Geomatics and Forest Engineering

 

Professor Dr. Bart Jozef Muys, * 21/08/1963

Degree

Projects

• Describing biophysical and optical characteristics of forests through computer modeling and visualisation
• Consistent determination of LAI and quantification of the structure of vegetative canopies based on digital hemispherical photography
• Remote sensing of vitality of perennial plants
• Incorporating land use impacts on water and soil resources in Life Cycle Assessment
• Seed availability for natural forest regeneration in the highlands of Ethiopia
• Forest rehabilitation through natural regeneration in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia
• Afforestation management in North-Western Europe: Influence on carbon sequestration, nitrate leaching and groundwater recharge  (AFFOREST)
• Ecosystem surface temperature as indicator of land use impact

Work history

Specializations

• Life Cycle Assessment for Forestry and Forest Products
• Ecosystem Exergy Analysis
• Forestry Carbon Balances
• Land Use Impact Assessment
• Decision Support for Sustainable Forestry
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Scientific experience

15 years of scientific experience in forest ecology and management, 150 scientific and technical papers in national and international journals and conference proceedings

Environmental impact assessment of carbon sequestration and afforestation projects

• Carbon, water and energy balance studies of multifunctional forests and bioenergy plantations
• Ecology of tropical dryland forests
• Dendrochronological assessment of gully erosion rates
• Earthworm ecology, decomposition processes of organic matter and nutrient cycling in forests

   

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Main publications

Muys B. (editor), 1986. Proceedings of the 14th. International Forestry Students Symposium ' Forestry and Society ', Ghent 1986, 187pp.  

Muys B., 1987.  Earthworm populations of hardwood stands in Northern Belgium. Silva Gandavensis 52, 29-55.  

Muys, B.; Van Den Berge, K.; Roskams, P.; Maddelein, D. & Meyen, S., 1988. Analysis of natural regeneration in a 200 year old beech stand. Silva Gandavensis 53, 61-81.  

Maddelein D. , Muys B., Roskams P. & Van Den Berge K., 1988. Destabilization and resilience of the forest ecosystem influenced by atmospheric pollution. In : Cottenie  & Teller (eds.), Belgian research on global change. International Geo-biosphere Programm, SCOPE Belgium, Brussels 1988; 148-152.  

Muys, B., 1989.  Evaluation of conversion of tree species and liming as measures to decrease soil compaction in a beech forest on loamy soil.  Proceedings of the FAO/ILO/ECE seminar on the impact of mechanisation of forest operations to the soil.  Ministry of Agriculture, Brussels, 341-355.  

Muys B., 1989. The role of earthworms for litter decomposition in the forests of the flemish region. In : Proceedings of the symposium "Invertebrates of Belgium". Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen, Brussel : 71-78.  

Maddelein, D., Lust, N., Meyen, S. & Muys, B., 1990. Dynamics in maturing scots pine monocultures in north-east Belgium. In : Proceedings of the 19th IUFRO world congres, Montréal. Volume 1 : 95-106.  

Muys, B., 1990. N-excess in the forest : effects and possible measures. Silva  Gandavensis 55 : 35-42.  

Van Den Berge, K.; P. Roskams; A. Verlinden; P. Quataert; B. Muys; D. Maddelein & J. Zwaenepoel, 1990. Structure and dynamics of a 215-years old broadleaved forest stand recently installed as a total forest reserve. Silva Gandavensis 55 : 113-152.  

Granval, P.; R. Aliaga; D. Boisgontier & B. Muys, 1990. Agrotechnical use of earthworms : an example in cereal cultures on silty soils. Abstract Volume. 4th. Int. Symp. Earthworm Ecology, Avignon 11-15 June 1990.  

Muys, B. & Granval, Ph., 1991. Can earthworms restore damaged forest soils ? Possibilities, problems and prospects. In : Proceedings of the FAO/ILO/ECE seminar on forest site conservation and improvement for sustained yield. Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Forestry, Bonn, 272 p.  

Lust, N. & Muys, B., 1991. Conflicts caused by afforestation of agricultural lands in densely populated areas. Silva Gandavensis 56 : 56‑69.  

Lust, N. &  Muys, B., 1991. Changes in the biogeochemistry of carbon in terrestrial eco­systems. In : Vanderborght, O. (ed.). IGBP-related research in Belgi­um, Royal Belgian academies of Sciences, 1991, p. 79.  

Maddelein, D.; B. Muys; P. Roskams & K. Van Den Berge, 1991. Basic inventory and analysis of a 215 years old beech stand, installed as a total forest reserve since 1983.  

