Dr Frans Vera (born Franciscus Wilhelmus Maria Vera; Amsterdam, 4 June 1949)[1] is a Dutch biologist and conservationist. He has played a key part in devising the current ecological strategy for the Netherlands. He has hypothesised that Western European primeval forests at the end of the Pleistocene epoch did not consist only of "closed-canopy" high-forest conditions, but also included pastures combined with forests, a hypothesis variously addressed as the Vera hypothesis or the wood-pasture hypothesis.[2][3]
At a young age, Vera was fascinated by books by the Dutch writer, publisher and photographer A.B. Wigman (1891–1972) such as De Hoge Veluwe (1954), and by the Dutch naturalist, cineaste, photographer, journalist and writer Jan P. Strijbos (1891–1983). His teacher at primary school also stimulated his interest in nature. At high school he worked with Paul Opdam (born 1949) to search in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug moraine for the few remaining nests of the goshawk. He came into contact with Maarten Bijleveld, who initiated Operatie Havik ("Operation Goshawk") at that time, and with H.J. Slijper, the falconer and painter.[1]
From 1970 to 1978 Vera studied biology at the VU University Amsterdam (VU) in Amsterdam. Here he was influenced by Prof. Lambertus Vlijm, animal ecologist. In 1979 he joined the Inspectie Natuurbehoud (Inspectorate for Nature Conservation) of the Staatsbosbeheer, the Dutch state organisation for forestry and management of nature reserves, where he worked on "valuable agricultural cultural landscapes", and later on natural development in large natural areas and areas of water. In 1982 he moved to the Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij, the then Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, where he became head of the department for Natural Development and Large Natural Areas.[1] In 1988 he co-authored an Exploratory Study of Natural Development, which presented the concept of the "ecological main structure" (Ecologische Hoofdstructuur, or EHS), which was subsequently incorporated into the Ministry's 1989 Nature Policy Plan.[4]
In 1989, Vera moved to the Faculty of Nature Management at Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen (now Wageningen University & Research (WUR) where he received his PhD in 1997, after completing his thesis Metaforen voor de wildernis. Eik, hazelaar, rund en paart ("Wilderness metaphors. Oak, hazel, cattle and horse"), on the appearance of the vegetation in the lowlands of Central and Western Europe after the end of the last ice age, early in the current Holocene epoch.[5] An adapted version of his thesis was published in 2000 as Grazing Ecology and Forest History.[6]
He has also worked as director of the Stichting Natuurlijke Processen (Natural Processes Foundation), University of Groningen,[7] as a guest staff member at the University of Groningen's Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES),[8] and as Senior Policy Adviser to the Strategic Policies Division at the Minister's Office in The Hague. He retired in June 2014, but still works as scientist and policy adviser.[9]
Vera has hypothesised that in the primeval landscape of lowland Europe large herbivores maintained an open landscape. He has argued that as a result European primeval forests were not closed-canopy, i.e. with dense growth of trees in which the top branches and leaves form a ceiling, or canopy, so that light can barely penetrate to reach the forest floor, resulting in reduced vegetation growing under and between the mature trees, leaving the ground mostly free of brush.[10][11]
His book Grazing Ecology and Forest History challenges views on the nature of the former natural landscape. Vera argues that, if the ancient natural forest were to consist only of closed-canopy conditions, then the light demanding tree species would not be as well represented in the fossil record as they are. He proposes a semi-open landscape for the lowlands of Central and Western Europe of c.7,000 years ago, and that large herbivores produced a shifting mosaic of vegetation. Others have suggested that fire and windthrow may also have had important roles.[12]
Initially, part of the polder was intended for industrial development, but once the land was reclaimed, the need for land for industry had diminished. An area of thousands of hectares remained uncultivated along the Oostvaardersdijk, and that area quickly developed into a site with great natural wealth and potential. On 6 September 1973, Prof. H.J. van Duin, head of the Scientific Department of the then Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders (National Institute for Polders, or R.IJ.P.) suggested in an interview that attention should be paid to the area that was then called “the Knar reserve”.[14] In 1979 Dr. E.P.R. Poorter, biologist at the R.IJ.P., wrote about the Oostvaardersplassen in De Lepelaar ("The Spoonbill"), the journal of the Vogelbescherming Nederland (the Netherlands Society for the Protection of Birds).[15]
