Debora Cynthia Maan

University of Amsterdam | UVA · Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem dynamics

Plant roots are highly adaptable, but their adaptability is not included in crop and land surface models. They rely on a simplified representation of root growth, which is independent of soil moisture availability. Data of subsurface processes and interactions, needed for model setup and validation, are scarce. Here we investigated soil-moisture-dr...

Plant roots are highly adaptable, but their adaptability is not included in crop and land surface models. They rely on a simplified representation of root growth, independent of soil moisture availability. Data of subsurface processes and interactions, needed for model set-up and validation, are scarce. Here we investigated soil moisture driven roo...

We study the coupled action of water uptake and root development of maize in potting soil under greenhouse conditions. To this end, we apply subsurface irrigation strategies that are constant over weeks. We perform synchronous real-time measurements of the co-evolving soil moisture fields and root distributions. Will constant irrigation regimes eve...

The prediction of the erosion of mudflats is hampered by inaccurate estimates of the erodibility distribution of the sediment bed. To investigate how erodibility varies in space and what the vertical distribution over the sediment depth is, comprehensive observations of the sediment properties, hydrodynamics and bed-level changes were conducted on...

Plain Language Summary The combination of sea level rise, decreasing sediment availability, and human fixation of the coastline results in large stresses on coastal areas worldwide. Extremely sensitive are the intertidal wetlands, lying in‐between the low and the high water line. Loss of coastal wetlands increases the coastal vulnerability to extre...

We apply a 2-D horizontal process-based model (Delft3D) to study the feedback mechanisms that control the long-term evolution of a fringing intertidal flat in the Western Scheldt Estuary. The hydrodynamic model is validated using a comparison with measurements on the intertidal flat and the sediment transport module is calibrated against long-term...

Various studies have identified a strong relation between the hydrodynamic forces and the equilibrium profile for intertidal flats. A thorough understanding of the interplay between the hydrodynamic forces and the morphology, however, concerns more than the equilibrium state alone. We study the basic processes and feedback mechanisms underlying the...

The increases of temperature and pressure on Mars are considered to be the two main requirements for making Mars more suitable for life. Among the several methods reported to achieve such a change, the release of artificial greenhouse gases to increase temperatures by about 20 degrees at the Mars poles in order to trigger the evaporation of CO2 ice...