Muys, B., Lust, N. & Granval, Ph., 1992. Effects of grassland afforestation with different tree species on earthworm communities, litter decomposition and nutrient status. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 24 (12) : 1459-1466.  

Muys, B. & Lust, N., 1992. Inventory of the earthworm communities and the state of litter decomposition in the forests of Flanders (Belgium) and its implications for forest management. Soil Biology and Biochemistry 24 (12) : 1677-1681.  

Van Den Berge, K.; Muys, B. & Maddelein, D., 1992. Basic inventory and analysis of a 25-years old beech stand recently established as a total forest reserve.  In : Teller, A.; Mathy, P. & Jeffers, J.N.R., 1992.  Responses of forest ecosystems to environmental changes. Elsevier Applied Science, 571-572.  

Granval, Ph. and B. Muys, 1992. Management of forest soils and earthworms to improve woodcock (Scolopax sp.) habitats : a literature review.  Gibier Faune Sauvage 9 : 243-255.  

Muys, B.; Maddelein, D. & Lust, N., 1992.  Ecology, practice and policy of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) management in Belgium. Silva Gandavensis 57 : 28-45.  

Muys, B. and N. Lust, 1993. Ecological changes following artificial afforestation with different tree species on a sandy loam soil in Flanders (Belgium).  In : Watkins, C. (ed.). Ecological effects of afforestation. C.A.B. International, Oxford, 179-189.  

Lust, N. & B. Muys, 1993. Conflicts caused by afforestations of agricultural land in densely populated areas. In : Volz, K.R. & N. Weber (eds.). Afforestation of agricultural land. Commission of the European Communities. Report EUR 14804 EN, ISSN 1018-5593 : 115-128.  

Van Den Berge, K.; D. Maddelein & B. Muys, 1993. Recent structural changes in the beech forest reserve of Groenendaal (Belgium). In : Broekmeyer, M.E.A.; W. Vos & H. Koop (eds.). European forest reserves. Proceedings of the European forest reserves workshop 6-8 May 1992, The Netherlands, PUDOC, Wageningen, ISBN 90-220-1082-1, 195-198.  

Muys, B.; D. Maddelein & N. Lust, 1993. Ecology, practice and policy of black cherry management in Belgium. In : proc. of the Int. Conf. on forest Vegetation Management: ecology, practice and policy, April 27-May, 1, 1992, Auburn, AL. School of Forestry Report Auburn, 1, Vol. II, 86-93.  

Muys, B. & N. Lust, 1994. Changes in the biogeochemistry of carbon in forest ecosystems: a literature review. In : Veroustraete, F.; R. Ceulemans & al. Vegetation, modelling and climate change effects. SPB Academic publ. The Hague, 23-35.  

Muys, B., 1994. Synecological evaluation of earthworm activity and litter decomposition in the forests of the flemish region (Belgium) as a contribution to sustainable forest management. Doctoral thesis abstract. Mededelingen van de Faculteit Landbouwkundige en Toegepaste Biologische Wetenschappen Gent, 59 (1) : 138.  

Lust, L. & B. Muys, 1994. Integration of knowledge to improve the carbon absorbing capacity of the forest ecosystem (CAFE) : from forest to model and field validation. In : Vanderborght, O. & E. Janssens (eds.). IGBP and Global Change related research in Belgium II. Royal Belgian Academies of Sciences, National Committee IGBP, ISBN 90 6569 609 1, 69-70.  

Maddelein, M.; B. Muys; J. Neirynck & G. Sioen, 1994. Site classification in a mixed hardwoord forest (Hallerbos, Belgium) with a homogeneous ground vegetation dominated by Hyacinthoides non-scripta (L.) Chouard ex. Rothm. Silva Gandavensis 59, 15-28.  

Muys, B., 1995. The influence of tree species on humus quality and nutrient availability on a regional scale (Flanders, Belgium). In : L.O. Nilsson, R.F. Hüttl and U.T. Johansson (eds.). Nutrient uptake and cycling in forest ecosystems. Kluwer Academic Publ. ISBN 0-7923-3030-7, 649-660  

Muys, B., 1995. Carbon sequestration in forests : a contribution to sustainable forest management. In : C. Horton, K. De Bruyn & L. Hens (eds.). Is sustainable development a contradiction in terms ? Seminar VUB & British Council, October 9-13, 1995, Brussels, 89-95.  

