Frans Vera

At a young age, Vera was fascinated by books by the Dutch writer, publisher and photographer A.B. Wigman (1891–1972) such as {{lang|nl|De Hoge Veluwe}} (1954), and by the Dutch naturalist, cineaste, photographer, journalist and writer Jan P. Strijbos (1891–1983). His teacher at primary school also stimulated his interest in nature. At high school he worked with Paul Opdam (born 1949) to search in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug moraine for the few remaining nests of the goshawk. He came into contact with Maarten Bijleveld, who initiated {{lang|nl|Operatie Havik}} ("Operation Goshawk") at that time, and with H.J. Slijper, the falconer and painter.{{sfn|Voous|1995|pp=514}}

From 1970 to 1978 Vera studied biology at the VU University Amsterdam (VU) in Amsterdam. Here he was influenced by Prof. Lambertus Vlijm, animal ecologist. In 1979 he joined the Inspectie Natuurbehoud (Inspectorate for Nature Conservation) of the Staatsbosbeheer, the Dutch state organisation for forestry and management of nature reserves, where he worked on "valuable agricultural cultural landscapes", and later on natural development in large natural areas and areas of water. In 1982 he moved to the Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij, the then Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries, where he became head of the department for Natural Development and Large Natural Areas.{{sfn|Voous|1995|pp=514}} In 1988 he co-authored an Exploratory Study of Natural Development, which presented the concept of the "ecological main structure" ({{lang|nl|Ecologische Hoofdstructuur}}, or EHS), which was subsequently incorporated into the Ministry's 1989 Nature Policy Plan.The study was republished in 1995: {{harvnb|Baerselman|Vera|1995}}.

In 1989, Vera moved to the Faculty of Nature Management at Landbouwuniversiteit Wageningen (now Wageningen University & Research (WUR) where he received his PhD in 1997, after completing his thesis {{lang|nl|Metaforen voor de wildernis. Eik, hazelaar, rund en paart}} ("Wilderness metaphors. Oak, hazel, cattle and horse"), on the appearance of the vegetation in the lowlands of Central and Western Europe after the end of the last ice age, early in the current Holocene epoch.{{sfn|Vera|1997}} An adapted version of his thesis was published in 2000 as Grazing Ecology and Forest History.{{sfn|Vera|2000}}

He has also worked as director of the Stichting Natuurlijke Processen (Natural Processes Foundation), University of Groningen,{{cite web |last1=Olff |first1=Prof. Han |title=De betwiste wildernis (The Disputed Wilderness)| language = nl |url=https://research.rug.nl/en/clippings/de-betwiste-wildernis |publisher=University of Groningen}} as a guest staff member at the University of Groningen's Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES),{{cite web |title=Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), University of Groningen: Members |url=https://www.researchgate.net/institution/University_of_Groningen/department/Centre_for_Ecological_and_Evolutionary_Studies_CEES/members |website=ResearchGate}} and as Senior Policy Adviser to the Strategic Policies Division at the Minister's Office in The Hague. He retired in June 2014, but still works as scientist and policy adviser.{{sfn|Eurosite|2014|p=5}}

{{Main|Wood-pasture hypothesis}}

Vera has hypothesised that in the primeval landscape of lowland Europe large herbivores maintained an open landscape. He has argued that as a result European primeval forests were not closed-canopy, i.e. with dense growth of trees in which the top branches and leaves form a ceiling, or canopy, so that light can barely penetrate to reach the forest floor, resulting in reduced vegetation growing under and between the mature trees, leaving the ground mostly free of brush.{{sfn|Schulting|de Baaij|1998}}{{sfn|Tree|2018|pp=77-91}}

His book Grazing Ecology and Forest History challenges views on the nature of the former natural landscape. Vera argues that, if the ancient natural forest were to consist only of closed-canopy conditions, then the light demanding tree species would not be as well represented in the fossil record as they are. He proposes a semi-open landscape for the lowlands of Central and Western Europe of c.7,000 years ago, and that large herbivores produced a shifting mosaic of vegetation. Others have suggested that fire and windthrow may also have had important roles.{{cite journal |last1=Hodder |first1=K. H. |last2=Bullock |first2=J. M. |last3=Buckland |first3=P. C. |last4=Kirby |first4=K. J. |title=Large herbivores in the wildwood and in modern naturalistic grazing systems |journal=English Nature Research Reports |publisher=English Nature |date=2005 |issue=648 |url=http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/file/70027 |access-date=26 May 2021}}

File:Oostvaardersplassen panorama banner.jpg

Vera has played a significant part in the nature conservation project to develop the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve in southern Flevoland,{{cite web |last1=Hazenbosch |first1=Mirjam |title=Oostvaardersplassen – how wild can it be? |url=https://www.iccs.org.uk/blog/oostvaardersplassen-how-wild-can-it-be |website=Interdisciplinary Centre for Conservation Science |publisher=Department of Zoology, University of Oxford}} which was reclaimed in 1967.

