BJW (Bas) Lerink

BJW (Bas) Lerink

Onderzoeker

Dendrochronology

Since 2008, the growth of 100 trees in Dutch forests has been closely monitored. This is done with dendrometers, which record how much a tree has grown every hour or even every fifteen minutes. This is done with an accuracy of one thousandth of a millimeter. This information allows us to understand how trees respond to weather extremes, such as drought, and how they recover. The data is publicly available via DendroPortaal.

 

Climate Smart Forestry

WUR is one of the pioneers in Climate Smart Forestry. Overall, CSF seeks to balance the ecological, social, and economic aspects of forest management while considering the challenges posed by climate change. We have been testing CSF measures in the Netherlands since 2018, resulting in an online toolbox. We lead the European Climate Smart Forestry Network, where we exchange experiences with 30 members from different European countries.

Forest resource modelling

We use the data that we gather in forest inventories to project how the forests will look like in the future. In our team, the EFISCEN-Space model is developed for that purpose. The aim of EFISCEN-Space is to provide accurate and to-the-point information concerning European forests, their management and the fulfillment of ecosystem services delivered by the forests under different scenarios. One of the answers that can be answered with EFISCEN-Space is how much wood we can expect from European forests in the near future. You can read our publication on this topic here.

The European forests face unprecedented challenges due to climate change. At the same time, society is more dependent than ever on the services that our forests supply. In my role as Researcher European Forests at WUR, I am focused on adapting the forest ecosystems and mitigate the effects of climate change. Above all, I love to wander in not yet explored forests and build wooden furniture.

Forest inventory

I am currently leading the 8th National Forest Inventory of the Netherlands. The NFI-8 started in 2022 and ends in 2026, when we have measured over 3.600 sample plots and ca. 80.000 trees. The forest inventory gives us a much needed insight in the state of our forests. Check out the video below, where we show the results of the latest cycle of our NFI.