Project properties
Title Biodiversity of green roofs
Group Biosystematics Group
Project type thesis
Credits 36
Supervisor(s) Eva Drukker
Examiner(s) Casper Quist
Contact info eva.drukker@wur.nl
Begin date 2023/03/20
End date 2025/07/31
Description Description: This topic aims to understand the ecological value of green roofs by studying the development of the soil, plants and insects over time and their relationship to each other. This is being studied on 24 plots on green roofs in Amsterdam. There are 4 topics that you can choose from to study the biodiversity of green roofs:
1. Plant diversity on green roofs. Fieldwork in April-May and in June-July. Includes visits to the roofs and identifying all the plants. Determine the relationship of plants with the soil and the surroundings using statistical analysis. Starts in the 5th period.
2. Nematodes in the soil. These are important bioindicators for the quality of the soil. This includes fieldwork in April-May and June-July, as well as labwork using DNA techniques to determine species. Starts in the 5th period.
3. Collembola/Springtails in the soil. These are important bioindicators for the quality of the soil. Try out a new sequencing technique, the MinION to identify Collembolans to species level. You will help design a protocol to use the MinION. Can start any time.
4. Identify insects to family level or species level, depending on your skills and ambitions. Insects have been collected from the green roofs and comprise mostly Diptera, Hymenoptera Hemiptera, Coleoptera, Thysanoptera and Araneae. You can either choose one of these groups to identify to species level or look at all groups and identify to family level. Results can further processed using statistical analysis.
Used skills : 1. Plant identification with Heukels flora and ObsIdentify, R, Qgis
2. DNA techniques in the lab
3. DNA techniques in the lab
4. Insect identification skills using het Geleedpotigenboek, or other insect identification keys, R, Qgis
Requirements Knowledge about plant/insect identification/DNA techniques, which can also be acquired by following the courses BIS10306 (Biodiversity of the Netherlands) and BIS21306 (Webs of Terrestrial Diversity).