Professional background
Alexander van Oudenhoven obtained both his BSc (2006) and MSc (2008) degree in Environmental Sciences at Wageningen University, specialising in Environmental Systems Analysis. During his MSc programme he did an internship at the World Resources Institute in Washington, D.C., where he conducted research for and helped preparing a report on incentives to sustain forest ecosystem services.
Prior to studying at Wageningen University, Alexander spent 6 months in Sri Lanka, where he worked as a volunteer English teacher at local secondary schools and an institute that provides young, aspiring school-leavers with extra support. Until 2004, Alexander was a remedial teacher and tutor for high school students in his former hometown The Hague. He also worked as a teaching assistant for an introductory Environmental Sciences course.
Before starting his PhD research in July 2009, Alexander worked as a research assistant at the Environmental Systems Analysis group, for the Dutch “Nature’s Calendar” project. He was, among other things, responsible for the development of a hay-fever prediction module (“Allergy Radar” (in Dutch)), which enables daily pollen release predictions for six different plant species, based on constantly updated temperature data.
Research
Since the summer of 2009, Alexander has been working on his PhD research, with the work-title “Impacts of land-use change and ecosystem management on biodiversity and ecosystem services provision”. The research aims to investigate how the driving force land management influences the ecological characteristics, processes and structures (including biodiversity) of the world’s most important ecosystems, and thereby also how the ecosystems’ capacity to provide ecosystem services is affected. Through a combination of extensive literature research and several case studies the project aims to establish generic relationships between the most important indicators for ecosystem services. Quantified relationships will also be captured in an indicators for ecosystem services database.
For this project, case studies have been or will be undertaken in the south of The Netherlands, South Africa, Indonesia, and other locations. Ecosystems that have been studied include rural European landscapes, drylands, shrublands, grasslands and mangrove forests. In South Africa, Alexander is working together with partners from Living Lands and the PRESENCE Learning Network, with whom he works on restoring landscapes in collaboration with local stakeholders and scientists. In Indonesia, Alexander will be involved in the Mangrove Capital Project, which aims to highlight the values of mangroves and further develop the knowledge and tools necessary for the improved management of mangrove forests. More information can be found here.
Alexander is also heavily involved in the Ecosystem Services Partnership, a global network that brings together scientists and policy-makers working on ecosystem services and natural capital. Besides, he also is managing editor of the International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services and Management, of which Dr. Dolf de Groot is Editor-in-Chief.
For his BSc thesis, Alexander van Oudenhoven wrote a paper on the future of biodiversity and agriculture in Europe, under different economic and environmental scenarios. His MSc thesis had the title “The Oak processionary caterpillar moves on – the environmental and climate variables behind the spatial distribution and population dynamics of Thaumetopoea processionea”. Alexander found out to what extent the success of the caterpillar could be attributed to (regional) temperature increases. Because of the societal relevance of the topic (the almost two million urticating hairs of the caterpillar can cause severe health problems) his thesis results were presented on national radio, in a Dutch newspaper and on several (inter)national websites.
During his internship Alexander was responsible for conducting research for and preparing several papers on the topic of REDD (Reducing Emissions from Degradation and Deforestation). The preliminary results were presented during the Forest Day of the COP-14 in Poznan (December 6th 2008) and the papers have eventually been compiled into an extensive report on REDD that WRI, CIFOR and IIED issued in June 2009 for the Norwegian “Forests and Climate Initiative”. In addition, Alexander helped preparing a paper on the usage of (quantified) Ecosystem Services indicators in Sub-Global Millennium Assessments (SGMA’s).
Selected abstracts, reports and articles
Van Oudenhoven, A.P.E., Petz, K., Alkemade, R., Hein, L., de Groot, R.S. (2012). Framework for systematic indicator selection to assess effects of land management on ecosystem services. Ecological Indicators.
Petz, K. & van Oudenhoven, A.P.E. (2012). Modelling land management effects on ecosystem functions and services: a study in The Netherlands. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management: 8 (1-2).
Van Oudenhoven, A.P.E. (2012). Editorial: Managing ecosystem services and natural capital - trade-offs, synergies and challenges. International Journal of Biodiversity Science, Ecosystem Services & Management, 7(3):141-142.
Seppelt, Ralf, Fath, Brian, Burkhard, Benjamin, Fisher, Judy L., Grêt-Regamey, Adrienne, Lautenbach, Sven, Pert, Petina, Hotes, Stefan, Spangenberg, Joachim, Verburg, Peter H., Van Oudenhoven, Alexander P. E. (2012). Form follows function? Proposing a blueprint for ecosystem service assessments based on reviews and case studies. Ecological Indicators.
UNEP-WCMC 2011. Developing ecosystem service indicators: Experiences and lessons learned from sub-global assessments and other initiatives. Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Montréal, Canada. Technical Series No. 58, 118 pages.
Oudenhoven, A.P.E. van (2011). Quantifying ecosystem services provision in Baviaanskloof, South Africa: the merits of ecosystem restoration. Wageningen, The Netherlands: Conference "Ecosystem Services: integrating Science to Practice”, October 4th – 7th 2011.
Oudenhoven, A.P.E. van, Vliet, A.J.H. van, Moraal, L.G. (2008). Climate change exacerbates the oak processionary caterpillar problem in The Netherlands. Gewasbescherming: 39 (6). - p236-237.
Education
Teaching Assistant for the course Environmental Sciences and Innovation (ESA-10309) in 2007 and 2008.
Lecturer in the course Integrated Ecosystem Assessment in Regional Management (ESA-31306).
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