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Dive into the research topics where Stefan Van Damme is active.

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Featured researches published by Stefan Van Damme.


Hydrobiologia | 2005

THE SCHELDT ESTUARY: A DESCRIPTION OF A CHANGING ECOSYSTEM

Patrick Meire; Tom Ysebaert; Stefan Van Damme; Erika Van den Bergh; T. Maris; Eric Struyf

Estuaries are naturally highly dynamic and rapidly changing systems, forming a complex mixture of many different habitat types. They are very productive biomes and support many important ecosystem functions: biogeochemical cycling and movement of nutrients, mitigation of floods, maintenance of biodiversity and biological production. Human pressure on estuaries is very high. On the other hand, it is recognized that estuaries have a unique functional and structural biodiversity. Therefore, these ecosystems are particularly important for integrating sound ecological management with sustainable economics. These opportunities are explored for the Scheldt estuary, a well-documented system with an exceptional tidal freshwater area. In this article a description of the Scheldt estuary is presented, illustrating that human influence is intertwined with natural dynamics. Hydrology, geomorphology, trophic status and diversity are discussed, and possible future trends in both natural evolution and management are argued.


Hydrobiologia | 2005

Freshwater marshes as dissolved silica recyclers in an estuarine environment (Schelde estuary, Belgium)

Eric Struyf; Stefan Van Damme; Britta Gribsholt; Patrick Meire

Compared to knowledge about N and P processing in the aquatic continuum of lakes, wetlands and estuaries, knowledge concerning transport and cycling of Si is only fragmentary. Furthermore, Si research in estuaries has mainly been focused on subtidal benthic sediments and uptake and recycling by diatom communities. The biogeochemical cycling of Si in tidal wetlands, which can contain large amounts of Si, has thus far been neglected. We have conducted several whole ecosystem Si mass-balances on a freshwater marsh located in the Schelde estuary (6 tidal cycles, 2 with BSi included). Our measurements show that the freshwater marsh acts as an important source of dissolved Si to the main river (1–18% more export than import, on average 0.114 g m−2). This export is compensated by import of amorphous silica into the marsh (19–55% more import than export). The marsh was shown to act as silica recycler, resupplying biologically available dissolved Si to the estuarine ecosystem. Extrapolations show that during summer and spring months, when dissolved silica is depleted due to diatom growth, almost half of the total dissolved silica load in the main river channel could result from marsh recycling.


Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences | 2013

Grazers: biocatalysts of terrestrial silica cycling

Floor Vandevenne; Ana Lúcia Pena Barão; Jonas Schoelynck; Adriaan Smis; Nick Ryken; Stefan Van Damme; Patrick Meire; Eric Struyf

Silica is well known for its role as inducible defence mechanism countering herbivore attack, mainly through precipitation of opaline, biogenic silica (BSi) bodies (phytoliths) in plant epidermal tissues. Even though grazing strongly interacts with other element cycles, its impact on terrestrial silica cycling has never been thoroughly considered. Here, BSi content of ingested grass, hay and faeces of large herbivores was quantified by performing multiple chemical extraction procedures for BSi, allowing the assessment of chemical reactivity. Dissolution experiments with grass and faeces were carried out to measure direct availability of BSi for dissolution. Average BSi and readily soluble silica numbers were higher in faeces as compared with grass or hay, and differences between herbivores could be related to distinct digestive strategies. Reactivity and dissolvability of BSi increases after digestion, mainly due to degradation of organic matrices, resulting in higher silica turnover rates and mobilization potential from terrestrial to aquatic ecosystems in non-grazed versus grazed pasture systems (2 versus 20 kg Si ha−1 y−1). Our results suggest a crucial yet currently unexplored role of herbivores in determining silica export from land to ocean, where its availability is linked to eutrophication events and carbon sequestration through C–Si diatom interactions.


Hydrobiologia | 2011

Tracing Si–N–P ecosystem-pathways: is relative uptake in riparian vegetation influenced by soil waterlogging, mowing management and species diversity?

Eric Struyf; Wiktor Kotowski; Sander Jacobs; Stefan Van Damme; Kris Bal; Wout Opdekamp; Hans Backx; Dimitri van Pelt; Patrick Meire

Despite the growing concern about the importance of silicon (Si) in controlling ecological processes in aquatic ecosystems, little is known about its processing in riparian vegetation, especially compared to nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P). We present experimental evidence that relative plant uptake of N and P compared to Si in riparian vegetation is dependent on mowing practices, water-logging and species composition. Results are obtained from a controlled and replicated mesocosm experiment, with a full-factorial design of soil water logging and mowing management. In our experiments, the Si excluding species Plantago lanceolata was dominant in the mown and non-waterlogged treatments, while Si accumulating meadow grasses and Phalaris arundinacea dominated the waterlogged treatments. Although species composition, management and soil moisture interacted strongly in their effect on relative Si:N and Si:P uptake ratios, the uptake of N to P remained virtually unchanged over the different treatments. Our study sheds new light on the impact of riparian wetland ecosystems on nutrient transport to rivers. It indicates that it is essential to include Si in future studies of the impact of riparian vegetation on nutrient transport, as these are often implemented as a measure to moderate excessive N and P inputs.


Limnology and Oceanography | 2006

Long-term change in dissolved inorganic nutrients in the heterotrophic Scheldt estuary (Belgium, The Netherlands)

Karline Soetaert; Jack J. Middelburg; Carlo H. R. Heip; Patrick Meire; Stefan Van Damme; T. Maris


Nature Communications | 2010

Historical land use change has lowered terrestrial silica mobilization

Eric Struyf; Adriaan Smis; Stefan Van Damme; Josette Garnier; Gerard Govers; Bas van Wesemael; Daniel J. Conley; Okke Batelaan; Elisabeth Frot; Wim Clymans; Floor Vandevenne; Christiane Lancelot; Peter Goos; Patrick Meire


Aquatic Botany | 2007

Phragmites australis and silica cycling in tidal wetlands

Eric Struyf; Stefan Van Damme; Britta Gribsholt; Kris Bal; Olivier Beauchard; Jack J. Middelburg; Patrick Meire


Journal of Plankton Research | 2004

Zooplankton in the Schelde estuary, Belgium and The Netherlands: spatial and temporal patterns

Micky Tackx; Nathalie De Pauw; Riet Van Mieghem; Frédéric Azémar; A. Hannouti; Stefan Van Damme; Franck Fiers; Nanette Daro; Patrick Meire


Silicon | 2009

The Global Biogeochemical Silicon Cycle

Eric Struyf; Adriaan Smis; Stefan Van Damme; Patrick Meire; Daniel J. Conley


Limnology and Oceanography | 2006

Tidal marshes and biogenic silica recycling at the land-sea interface

Eric Struyf; Armel Dausse; Stefan Van Damme; Kris Bal; Britta Gribsholt; Henricus T. S. Boschker; Jack J. Middelburg; Patrick Meire

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T. Maris

University of Antwerp

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Micky Tackx

Paul Sabatier University

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