"Observe, observe, observe. Then describe.
Only then draw conclusions!"
Reinhold Tüxen
About De ronde & haveman
De Ronde & Haveman: a young research and consultancy firm in the field of vegetation and landscape. As an agency we may be young, but together we have more than 40 years of experience in vegetation research. We have gained these years of experience particularly on all kinds of military ranges, where we have carried out numerous phytosociological inventories and vegetation mapping projects for management and policy purposes. Based on our extensive experience, we have also been involved in several large and ambitious external projects, such as the editing of the overview of plant communities in the Netherlands. The result of this, the Revisie vegetatie van Nederland, is a standard work widely used in Dutch and Flemish nature management and policy.
In our phytosociological work on defence sites, we have learned that in nature management consultancy, the appropriate standard answers are usually not enough, as each site has its own story. Through our work, we would like to tell these stories! To do so, it is necessary to keep looking carefully, and only draw conclusions based on these observations and their unbiased description. By looking closely and unbiasedly, new knowledge can always be gained! That is what we also want to do as De Ronde & Haveman: develop local knowledge of nature so that adequate advice can be given for management and use.
Are you curious what we can do for you? Please, take a look at our services page to get an impression of our activities. Or inquire through our contact page. We are happy to help you!
Our expertise
After working for a long time on the inventory and monitoring of vegetation on military sites, we started our own research and consultancy agency in 2022. As a result, De Ronde & Haveman specializes mainly in the vegetation of the dry sand landscapes and the coastal area: heathland, heath-rich grasslands, shifting sands and dry, nutrient-poor forests, dune grasslands, salt marshes and moist and wet dune valleys. Yet, we also have extensive experience outside of these landscapes, for instance in the wooded area in the extreme south of our country, stream valleys and raised bog areas.
We have a thorough knowledge of typical anthropogenic vegetation, such as trample communities and tall forb communities, since we have worked a lot in 'utilitarian landscapes'. In addition, we have specialized knowledge of the difficult groups of brambles (Rubus), hawkweed (Hieracium) and fescue (Festuca). The taxonomic knowledge of these species groups also gets its place in the description of the vegetation in which they occur: the bramble thickets of forest edges, hedgerows and logging plains, and herbaceous forest edge communities.
Our way of working, in which vegetation recordings always form the basis for a local analysis of the vegetation with an eye for difficult species groups, leads to an open view of vegetation that significantly adds to the existing vegetation classifications. As a result, we have been involved in the publication of the latest standard overview of vegetation types in our country, the Revisie vegetatie van Nederland (2017), and the Veldgids Plantengemeenschappen (2019). For the hawkweeds, we are additionally working on a revision for the species occurring in the Netherlands.
The team
Iris de ronde
Biologist from Wageningen, with extensive experience as a vegetation expert with the central government. I have always worked from the local situation, to gain insight into the uniqueness of the place. In doing so, phytosociology always proved to be an excellent key to gain access to knowledge about the origin and functioning of the ecosystem and the landscape. Knowledge needed to advise on how to make practical function and biodiversity go hand in hand.
Whether it is the quest to understand an undescribed vegetation type, the analysis of landscape patterns or urban nature, or a brainstorming session on the concepts of urban genesis: I get excited when I come to new insights in a team about nature in our surroundings, and how we can enhance it.
I am analytical, anticipatory, a go-getter and I keep an overview easily.
Land and water manager from Velp by birth, I have always been interested in the use of the landscape, but even more in what grows in it. Captivated by plantsociology, because it brings together exactly where my interests lie: the history of the place, plant growth as an indicator of the site, (historical) use and possibilities and chances for development.
I received my PhD in 2017 on the taxonomy, plant geography and phytosociology of blackberries. My particular focus is on those plant communities that often escape attention: thicket vegetation, trample and weed vegetation and recently, for example, the vegetation of ornamental lawns in cities and villages. My motto: everything that doesn't conform to the norm is interesting!
I am passionate about my work, creative, contemplative, out-of-the-box thinker, visionary and linguistic.
Rense Haveman
