KU Leuven Plant Institute

📣 JOB ALERT! 📣   🔬 We are looking for a Process Manager to optimize our workflows and support our innovative research projects. If you're interested in contributing to our exciting work, we’d love to hear from you!

My first peer-reviewed research paper has been published in Annals of Botany! The article, entitled "Leaf functional trait evolution and its putative climatic drivers in African Coffea species", is an extension of my Master thesis research at KU Leuven and Plantentuin Meise. Your morning cup of coffee is derived from one of two species: Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee). Though these two species dominate markets, the genus Coffea encompasses over 130 species. In this paper, we dive into how different leaf characteristics of 58 coffee species have evolved across Africa, and what this teaches us about the use and conservation of the wild coffee gene pool in a changing climate. Thanks to my co-authors and thesis supervisors Yves HATANGI, Olivier Honnay, Steven Janssens, Piet Stoffelen, Filip Vandelook, and Jonas Depecker for their support and for making this achievement possible. Link to the article: https://lnkd.in/eHh98ZM7

One billion hectares of degraded agricultural land would benefit from the strategic establishment of trees.   Learn more about FAO’s work on #agroforestry here 👉 https://bit.ly/3VVcKdj   #COFO27 #WFW9 #GenerationRestoration

#Dissemination opportunity for #horticulture researchers: the MDPI Horticulturae journal is looking for submissions to its upcoming special issue on #PlantDisease Management and #pathogens control in #horticulture. Submission deadline is the 31st of December: https://lnkd.in/dcaAUqmd #IPM #PlantHealth KU Leuven Plant Institute Agencia de Gestión Agraria y Pesquera Natural Resources Institute Wageningen Plant Research RTDS Group CSIC INRAE

📱 iPad mobile laser scanning is a quick and easy method to assess forest #carbon stocks. But did you know it is more effective in mature, regular stands? 🌲 🔍 Check out the results of this new study by our Arne Van Wolputte, Division of Forest, Nature and Landscape (FNL), who analysed the performance of the Arboreal Forest app in calculating the #carbon stocks of Atlantic and Mediterranean forests ➡ https://lnkd.in/emAevFsE 🔍 The study is part of our work to make carbon Monitoring, Reporting and Verification more effective and affordable through innovative techniques! #HorizonEurope #SustainableForestManagement #Research

🎉🎉 We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Hanne Claessen has been awarded the prestigious "Prijs van de Stad Sint-Truiden" at Proefcentrum Fruitteelt (pcfruit vzw) for her outstanding research on "Self-incompatibility and the use of gibberellins in pear production". 🌱 Her innovative work, conducted at the laboratory for Plant Genetics and Crop Improvement (PGCI lab) at KU Leuven, under the guidance of Professors Wannes Keulemans, Nico De Storme, and Bram Van de Poel, has significantly advanced our understanding of self-incompatibility in European pears. This research not only deepens our fundamental knowledge but also provides practical applications for optimizing pear cultivation. 🍐🔬 Congratulations, Hanne!

We are happy to announce a talk by Professor Haiyan Cen, the Vice Dean of the College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science at Zhejiang University (ZJU, China).  Professor Cen will present on "High-throughput plant phenotyping with spectral imaging for sustainable agriculture," addressing a critical challenge in the field: the bottleneck in quantitative plant trait analysis for crop breeding and precision agriculture. This talk will delve into the latest advancements in spectral imaging-based phenotyping platforms, showcasing their application in close-range field phenotyping of crops such as rice and rapeseed.  Attendees will gain insights into calibration, data fusion, and both mechanistic and data-driven modeling approaches, essential for advancing sustainable agriculture. Key to this talk: big phenotypic data analysis and the role of optical sensors in speed breeding. Professor Cen is invited by prof. Wouter Saeys.

Each month, we shine a spotlight on one of our colleagues in our FNL division 🌳 and share their interesting research topics! 🔍 Today, we present the topic of Eva Beele: Leuven.cool - The mitigating impact of urban green spaces on air temperatures and human heat stress. 🍃🏬 #Urbanization and #climatechange have transformed our cities into urban heat islands (#UHI), negatively impacting the liveability, health, and well-being of residents. To enhance urban resilience and mitigate future risks, it is essential to map intra-urban weather patterns, quantify their relationship with the urban environment, and understand their impact on public health. Within the Leuven.cool project, we measure the #microclimate in #Leuven using around 100 low-cost weather stations, assess perceived stress of citizens through questionnaires, and quantify the cooling impact of green infrastructures. Our findings can guide policymakers in sustainable urban green management. Maybe you recognize Eva from the very nice '#OnzeNatuur' documentary, on the city as a natural ecosystem! If not, make sure to check it out below: https://lnkd.in/gkDz92F5 #FNL #KUL #Researchinthespotlight #Researcherofthemonth #PhD #KULeuven

We are #hiring! Two PhD positions are open in our team to develop methods to accurately measure soil water storage 💧 and to find out how soil moisture affects early plant development 🌱 You will work in a project team consisting of the two supervisors at KU Leuven (Jan Vanderborght and Jan Diels), a supervisor at the Bodemkundige Dienst van België (Dr. Pieter Janssens), a 2nd PhD student and a Postdoc (me 😊). We will collaborate with researchers at the Bodemkundige Dienst van België and several Flemish research centres for vegetable production (Herent, Sint-Katelijne-Waver and Kruishoutem). Apply now if you are interested in: - 🔍🛰️ Proximal and remote sensing soil moisture contents for smart water management: https://lnkd.in/gShwf9Un - 🌱 The effect of soil moisture on seed germination and early crop development: https://lnkd.in/ghjNjsJ9 ⌛ The deadline is August 19, 2024, don't hesitate! KU Leuven - Departement Aard- en omgevingswetenschappen

📌35th EPSO seminar for European Plant Scientists: ⏰19th September 2024 at 15.00 CET 📂discussing Harnessing biosynthetic pathways in plants with Suvi Häkkinen, Benjamin Kogelmann and Shiqiang Gao. EPSO members register, suggest themes, senior and junior speakers for autumn seminars 🎯 Further details 👉https://bit.ly/3W78SpA #PlantScience #SDG #HorizonEU  Suvi Häkkinen VTT University of Würzburg University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU)