Event: DEB2023 School: 4-13 June
Location: Louisiana State Univ, Baton Rouge, Lousiana, USA
Date: 6 Jun 2023, 20:30-21:30
Lecturer: Bas Kooijman (emeritus); bas.kooijman@vu.nl
Affiliation: A-Life, VU University Amsterdam
Title: Biodiversity slide show

In two lectures, I will illustrate/celebrate biodiversity with a visit to the "Amsterdamse Waterleidingduinen" (AWD). It literally means the Amsterdam Waterpipe Dunes, where water is purified from the river Rhine for the densely populated western part of the Netherlands, close to where I live. This industrial activity combines beautifully with nature conservation; it is the most diverse nature reserve of the country. I start the lecture with a short historic view on the environment, since it is essential to read the local nature. The echo of the past is still load and clearly visible in the diversity of plants, animals and micro-organisms, such as in steep chalk gradients.