Restoration ecology
Monitoring and surveys
North Sea ReViFES
Is the species diversity of reefs higher than that of sandy sediments? How can you kickstart an oyster reef within a wind farm? The scientific programme North Sea ReViFES investigates these questions and is designed to create building blocks for reef restoration in the North Sea. The programme is in its final phase and provides interesting insights into ecosystem services and the possibilities for measures to benefit reefs in future wind farms.
Research focused on biogenic reefs
Biogenic reefs are complex structures built by organisms such as mussels, flat oysters, sand worms and honeycomb worms. They form the basis of rich habitats and complex ecosystems in the North Sea. Despite their crucial role and unique biodiversity, these reefs have largely disappeared due to human activities that disturb the seabed. Determining the extent of the ecosystem services that these reefs provide is essential to assess the impact of their decline and to understand how these reefs can be restored.
Knowledge for reef restoration in the North Sea
The construction of offshore wind farms and the creation of marine protected areas leads to locations without soil disturbance. This offers opportunities, but the restoration of reefs in the deep North Sea is difficult, because we do not yet know enough about how reefs in deep water can be restored. The scientific research in this project aims to fill knowledge gaps about ecosystem services of reefs and to develop new techniques for offshore reef restoration. Filling knowledge gaps leads to four building blocks.
- Quantified ecosystem services of natural reefs
- Techniques for oyster farming and oyster settlement
- Field data from and designs for measures in offshore wind farms
- Design principles for reef restoration in future wind farms
North Sea ReViFES
North Sea ReViFES is a NWO project (17671) funded by TTW (Applied and Technical Sciences) and has a diverse group of end users working together in the project. The knowledge partners are NIOZ, TU Delft, Waardenburg Ecology and Wageningen University & Research (WUR).
The end users are ARK Rewilding, CIV, Ministry of LVVN, Nature & Environment, Roem van Yerseke, Sas Consultancy, Stichting de Noordzee, Van Oord, Waardenburg Ecology, and WWF.
Waardenburg Ecology is one of the creators of the research programme and translates the knowledge of the scientific researchers into practice. Guidelines and design criteria for wildlife-inclusive construction of offshore wind farms are examples of this. The program runs until 2025.
The end users are ARK Rewilding, CIV, Ministry of LVVN, Nature & Environment, Roem van Yerseke, Sas Consultancy, Stichting de Noordzee, Van Oord, Waardenburg Ecology, and WWF.
Waardenburg Ecology is one of the creators of the research programme and translates the knowledge of the scientific researchers into practice. Guidelines and design criteria for wildlife-inclusive construction of offshore wind farms are examples of this. The program runs until 2025.