Lust, N. & B. Muys, Evolution of biodiversity in homogeneous Scots pine stands by an ecologically diversified management. Silva Gandavensis 60 : 57-80.  

Lust, N., N. Van Camp, B. Muys & L. Nachtergale, 1995. Comparative study of C sequestration by new forests on former pasture lands. Silva Gandavensis 60 : 81-94.  

Granval, Ph. & B. Muys, 1995. Predation on earthworms by terrestrial vertebrates. International Union of Game Biologists. Proceedings of the XXII Congress “The game and the man”, Sofia, september 1995, 480-491.  

Muys, B. & Ph. Granval, 1997. Earthworms as bio-indicators of forest site quality. Soil Biology and Biochemistry, Vol. 29, No 3/4, pp. 323-328.  

Muys, B., 1997. Interdisciplinary recommendations towards integrated flood protection. Keynote lecture, Book of abstracts, First international RIBAMOD workshop ‘River basin modelling, management and flood mitigation, the challenge for european co-operation’, 13-15 February 1997, Delft.  

Muys, B., 1997. Flood protection in the context of an integrated management of river basins. In : Proceedings ‘Management and Prevention of Crisis Situations : Floods, Droughts and Institutional Aspects’, Rome, October 23-25, 1996. Euraqua Third Technical Review, Koblenz, 15-18.  

Muys, B., 1997. Impact of climatic variations on water resources with special reference to droughts and floods. National Report Belgium. International Report IWSA World Congres 1997, Blackwell Science Ltd, IR4-13.  

Muys, B., G. Wouters & C. Spirinckx, 1997. Cleaner production : a guide to information sources. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, http://service.eea.eu.int/envirowindows/manconc.shtml  

Lust, N., B. Muys & L. Nachtergale, 1998. Increase of biodiversity in homogeneous Scots pine stands by an ecologically diversified management. Biodiversity and conservation 7, 249-260.  

Neirynck, J., D. Maddelein, L. de Keersmaeker, N. Lust & B. Muys, 1998. Biomass and nutrient cycling of a highly productive Corsican pine stand on former heathland in northern Belgium. Ann. Sci. For. 55, 389-405.  

Baelemans, A. & B. Muys, 1998. Forestry education at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. In : P. Schmidt, J. Huss, S. Lewark, D. Pettenella & O. Saasamoinen (eds.). New requirements for university education in forestry. Proceedings of a workshop held in Wageningen, The Netherlands, 30 July-2 August 1997. Demeter Series 1, ISBN 90-75468-03-2, 151-162.  

Baelemans, A. & B. Muys, 1998. A critical evaluation of environmental assessment tools for sustainable forest management. In Ceuterick, D. (ed.). Proceedings of the International Conference on Life Cycle Assessment in Agriculture, Agro-industry and Forestry. Brussels, 3-4 December 1998, 65-75.  

K. Nackaerts, P. Coppin, T. Wagendorp, B. Muys, R. Gombeer. 1999. Fractal dimension as correction factor for indirect Leaf Area Index measurement errors caused by shoot-level foliage clumping.  In Proceedings of the ISSSR Symposium, 31 October - 4 November 1999, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A..  

Nackaerts, K., P. Coppin, B. Muys & M. Hermy, 2000. Sampling methodology for LAI measurements with LAI-2000 in small forest stands. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 101: 247-250.  

Moons, E., S. Proost, R. Ceulemans and B. Muys, 2000. Integrating recreation benefits with carbon sequestration.  In: E. van Ierland, A. Oude Lansink and E. Schmieman (eds.) Sustainable energy: new challenges for Agriculture and implications for land use, Wageningen, May 18-20, 2000, 10p.  

Van der Aa, B., P. Huvenne, B. Muys and N. Lust, 2000. Involving private forest owners in the sustainable use of forests: a case study for Flanders, Belgium. Silva Gandavensis 65, 81-93.  

Zahedi, G., N. Lust, M. Van Meirvenne, L. Nachtergale and B. Muys, 2000. Impact of small-scale variability of soil pH on the vegetation composition in a mixed hardwood stand, East-Flanders, Belgium. Silva Gandavensis 65, 94-114.  

Vandekerckhove, L., B. Muys, J. Poesen, B. De Weerdt and N. Coppé, 2001. A method for dendrochronological assessment of medium-term gully erosion rates. Catena 45, 123-161.  

