Internship at KWR, study to water balance of the Veluwe

Four months ago I started my internship at KWR, team Ecohydrology. Now I am (almost) finished with my study and looking for a job. My time at KWR seemed short, despite the long working days and a lot of learning. I feel much better prepared to the labour market and I don’t doubt I will soon find a suitable job.

My study at KWR involved the historical land use of the Veluwe in a hydrological perspective. Sounds quite broad, but the assignment was as clear as expected to be for me as MSc student. There was more than enough room for my own ideas and when needed I got some guidelines in the right direction. To summarize: the land-use changed enormously between 1850 and now: Sand plains and heathlands disappeared, coniferous forest was planted. After gathering this information this, I started calculating the evapotranspiration of the Veluwe. Due to land-use change, the evapotranspiration of the Veluwe increased with over 150 millimeter per year, which equals the amount of drinking water consumption of more than 30 persons per hectare per year! The increase in coniferous forest was the main reason for this (see figure).

Thursday (26-10) I will present my research to my colleagues at KWR.

KWR is a nice learning place where projects are really interesting and people are motivated to find answers on yet unanswered questions.

Internship at KWR, study to water balance of the Veluwe

By Kelly Nijhuis