Vera had been privately involved in activities to safeguard and develop Oostvaardersplassen, and Poorter's article prompted him to take action. He wrote an article for the magazine Natuur en Milieu ("Nature and Environment") to draw attention to the fact that the area did not have any protected status.[16] When Vera joined the Staatsbosbeheer shortly afterwards, he was able to make an official effort to protect the area.[17] A short time later, after a report from Vera and pressure from the Natuur & Milieu environmental organisation, from Vogelbescherming Nederland, and from the action group Redt de Oostvaardersplassen (Save the Oostvaardersplassen), the nature reserve was designated as a natural monument and the railway line between Almere and Lelystad was rerouted, so that the reserve was not divided.[18][bettersourceneeded]
In 1986, more than 5,700 hectares were brought within the protection of the Nature Conservation Act, an area approximately 10km long and 6km wide. Vera proposed the reserve should develop by natural processes,[9] and nature allowed to take its course. Greylag geese had been breeding in the Oostvaardersplassen from 1970 onwards, and moulted in large numbers in the spring (in 1987 more than 30,000 moulting greylag geese were counted),[19] Grazing of these geese in the marshy part, in combination with a dynamic water table, prevented the wetlands from becoming overgrown and therefore conserved many protected bird species.
Vera then proposed the next step, the introduction of large herbivorous mammals to the reserve as proxy species in order to recreate a grassland ecology and keep the higher, drier, parts of the new nature reserve clear.[20] Large grazers such as Heck cattle,[21] wild horses, Koniks horses, and red deer have been used to maintain the natural dynamics in the Oostvaardersplassen. The animals are kept behind a fence and cannot migrate.[22]
The management of the reserve based on "natural processes" has led to high mortality rates of large herbivores, many of which die naturally from starvation, resulting in crticism from media and politicians[23] and occasional public protests.[24][25] The experiment is considered scientifically controversial due to the lack of predators and other native megafauna such as wolves, bears, lynx, elk, boar, and wisent.
Influence
Vera and others started a new approach to Dutch nature conservation in the 1980s, and the current ecological strategy for the Netherlands is partly derived from his work at Oostvaardersplassen, striving for a varied but especially more "natural" environment, in which certain natural processes are given more space. Together with five colleagues Vera authored the Plan Ooievaar ("Stork Plan"),[26] which proposed restoring natural processes such as flooding the floodplains of big rivers. This plan has been one of the foundations of the Nature Development policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), especially in relation to the development of nature along the great rivers in the Netherlands.[27]
Although his theory about large grazers in the original European landscape, and the operation of the Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve, remains controversial,[28] he has had great influence. His key work is the 1997 thesis Metaforen voor de Wildernis ("Metaphors for the Wilderness"), of which an adapted English version was published in 2000 entitled Grazing Ecology and Forest History.
The greatest impact of Vera's hypothesis is that some ecologists now believe the key principle of "rewilding" should be to change conservation away from preservation and towards the restoration of natural processes, by letting the landscape with its plants and animals run wild.[29] Traditionally, it was expected that this approach would result in dense forest, and a mass extinction of wild flowers and butterflies requiring sunlight. The experiment at Oostvaardersplassen has shown that “natural” grazing can create a more dynamic landscape of open glades and wooded groves.
Vera’s views have been used as the partial basis for several projects, such as those at Oostvaardersplassen, at Knepp Wildland in England,[30] and for the Rewilding Britain organisation.
Awards
On 29 September 1990 Vera received the Gouden Lepelaar ("Golden Spoonbill") award from Vogelbescherming Nederland for his important contribution to the protection of birds, as an expert in the field of nature development, and his close involvement in the conservation and development of the Oostvaardersplassen.[31]
Vera, F. W. M. (1979). "Het Oostvaardersplassengebied; uniek oecologisch experiment (The Oostvaardersplassen area: a unique ecological experiment)". Natuur en Milieu (Nature and Environment) (in Dutch). 3: 3–12.
Vera, F. W. M. (1988). De Oostvaardersplassen. Van spontane natuuruit-barsting tot gerichte natuurontwikkeling (The Oostvaardersplassen: from spontaneous natural eruption to targeted nature development) (in Dutch). Haarlem: IVN/Grasduinen-Oberon. ISBN90-320-70010. According to Voous (1995, p.514) “a masterpiece of thorough observation and courageous management vision”.
