I hold a Master degree in Forest and Nature Management (1997, KU Leuven) and did PhD-research on the factors limiting colonization of understory herbs in secondary forests established on past agricultural land (2002; KU Leuven). In October 2004, I became head of Forest & Nature Lab. Since then, my research interests developed around the following themes:
- The study of the impact of multiple (interacting) global change drivers on (plant) communities;
- Research on the importance of biodiversity for ecosystem functioning;
- Applied research aimed at the optimization of ecosystem management for ecosystem service delivery.