What I do
I am a postdoctoral researcher of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) at the Division Forest, Nature and Landscape of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium).
I am interested in the ecology of tropical forests, with an emphasis on forest restoration in semiarid and Afromontane areas. I lived as a project coordinator in Mekelle, Ethiopia, for four years and was affiliated to the Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection Department of Mekelle University.
My current research focuses on the effects of forest fragmentation and management on productivity and genetic diversity of Wild coffee.
Affiliations
Current affiliations
-
- Position
- Postdoctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)
- Company
- Division Forest, Nature and Landscape, K.U.Leuven
- Duration
- 2008 - 2011
- Further information
Location
- City:
- Leuven, Provincie Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium
- Hub:
- Brussels
Interests
Ecology of tropical (dry) forest, with an emphasis on forest restoration in degraded areas, Afromontane forests and the effect of forest fragmentation on bird and plant communities
Projects
Productivity and genetic diversity of Wild coffee (Coffea arabica) in its center of origin, southern Ethiopia, in relation to forest management and land use
Publications
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Aerts R, Nyssen J, Haile M. On the difference between “exclosures” and “enclosures” in ecology and the environment Journal of Arid Environments (2009) doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2009.01.006
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ACHTEN W, VERCHOT L, FRANKEN Y, MATHIJS E, SINGH V, AERTS R, MUYS B. Jatropha bio-diesel production and use Biomass and Bioenergy (2008) doi: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2008.03.003
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Aerts R. Digital identifiers could keep up with authors' moves Nature (7204) , 575 - 575 (2008) doi: 10.1038/454575c
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Aerts R. Digital identifiers work for articles, so why not for authors? Nature (7198) , 979 - 979 (2008) doi: 10.1038/453979b
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AERTS R. In situ persistence of African wild olive and forest restoration in degraded semiarid savanna Journal of Arid Environments (2008) doi: 10.1016/j.jaridenv.2007.11.009
Contact
- email:
- raf.aerts [ at ] biw.kuleuven.be
- MSN:
- raf.aerts@agr.kuleuven.ac.be
- Skype:
- rafaerts
- Yahoo:
- rafaerts@yahoo.com
Groups and Forums
- Nature Network Bloggers
- Evolutionary Biology
- Nature Precedings
- Evolution & Ecology
- The Good Paper Journal Club
- Citation in Science - Don't Quote Me on That
- Visualization & Science
- Collaboration: bringing NN members together
- Science Blogging 2008: London
- Forest Ecology and Management
- Population Genetics