Bart Muys (born 1963) is a Belgian professor of

forest ecology Forest ecology is the scientific study of the interrelated patterns, processes, flora, fauna and ecosystems in forests. The management of forests is known as forestry, silviculture, and forest management. A forest ecosystem is a natural woodland ...

and

forest management Forest management is a branch of forestry concerned with overall administrative, legal, economic, and social aspects, as well as scientific and technical aspects, such as silviculture, protection, and forest regulation. This includes management fo ...

at the

KU Leuven KU Leuven (or Katholieke Universiteit Leuven) is a Catholic research university in the city of Leuven, Belgium. It conducts teaching, research, and services in computer science, engineering, natural sciences, theology, humanities, medicine, l ...

. His research focuses on the ecosystem functioning of tree diversity, the ecology of

forest restoration Forest restoration is defined as “actions to re-instate ecological processes, which accelerate recovery of forest structure, ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest” i.e. the end-stage of natural ...

and the evaluation of

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s and bioenergy systems. He is one of the most cited scientists internationally in the field of

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

and

Biography

He obtained a PhD from

Ghent University Ghent University ( nl, Universiteit Gent, abbreviated as UGent) is a public research university located in Ghent, Belgium. Established before the state of Belgium itself, the university was founded by the Dutch King William I in 1817, whe ...

in 1993 on research about

earthworm An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida. They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all segments. ...

s and litter decomposition in Flemish forests. He was director of the Royal Institute for the Sustainable Management of Natural Resources and the Promotion of Clean Technology (KINT-IRGT) from 1995 to 1997. He is professor of forest ecology and forest management at KU Leuven since 1997.

Research

The research group of Muys is one of the world's leading research groups in the field of

Jatropha curcas ''Jatropha curcas'' is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, that is native to the American tropics, most likely Mexico and Central America. It is originally native to the tropical areas of the Americas from Mexico t ...

. In addition to research into the ecology of jatropha, he also investigated the potential (and sustainability) of jatropha as a biofuel. His research shows that jatropha mainly has (sustainable) potential as a smaller-scale energy source, on locations where there are few alternative energy sources or in places with degraded land. Muys also conducts research into sustainable forest management. He compared and evaluated, for example, the sustainability of different types of forest management and also conducted research into the (local) cooling effect of forests. For example, he was co-author in one of the most highly cited scientific papers in the high impact journal Global Environmental Change. This paper, called ''Trees, forests and water: Cool insights for a hot world'', gives an overview of the important effects of trees on helping to retain water on the ground and to produce cooling moisture, which in turn has a positive impact on food security and

climate change adaptation Climate change adaptation is the process of adjusting to current or expected effects of climate change.IPCC, 2022Annex II: Glossary öller, V., R. van Diemen, J.B.R. Matthews, C. Méndez, S. Semenov, J.S. Fuglestvedt, A. Reisinger (eds.) InClimat ...

. Muys also demonstrated that the

surface temperature Surface temperature is the temperature at a surface. Specifically, it may refer to: * Surface air temperature, the temperature of the air near the surface of the earth * Sea surface temperature, the temperature of water close to the ocean's sur ...

can be used to monitor the restoration of degraded

tropical forest Tropical forests (a.k.a. jungle) are forested landscapes in tropical regions: ''i.e.'' land areas approximately bounded by the tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, but possibly affected by other factors such as prevailing winds. Some tropical fo ...

s. In addition to research on forest restoration, he also led several projects on forest restoration in the tropics. Muys' observations on earthworms contributed in 2019 to an article in

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

on the global distribution of earthworm

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic ('' genetic variability''), species ('' species diversity''), and ecosystem ('' ecosystem diversity' ...

Books

* Den Ouden, J., Muys, B., Mohren, G. M. J., & Verheyen, K. (2010), ''Bosecologie en bosbeheer'', Uitgeverij Acco, * Heil, G.W., Muys, B. & Hansen, K. (2007) ''Environmental Effects of Afforestation in North-Western Europe: From Field Observations to Decision Support'', Springer Publ., Series Plant and Vegetation Vol. 1, 325p.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muys, Bart Living people 1963 births Forestry academics Forestry researchers 20th-century Belgian engineers 21st-century Belgian engineers Ghent University alumni Academic staff of KU Leuven