Vera, F.W.M. (1997). Metaforen voor de wildernis: eik, hazelaar, rund en paard (Metaphors for the wilderness: oak, hazel, cattle and horse) (in Dutch). Wageningen: Wageningen University and Research (dissertation). OCLC1016608759(all editions). (adapted English version: Vera 2000)
Vera, Frans W. M.; Bakker, Elisabeth S.; Wolff, Hans (2006). "Large herbivores: missing partners of western European light-demanding tree and shrub species?". In Danell, Kjell; Duncan, Patrick; Bergström, Roger; Pastor, John (eds.). Large Herbivore Ecology, Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation(PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp.203–231. ISBN9780511617461.
Vera, Frans; Buissink, Frans; Weidema, Jaap (2007). Wilderness in Europe. What really goes on between the trees and the beasts. Baarn: Tirion Natuur. ISBN9789052106885.
Vera, F. W. M. (2013). "Can't See the Trees for the Forest". In Rotherham, Ian D. (ed.). Trees, Forested Landscapes and Grazing Animals - A European Perspective on Woodlands and Grazed Treescapes. Routledge. pp.99–126.
Related Research Articles
This is an index of conservation topics. It is an alphabetical index of articles relating to conservation biology and conservation of the natural environment.
Lingewaard is a municipality in the eastern Netherlands. It is located in the province of Gelderland, in the most eastern part of the Betuwe. The municipality is situated in the lowlands between the major cities of Arnhem and Nijmegen, where most inhabitants work. Lingewaard was part of the Arnhem–Nijmegen metropolitan area until 2015.
The Heck or Munich-Berlin is a German breed or type of domestic cattle. It was bred in the 1920s by Heinz and Lutz Heck in an attempt to breed back the extinct aurochs. Controversy revolves around methodology and success of the programme. There are considerable differences between Heck cattle and the aurochs in build, height, and body proportions. Furthermore, there are other cattle breeds which resemble their wild ancestors at least as much as Heck cattle.
The Konik or Polish Konik, Polish: konik polski, is a Polish breed of pony. There are semi-feral populations in some regions. They are usually mouse dun or striped dun in color.
The Oostvaardersplassen is a nature reserve in the Netherlands, managed by the Staatsbosbeheer. Covering about 56 square kilometres (22 sq mi) in the province of Flevoland, it is an experiment in rewilding. It is in a polder created in 1968; by 1989, its ecological interest had resulted in its being declared a Ramsar wetland. It became part of Nieuw Land National Park when that was established in 2018.
Ennerdale is a valley in Cumbria, England. Ennerdale Water, fed by the River Liza, is the most westerly lake in the Lake District National Park.
Landscape-scale conservation is a holistic approach to landscape management, aiming to reconcile the competing objectives of nature conservation and economic activities across a given landscape. Landscape-scale conservation may sometimes be attempted because of climate change. It can be seen as an alternative to site based conservation.
The Donkse Laagten is a small Dutch nature reserve of roughly two square kilometres in the Alblasserwaard in the province of South Holland. It is located in the municipality of Molenlanden, between the towns Streefkerk to the northwest and Bleskensgraaf to the south. The area is governed by the organization Staatsbosbeheer. There is no public transportation to the Donkse Laagten, but it is open for recreational use.
Staatsbosbeheer, founded in 1899, is a Dutch government organization for forestry and the management of nature reserves.
Conservation grazing or targeted grazing is the use of semi-feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats. Conservation grazing is generally less intensive than practices such as prescribed burning, but still needs to be managed to ensure that overgrazing does not occur. The practice has proven to be beneficial in moderation in restoring and maintaining grassland and heathland ecosystems. The optimal level of grazing will depend on the goal of conservation, and different levels of grazing, alongside other conservation practices, can be used to induce the desired results.
Browsing is a type of herbivory in which a herbivore feeds on leaves, soft shoots, or fruits of high-growing, generally woody plants such as shrubs. This is contrasted with grazing, usually associated with animals feeding on grass or other lower vegetations. Alternatively, grazers are animals eating mainly grass, and browsers are animals eating mainly non-grasses, which include both woody and herbaceous dicots. In either case, an example of this dichotomy are goats and sheep.
