Dutch Earth & Environmental Science Conference 2026

April 11, 2026
WDG

“Common Ground”

NWO NAC (Dutch Earth & Environmental Sciences Conference)

9-10 April 2026

The annual Dutch Earth & Environmental Science conference took place at the NH Noordwijk Conference Centre Leeuwenhorst in Noordwijkerhout amoung some of the many Dutch flower fields.

Before the conference was a “Strategic evening” which provided an opportunity to meet scientists from other universities and organisations, and to discuss topical issues. This included a presentation of the recently completed “Earth & Environmental Science Vision” document (which can be dowloaded from the AMW Raad [Earth & Environmental Science Council] web page).

On the first day of the conference proper I was involved in chairing two sessions on “Palaeoclimate”. These sessions covered a wide range of topics, proxies and time periods, and included work on the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, tipping points, and the Younger Dryas period. Excitingly for chairing these sessions I recieved a pair of NWO NAC socks!

On the second day of the conference – sporting my new NAC socks – I presented our recently published work on landscape openness in the pre-farming European landscape. This was centred upon the recent publication of the palaeoecological record from Well-Aijen (Limburg, the Netherlands) which was the culmination of many years, and many students, research (Gosling et al., 2025). It was great to get positive feedback from the Dutch scientific community on this study. The session also included exciting work on reconstructing past climate from pollen data using the CREST model (Chevalier, 2022) and the extraction of biodiversity data from sedimentary pollen records.

As well as the science talks the meeting had posters, exhibitors, workshops (I attended the one of scientific drilling) and social events (pub quiz, bowling, dancing). The atmosphere was very friendly and it was very easy to meet new people. The area around is very pretty and I even managed to get out for a short run on one of the days. I would recommend this event to anyone working in Earth or environmental sciences in the Netherlands.

References

  • Chevalier, M. (2022). crestr: An R package to perform probabilistic climate reconstructions from palaeoecological datasets. Climate of the Past, 18(4), 821–844. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-821-2022
  • Gosling, W. D., de Wolf, I. K., Witteveen, N. H., de Zwaan, S. B., van Teulingen, C., Föllmi, D., Thissen, W., Vink, V. B., Woutersen, A., Philip, A. L., van Herk, M. J., Nascimento, M. N., Prins, M. A., & McMichael, C. N. H. (2025). Herbivory and vegetation openness in a pre-farming European landscape. Plant Ecology & Diversity, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2025.2576566

Mapping Ancient Africa: Scientists

March 31, 2026
WDG

The Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) research and writing workshop took place in South Africa during March 2026 (click here for more details). During the workshop four of the scientists participating were interviewed by MAA leader Stefanie Kaboth-Bahr to find out more about them, what they are focused on, and their aspirations for the future. These are now avaliable on the Mapping Ancient Africa YouTube playlist along with all the other videos from the project.

Participants

Zahra Omarjee (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)

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From Writing to Rock Art: A Week at the Mapping Ancient Africa Workshop

March 21, 2026
bouwegroeneveld

By Bouwe Groeneveld (MSc Biological Sciences, track Ecology & Evolution, University of Amsterdam)

From 2 to 6 March, I joined the Mapping Ancient Africa Research and Writing Workshop at Fountainhill Estate near Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. The week brought together focused writing, interdisciplinary exchange, and time in the landscape.

We began with a speed dating session that set an open and collaborative tone. Participants introduced their research backgrounds, ranging from botany and ecology to geography. The group was highly international, with participants from Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, and the Netherlands. This diversity quickly proved valuable, as different perspectives naturally complemented one another throughout discussions.

The second day centred on the challenges of academic writing and publishing. Through group conversations and smaller sessions, we reflected on common difficulties such as structuring arguments and navigating the publication process. Later that afternoon, we walked across the estate to the Holley Shelter archaeological site. During the walk, I noticed how the surrounding landscape offered a sense of calm that contrasted with the intensity of writing. Along the way, we encountered a giraffe standing only a few metres from us, quietly feeding on acacia leaves.

The shelter itself was striking. A clear waterfall flowed down the rock face, catching the sunlight as it filtered into the green valley below. The interplay of water, rock, and light created a remarkably beautiful and tranquil setting, making the site feel both impressive and deeply serene.

Holley Shelter archaeological site
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On ceremony… twice!

March 19, 2026
WDG

Reyan Christ graduating with an MSc in Earth Sciences

On the 18 March 2026 I had the fun challenge of speaking at two MSc graduation ceremonies that were running at the same time. Two ‘long-term’ members of the palaeoecology team at the University of Amsterdam had reached the culmination of their degree program.

Reyan Christ graduating Cum laude in MSc Earth Sciences (track Earth System Science) and Jelle Kraak graduating in MSc Biological Sciences (track Ecology & Evolution).

Reyan was up 2nd in the Earth Sciences program, and Jelle was up 5th in Biological Sciences, giving me approximately 10 mins to get between rooms! Thankfully everything ran to time and I was able to deliver my speeches for them both. It was great to meet their friends and families and celebrate this important moment for their education.

