Dr. Heinjo During

Biography

Heinjo During is an Associate Professor at Utrecht University specializing in Ecology and Biodiversity. His research primarily focuses on plant strategies and canopy structure, with particular attention given to the life history strategies of bryophytes, including their reproductive effort in chalk grassland ecosystems. He has conducted extensive follow-up work on early phytosociological studies and has collaborated with Dr. B.F. van Tooren to investigate the ecological role of bryophytes in these environments. His research has revealed intense fine-scale dynamics within multispecies bryophyte stands through permanent grid studies. Additionally, he investigates the interactions, particularly competition among species, in chalk grasslands, which explain how dense canopies influence light availability, evaporation rates, and ultimately, the growth of poikilohydric plants such as bryophytes. He has developed simulation models to analyze bryophyte growth density dynamics and the coexistence of species, which led to further experimental investigations into water relations within bryophyte canopies. His line of research also focuses on bryophyte diaspore banks and their role in various ecosystems, including grasslands, Mediterranean shrublands, and tropical savannas, where soil studies show a high abundance of long-lived diaspores. His group, comprising post-docs and PhD students, is further engaged in a project to compare colonization patterns of phanerogams and ferns in the IJsselmeerpolders over the past 60 years.

Research Interests