Rewilding is a form of ecological restoration aimed at increasing biodiversity and restoring natural processes. It differs from ecological restoration in that, while human intervention may be involved, rewilding aspires to reduce human influence on ecosystems. It is also distinct in that, while it places emphasis on recovering geographically specific sets of ecological interactions and functions that would have maintained ecosystems prior to human influence, rewilding is open to novel or emerging ecosystems which encompass new species and new interactions.
Close to nature forestry is a management approach treating forest as an ecological system performing multiple functions. Close to nature silviculture tries to achieve the management objectives with minimum necessary human intervention aimed at accelerating the processes that nature would do by itself more slowly. It works with natural populations of trees, ongoing processes and existing structures using cognitive approach, as in the case of uneven-aged forest (Plenterwald). Its theory and practice takes forest as a self regulating ecosystem and manages it as such.
Stichting Taurus is a Dutch foundation which uses large herbivores grazing under natural circumstances for nature conservation. Robust cattle and horse breeds are used for this purpose.
Hendrik Johannes (Henny) van der Windt is a Dutch associate professor at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, specialized in the relationship between sustainability and science, in particular the relationship between nature conservation and ecology and between energy technologies, locale energy-initiatives and the energy transition.
Rewilding Europe is a non-profit organisation based in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, working to create rewilded landscapes throughout Europe. Their goal is to maintain and expand areas of wildlife, in a manner that has a positive impact on climate and encourages biodiversity. The group's efforts have helped in increasing the stock of previously-endangered species such as the European bison and the Iberian lynx.
Milovice Nature Reserve is a nature reserve next to the towns of Milovice and Benátky nad Jizerou in Nymburk District, Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. Established in 2015, the area is administered by the Česká krajina o.p.s. organization, as a part of Evropsky významná lokalita Milovice-Mladá CZ0214006 protected area, part of the European Union project Natura 2000. This reserve is a pioneering project of cooperation between several scientific bodies and draws support from many organizations and private sponsors.
Knepp Wildland is the first major lowland rewilding project in England. It comprises 1,400 hectares of former arable and dairy farmland in the grounds of Knepp Castle, in West Sussex, England.
The wood-pasture hypothesis is a scientific hypothesis positing that open and semi-open pastures and wood-pastures formed the predominant type of landscape in post-glacial Europe, rather than the common belief of primeval forests. The hypothesis proposes that such a landscape would be formed and maintained by large wild herbivores. Although others, including Oliver Rackham, who criticised the idea of an all-encompassing, dark primeval forest in pre-neolithic Europe, had previously expressed similar ideas, it was Dutch researcher Frans Vera, who, in his 2000 book Grazing Ecology and Forest History, first developed a comprehensive framework for such ideas and formulated them into a theorem. Vera's proposals, although highly controversial, came at a time when the role grazers played in woodlands was increasingly being reconsidered, and are credited for ushering in a period of increased reassesment and interdisciplinary research in European conservation theory and practice. Although Vera largely focused his research on the European situation, his findings could also be applied to other temperate ecological regions worldwide, especially the broadleaved ones.
↑ Vera 1979. See also Vera 1988, p. 150. (Possible problem with the chronology here: according to Vera, Poorter's article appeared at the end of 1979 and his article in Nature and Environment in March 1979.)
Voous, Karel Hendrik (1995). In de ban van vogels. Geschiedenis van de beoefening van de ornithologie in Nederland in de twintigste eeuw (Under the Spell of Birds. History of the Practice of Ornithology in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century). (in Dutch). Utrecht: Scheffers. pp.514–515. ISBN90 5546 013 3
Poorter, E.P.R. (1979). "De Oostvaardersplassen: een nieuw natuurgebied in Nederland" [The Oostvaardersplassen: a new nature reserve in the Netherlands]. De Lepelaar. 60: 3–12, 60.
van der Windt, Henny J. (1995). En dan: wat is natuur nog in dit land? Natuurbescherming in Nederland 1880 - 1990[And Then: What is Nature in This Country? Nature Conservation in the Netherlands 1880-1990]. Amsterdam: Meppel: Boom. 336 pgs. (Also published as a dissertation RU Groningen 1995). ISBN90 5352 132 1
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