Papers by Monique Gulickx
Barriers made from willow Salix spp. bundles were installed along sections of the River Cam to pr... more Barriers made from willow Salix spp. bundles were installed along sections of the River Cam to protect the river banks from erosion. Subsequently, a more gently sloping river bank was created which was colonised by a range of riparian plants. These vegetated margins developed into an attractive wildlife habitat and are effectively protecting these river bank sections from further erosion.
The wide variety of landscape services, e.g. food production, water quality, and recreation, nece... more The wide variety of landscape services, e.g. food production, water quality, and recreation, necessitates the use of a wide range of data sources for their identification. Subsequently, an array of approaches is required to analyse and map different landscape services, such as we have explored here in this study. Approaches to identify and map four landscape services are illustrated for the municipalities Deurne and Asten in province Noord-Brabant, The Netherlands: wetland habitat, forest recreation, land-based animal husbandry, and recreation for hikers. The landscape services were identified through ground observations at 389 locations. Spatial indicators were used to identify and map the landscape services. Based on the ground observations, correlations between the landscape services and spatial characteristics (e.g. elevation, soil, and road-type) were calculated within a neighbourhood with a radius of 0 m, 50 m, and 100 m. These correlations identified several site-specific indicators to map the landscape services. The accuracy of the landscape service maps was assessed using crossvalidation. The indicators proved to be adequately reliable for forest recreation, but less reliable for land-based animal husbandry and recreation for hikers. The landscape service map wetland habitat and forest recreation were shown to be highly accurate. The four landscape services rarely coincide, but within a 1 km radius it is apparent that some occur closer together. The approach that we have used is applicable to a wide range of different services and establishes a fundamental basis for determining their spatial variation. Hence, it should provide vital information for policy makers and spatial planners.
In 1995, holes were drilled into the face of two low limestone cliffs created to provide breeding... more In 1995, holes were drilled into the face of two low limestone cliffs created to provide breeding habitat for sand martins Riparia riparia. In 1996, the first breeding season that the holes were available, sand martins did not nest in the burrows, probably as they were not wide enough to allow the birds to turn around within them. The limestone was too hard for them to dig a widened nest chamber themselves. Creation of a slightly enlarged nest chamber using a water jet rectified this problem. Since 1997 about 30 sand martins have bred annually.
A 'water pathway' was devised to allow otters Lutra lutra to pass into an area enclosed by an ele... more A 'water pathway' was devised to allow otters Lutra lutra to pass into an area enclosed by an electric fence to prevent fox access. After its construction, several otter spraints (some close to the water pathway) were subsequently found within the fenced area. There was no evidence that red foxes Vulpes vulpes, entered by this route.
On recently created wet grassland at a site in eastern England, willow Salix spp. was invading. I... more On recently created wet grassland at a site in eastern England, willow Salix spp. was invading. It was cut, then 30 adult female Hebridean sheep and a Texel ram were introduced to control any regrowth. The sheep have kept the site clear of both newly sprouting willow shoots and willow seedlings.
SUMMARY At a newly created wetland nature reserve in easter n England, a pair of water buffalo Bu... more SUMMARY At a newly created wetland nature reserve in easter n England, a pair of water buffalo Bubalus bubalis was introduced with the aim of maintaining early su ccessional habitats and creating a heterogeneous vegetation structure. The water buffalo grazed the required parts of the fen and reedbed, and created submerged tracks. These tracks may be used by fish to disperse into the reedbed and provide foraging areas for bitterns Botaurus stellaris .
To provide a winter hibernation site for bats, an artificial cave was constructed at a nature res... more To provide a winter hibernation site for bats, an artificial cave was constructed at a nature reserve in eastern England. Subsequent to its completion, in the winter of 2005/06, two brown long-eared bats Plecotus auritus hibernated in the cave and in the subsequent winter one hibernated within it. It is considered likely that bat numbers will build up in future years.
Landscape functions are becoming increasingly more important in the human-environmental system. T... more Landscape functions are becoming increasingly more important in the human-environmental system. The actual landscape function (ALF) is defined by the purpose for which a landscape exists or is designed with provided goods and services as an outcome. A particular methodological challenge is to analyse and map ALFs, given the diversity of ALF-types. The objective is to develop a methodology to identify, map, and analyse ALFs. We selected four ALFs for the study area in the south of the Netherlands: wetland habitat, land-bound animal husbandry, forest recreation, and aesthetic beauty for walkers. ALFs were determined for 400 locations in the area. Correlations between ALFs and spatial characteristics were calculated. These correlations were used to interpolate the ALFs. Results indicate that fundamentally different methods and data sources are necessary to map ALFs. The proposed methodology provides a useful framework to study ALFs.
Plos One, 2011
ABSTRACT The functionality of landscape is shaped by humans to obtain goods and services that are... more ABSTRACT The functionality of landscape is shaped by humans to obtain goods and services that are beneficial for society. Examples of these landscape functions are food production, recreation, flood protection, and habitat provision (Verburg et al., 2009; de Groot et al., 2006). To comply with the increasing demand for land, landscape (multi‐)functionality is increasingly used in environmental development policies and plans (Renting et al., 2009). It is therefore important to quantify and map landscape functions and to recognise relations between landscape functions and their environment. Because numerous different landscape functions exist, there is not one single method to identify and map these landscape functions (Gulickx et al., in prep), which makes their assessment complex and difficult. Next to scientific research, environmental policy makers and planners develop maps to establish the spatial consequences of their policies. Both disciplines use their own methodologies, whilst they can enhance each other’s methods to achieve improved results. This research developed three landscape function maps for two case study areas in the Netherlands. For each map a different methodology was used, one based on environmental policy, one on environmental research, and one on a combination of the two (Figure 1). Interactive interviews were conducted with the governing coalition, including engineers, local decision makers, and the water board to agree on terminology and objectives. The methods were compared and consolidated throughout three workshops. The authors generated a ‘combined landscape function’ map using the combined methodology, which were compared with the ‘policy landscape function’ and ‘scientific landscape function’ maps for both case studies. The results and methodologies were discussed in a feedback workshop and useful recommendations were specified to enhance collaboration between environmental policy makers and planner, and environmental scientists. This research shows that close collaboration between scientific environmental research and environmental policy making and planning can lead to an improved product.
Journal of …, 2008
Rhesus monkeys deprived for some period from their mother have often served as a model for the ef... more Rhesus monkeys deprived for some period from their mother have often served as a model for the effect of adverse rearing conditions on social competence in humans. Social competence is the capacity to react in a species-specific way to social interactions. The current study assesses whether early deprivation from peers also affects the rates of behavior and social competence in rhesus monkeys. This was studied in groups of rhesus monkeys with different rearing conditions: subadult females that were mother-only reared during their first year of life and subsequently housed with peers were compared with subadult females from five naturalistic social groups. Socially deprived monkeys showed higher rates of submission and stereotypic behaviors than socially reared individuals. In addition, they show socially incompetent behavior, since they react with agonistic behavior to nonthreatening social situations. The results suggest that this socially incompetent behavior is rooted in a general feeling of anxiety toward group companions. The authors hypothesize that anxiety negatively affects social information processing, which results in socially incompetent behavior.
Uploads
Papers by Monique Gulickx