Gilliams, S., B. Muys, J. Van Orshoven and K. Hansen, 2001. AFFOREST: a spatial decision support system for afforestation in NW-Europe. In: A. Belward, E. Binaghi, P. A. Brivio, G.A. Lanzarone and G. Tosi (eds.) Geo-Spatial knowledge processing for natural resource management. Proceedings of an international workshop, June 28-29 2001, Varese, Italy, pp. 345-348.  

Aerts, R., Mitiku Haile, B. Muys, J. Deckers, M. Hermy & J. Moeyersons, 2001. Forest rehabilitation and water conservation in the Tigray highlands, northern Ethiopia. European Tropical Forest Research Network Newsletter 33, 29-31.  

Gulinck, H., B. Muys and M. Hermy, 2001. Concepts for multifunctionality in the flemish “Park City 2050”. Proceedings symposium Open space functions under urban pressure, Gent 19-21 September 2001, 167-193.  

Granval, P., M.B. Bouché, D. Leconte and B. Muys, 2001. Adaptation of sowing techniques to maintain important lumbricid biomasses in the hydromorphic soils of Normandy. L. Garcia-Torres, J. Benites and A. Martinez-Vilela (eds.). Conservation agriculture, a worlwide challenge. Proceedings of the First World Congres on Conservation Agriculture. Vol. II, 485-490.  

Wagendorp, T., B. Muys & P. Coppin, 2001. Ecosystem exergy as indicator of land use impact in LCA. In: S. Ulgiati, M.T. Brown, M. Giampietro, R.A. Herendeen, K. Mayumi (eds.) Advances in energy studies: exploring supplies, constraints and strategies. Porto Venere, Italy, 23-27 May 2001. SGE Editoriali, Padova,  275-284 (isbn 88-86281-61-7).  

Doka, G., W. Hillier, S. Kaila, T. Koellner, J. Kreissig, B. Muys, J. Garcia Quijano, P. Salpakivi-Salomaa, J. Schweinle, G. Swan and H. Wessman, 2001. The assessment of environmental impacts caused by land use in the Life Cycle Assessment of Forestry and Forest Products. Final report of working group 2 “Land use” of COST action E9, 91p.  

Muys, B., T. Wagendorp and P. Coppin, 2001. Ecosystem exergy as indicator of land use impact in LCA. In: A. Merra, L. Finer, S. Kaila, T. Karjalainen, J. Mali, T. Pajula and M. Korhonen (eds.). Life Cycle Assessment on Forestry and Forest Products. COST action E9, EUR 19858, European Communities, Luxembourg, ISBN 92-894-1292-5, pp.  211-220.  

Karjalainen, T., J. Welling, S. Berg, L. Finer, B. Kosir, N. Knechtle, K. Kvist, B. Muys, D. Perruchoud, K. Radoglou, M. Salisbury, H. Schwaiger and B. Zimmer, 2001. Static/dynamic approach – spatio-temporal problems. In: T. Karjalainen et al. (eds.) Energy, carbon and other material flows in the Life Cycle Assessment of Forestry and Forest Products. European Forest Institute, Discussion paper 10, 27-32.  

Muys, B. and J. Garcia Quijano, 2001. Evaluating the water balance as part of the land use impact in LCA. COST action E9 LCA on forestry and forest products. Final Conference, Hamburg, 29 November – 1 December 2001. http://www.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/cost  

Coppin, P., E. Lambin, I. Jonckheere, B. Muys, 2001. Digital change detection methods in natural ecosystem monitoring: a review. In: Proceedings of the First International Workshop on the Analysis of Multi-temporal Remote sensing Images MULTITEMP-2001, 13-14 September 2001, Trento, Italy.  

Nackaerts, K., T. Wagendorp, P. Coppin, B. Muys and R. Gombeer, 2001. A correction of indirect leaf area index measurements for a non random distribution of needles on shoots. In: Proceedings of the international conference on systems and sensors for the new millenium. International symposium on spectral sensing research, October 3 – November 4, 1999, Las Vegas.  

Van Elegem, B., T. Embo, B. Muys and N. Lust, 2002. A methodology to select the best locations for new urban forests using multicriteria analysis. Forestry 75 (1), 13-23.  

Nachtergale, L., K. Ghekiere, A. De Schrijver, B. Muys, S. Luyssaert and N. Lust, 2002. Earthworm biomass and species diversity in windthrow sites of a temperate lowland forest. Pedobiologia 46: 440-451.  

Lettens, S., B. Muys, R. Ceulemans, E. Moons, J. Garcia and P. Coppin, 2003. Energy budget and greenhouse gas balance evaluation of sustainable coppice for electricity production. Biomass and Bioenergy, in press.