Jelle Kraak graduating with an MSc in Biological Sciences

It was also great to celebrate the submission of a manuscript (the day before) on which they are first and second author. This manuscript is based on a combination of their, and other students, theses work on past environmental change in the Drakensberg Mountains (South Africa), and conducted in collaboration with Jemma Finch and Trevor Hill at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. We now cross our fingers that the journal editors and reviewers are as excited as we are about their findings. Fingers crossed we can be announcing the published version on here later in the year…

Mapping Ancient Africa: Research & writing workshop

March 6, 2026
WDG

The third Mapping Ancient Africa (MAA) workshop took place in South Africa during March 2026. This workshop was supported by the International Union for Quaternary Research as part of the MAA multi-year project. The aim of this work shop was to provide specialist training in developing research projects and writing of scientific articles. During the workshop each participant developed, and progressed, their own personal work plan. These personal programs allowed the training to be tailored to the participants needs. They included a wide range of challenged ranging from the development of project ideas through to dealing with reviewer comments on manuscripts, and inclusivity, equality and diversity issues.

In addition to the academic program, social activities and excursions were designed to help build academic networks and promote informal discussion of past environmental change issues. These included hikes to the Holley Shelter archaeological site (Bader & Conrad, 2023) and Game Pass shelter rock art site (Hoerle, 2005).

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European Conference of Tropical Ecology (2026)

February 27, 2026
WDG

The European Conference of Tropical Ecology is organised on behalf of the Society for Tropical Ecology. To find out more about the society click here.

The 9th European Conferenc of Tropical Ecology took place in Passau (Germay) between the 23 and 27 February 2026. The theme of the meeting was “Species-Ecosystems-People” and it brought together around 250 tropical ecology researchers from around the globe to discuss the latest research in the field. The meeting ran very smoothly – credit to Christine Schmitt and her team at the University of Passau – and I enjoyed the conference very much. I followed sessions focused on topics ranging from climate change impacts and change through time, through human-environment interactions, to traits, and recovery and restoration.

It was great to see a good contingent of tropical palaeoecologists present. With Rob Marchant (York University) providing a key note spanning past environmental change through to socio-ecological systems, entitled: “Embedding the past for balanced future tropical mountain social ecological systems”. Palaeoecological talks and posters came from around the world, including Bolivia, Cuba, Brazil, Seychelles, and Democratic Republic of Congo. All provided new insights and suggested high potential for revealing novel information about past ecosystems and the drivers of change.

To find out more about the talks check out the abstract booklet which is available via the conference web site: https://gtoe2026-passau.de/book-of-abstracts.html

Dung fungal spores at the zoo?

February 20, 2026
WDG

Dung fungal spores (or spores of coprophilous fungi) are often used to track herbivore presence or abundance in the past (e.g. van Geel, 2001; Lee et al., 2022). While the animals are not preserved evidence of them is through the type and quantity of the fungal spores preserved in the sedimentary record.

On 12 February 2026, along with University of Amsterdam MSc researchers Chiara Raino, Sarah Main and Bouwe Groeneveld, I travelled to Beekse Bergen zoo in the south of the Netherlands to collect samples to see if we could related specific animal types to particular dung fungal spore assemblages.

At the zoo we met with Stijn Berger who coordinates scientific collaboration for Beekse Bergen. Stijn kindly arranged for us to visit a number of enclosures before the animals were let out for the day. We collected samples from areas containing elephants, spring bok and rhinos. We new wait for the samples processing, and the students analysis, to see if there is any relationship between the animal and fungal spore types.

References

  • van Geel, B. van. (2001). Non-pollen palynomorphs. In S. J.P., H. J. B. Birks, & W. M. Last (Eds.), Tracking environmental change using lake sediments. Vol. 3 (pp. 99–119). Kluwer.
  • Lee, C. M., van Geel, B., & Gosling, W. D. (2022). On the use of spores of coprophilous fungi preserved in sediments to indicate past herbivore presence. Quaternary, 5(3), 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5030030

Holocene vegetation dynamics of the Koobi Fora Basin, East Turkana, Kenya: Insights from phytolith analysis

January 18, 2026
WDG

Mapping Ancient Africa Quaternary International Special Issue #10

Kinyanjui, R. N., Mashaka, H. K., Chritz, K. L., Wemanya, S. N., Ndiema, E. K., Braun, D. R., & Bamford, M. (2026). Holocene vegetation dynamics of the Koobi Fora Basin, East Turkana, Kenya: Insights from phytolith analysis. Quaternary International, 759, 110131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2026.110131

To find the complete list of articles in the Mapping Ancient Africa special issue of Quaternary International click here.

Hugo de Vries prize 2025

December 16, 2025
WDG

The annual PhD thesis prize from the Koninklijk Nederlandse Botanische Vereniging (Royal Dutch Botanical Association) is now open. The prize of EURO 5000 will be awarded to the best PhD thesis defended between January and December 2025 at a Dutch university. The subject matter of the thesis is broadly defined within the field of botany, and includs topics such as taxonomy, (palaeo- / macro-) ecology, and cell biology.

For details of past winners, and how to nominate someone for this years prize visit:
https://www.knbv.eu/hugo-de-vries-prijs/

The winner of the prize last year was one of our blog contributors, Nina Witteveen, read about her thesis and award here.

Herbivory and vegetation openness in a pre-farming European landscape

November 19, 2025
WDG

Plant Ecology & Diversity

Gosling, W. D., de Wolf, I. K., Witteveen, N. H., de Zwaan, S. B., Van Teulingen, C., Föllmi, D., Thissen, W., Vink, V. B., Woutersen, A., Philip, A. L., van Herk, M. J., Nascimento, M. N., Prins, M. A., & McMichael, C. N. H. (2025). Herbivory and vegetation openness in a pre-farming European landscape. Plant Ecology & Diversity, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2025.2576566

This manuscript has been developed over many years through the contributions of many MSc and BSc students based at the University of Amsterdam.

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