ERF
Environmental Research Facility
The Environmental Research Facility (ERF) within the Environmental Science Group (ESG) at Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is a comprehensive research infrastructure that combines various state-of-the-art facilities. It includes specialized laboratories, field stations, extended reality facilities, remote sensing equipment, high quality models, datasets and collections. ERF supports innovative studies in climate change, biodiversity, sustainable land use, green climate solutions, and sustainable water management. It provides open access to its facilities, adhering to FAIR principles, fostering collaboration among researchers, industry, and government bodies to address global environmental challenges.
Infrastructure and User Services
Key features of the Environmental Research Facility (ERF) and services to users include:
Laboratories:
Animal Ecology Labs (AE): Specializes in ecological genetics (eDNA), molecular biology and zoology.
Laboratory for Aquatic Ecology (AEW) : Studies aquatic ecosystems and their dynamics.
Laboratory for Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA ): Assesses environmental risks of stressors such as chemical substances.
Soil-Hydro-Physics Lab: Analyzes soil samples for water, gas, and nutrient flow, supporting research on food security and soil emissions.
Laboratory for Water and Sediment Dynamics (WSD): Investigates water and sediment interactions.
Soil Chemistry lab (CBLB): conducts high-quality chemical analyses with a focus on soil, crop and water samples.
Soil Biology Lab: Studies soil biological processes.
Water and Soil Proficiency Testing: proficiency testing and reference material, routine laboratory performance studies as the basis of external quality assurance for institutes.
MAGNEFY: Magnetic resonance research facility.
NCL - Nederlands Centrum voor Luminescentiedatering: Specializes in luminescence dating.
Ruisdael Observatory: Monitors atmospheric conditions using aircraft and scintillometer networks.
Experimental sites:
Sinderhoeve: outdoor experimental station for studying chemical dynamics and their effects on ecosystems.
Models:
Water, Soil and Agriculture Models: ANIMO, SWAP, TOXSWA, PEARL, INITIATOR, WOFOST, LARCH
Databases:
GeoDesk: Manages digital geographical data and geo-software.
Large Data sets: Components of the National Key Registry of the Subsurface (BRO; soil, geomorphology and groundwater depth), National Vegetation Database, AgroDataCube, Groenmonitor, YieldGap.org
Collections:
Insect collection
Biobank
Other:
Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing Facility (UARSF): high-quality UAV-based remote sensing for habitat monitoring, precision agriculture, and land degradation assessment.
Examples/description of the type of research
The Environmental Research Facility (ERF) facilitates a wide range of environmental research including:
Green Climate Solutions: Leveraging the Sinderhoeve experimental station to study the effects of chemical substances on ecosystems, measuring and monitoring greenhouse gases and explore CO2 sequestration in soils. Utilizing high-performance computing systems and climate simulation models to study climate dynamics, predict future climate scenarios, and develop mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Biodiversity: Conducting eDNA analysis in the Animal Ecology Lab to monitor wildlife populations and biodiversity, as well as using the National Vegetation Database for vegetation studies.
Ecological Research: Conducting studies in the AEW, ERA, WSD and AE labs to understand aquatic ecosystems, environmental risks and biodiversity.
Sustainable Land Use: Employing the Soil-Hydro-Physics Lab to analyze soil samples for water, gas, and nutrient flow, supporting research on sustainable agricultural practices and soil health.
Sustainable Water Management: Using models like ANIMO, SWAP-WOFOST, and TOXSWA and PEARL to study fresh water availability, water quality, nutrient leaching, and the impact of water management practices on agricultural yield.
Remote Sensing: Utilizing the Unmanned Aerial Remote Sensing Facility (UARSF) for habitat monitoring, precision agriculture, and land degradation assessment.
Data and Modelling: Hosting large datasets such as components of the National Key Registry of the Subsurface (BRO) and AgroDataCube, and using models like WOFOST and LARCH for agricultural and ecological research.
ERF promotes interdisciplinary research and innovation, addressing critical environmental challenges and contributing to sustainable development goals.
How to access the infrastructure?
Most of the access will be physical (~90%) as the largest part of the infrastructure consists of laboratories, field stations and collections with measurement equipment and experimental setups. Part of the infrastructure (~ 10%) consists of XR, models, software and datasets for which digital access is logical.