizal availability and network architecture in species-rich epiphytic orchid communities. KU Leuven
Effects of habitat fragmentation on nectar composition in the butterfly pollinated orchid species Gymnadenia conopsea. KU Leuven
Effects of habitat fragmentation on nectar composition in the butterfly pollinated orchid species Gymnadenia Conopsea. KU Leuven
Recent comprehensive meta-analyses have demonstrated that plant traits such as breeding system and seed bank persistence mediate the response of a species to anthropogenic habitat fragmentation. In turn, some evidence has recently become available that habitat fragmentation may also exert selective forces on the plant traits themselves. One such a trait is nectar chemical composition. Nectar plays a crucial role in the interactions between ...
Development and application of molecular tools to elucidate the influence of mycorrhizal interactions on the spatial distribution of terrestrial orchids. KU Leuven
Orchids have long been a source a scientific curiosity, even Darwin himself found them to be a source of intrigue, when he noted that “[seeds] are produced by orchids in vast profusion.... What checks the unlimited multiplication of the Orchideae throughout the world is not known.” (Darwin, 1877). We now understand that this preponderance of seed production and correspondingly rare event of germination and seed development are a ...