Initially, part of the polder was intended for industrial development, but once the land was reclaimed, the need for land for industry had diminished. An area of thousands of hectares remained uncultivated along the Oostvaardersdijk, and that area quickly developed into a site with great natural wealth and potential. On 6 September 1973, Prof. H.J. van Duin, head of the Scientific Department of the then Rijksdienst voor de IJsselmeerpolders (National Institute for Polders, or R.IJ.P.) suggested in an interview that attention should be paid to the area that was then called “the Knar reserve”.Interview in the Brabants Dagblad, 6 September 1973 In 1979 Dr. E.P.R. Poorter, biologist at the R.IJ.P., wrote about the Oostvaardersplassen in De Lepelaar ("The Spoonbill"), the journal of the Vogelbescherming Nederland (the Netherlands Society for the Protection of Birds).Poorter 1979

Vera had been privately involved in activities to safeguard and develop Oostvaardersplassen, and Poorter's article prompted him to take action. He wrote an article for the magazine {{lang|nl|Natuur en Milieu}} ("Nature and Environment") to draw attention to the fact that the area did not have any protected status.Vera 1979. See also Vera 1988, p. 150. (Possible problem with the chronology here: according to Vera, Poorter's article appeared at the end of 1979 and his article in Nature and Environment in March 1979.) When Vera joined the Staatsbosbeheer shortly afterwards, he was able to make an official effort to protect the area.See e.g. Vera 1980. A short time later, after a report from Vera and pressure from the Natuur & Milieu environmental organisation, from Vogelbescherming Nederland, and from the action group Redt de Oostvaardersplassen (Save the Oostvaardersplassen), the nature reserve was designated as a natural monument and the railway line between Almere and Lelystad was rerouted, so that the reserve was not divided.{{sfn|Vera|2000|p=xi}}{{better source needed|date=October 2021}}

In 1986, more than 5,700 hectares were brought within the protection of the Nature Conservation Act, an area approximately 10 km long and 6 km wide. Vera proposed the reserve should develop by natural processes,{{sfn|Eurosite|2014|p=5}} and nature allowed to take its course. Greylag geese had been breeding in the Oostvaardersplassen from 1970 onwards, and moulted in large numbers in the spring (in 1987 more than 30,000 moulting greylag geese were counted),Vera 1988, p. 85 Grazing of these geese in the marshy part, in combination with a dynamic water table, prevented the wetlands from becoming overgrown and therefore conserved many protected bird species.

Vera then proposed the next step, the introduction of large herbivorous mammals to the reserve as proxy species in order to recreate a grassland ecology and keep the higher, drier, parts of the new nature reserve clear.{{cite news | url = http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/39799/title/Where-the-Wild-Things-Were/ | title = Where the Wild Things Were | first = Daniel | last = Cossins | publisher = The-Scientist.com | date = 1 May 2014}} Large grazers such as Heck cattle,{{cite journal |last1=Lorimer |first1=Jamie |last2=Driessen |first2=Clemens |title=Bovine biopolitics and the promise of monsters in the rewilding of Heck cattle |journal=Geoforum |date=August 2013 |volume=48 |pages=249–259 |doi=10.1016/j.geoforum.2011.09.002 |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2011.09.002|url-access=subscription }} wild horses, Koniks horses, and red deer have been used to maintain the natural dynamics in the Oostvaardersplassen. The animals are kept behind a fence and cannot migrate.{{cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/12/24/recall-of-the-wild |title = Dept. of Ecology: Recall of the Wild | first = Elizabeth | last = Kolbert | magazine = The New Yorker | date = December 24, 2012 | pages = 50–60}}

The management of the reserve based on "natural processes" has led to high mortality rates of large herbivores, many of which die naturally from starvation, resulting in criticism from media and politicians{{cite web |last1=van den Beemt |first1=Elvi |title=The Oostvaardersplassen Debate A content analysis of the framing of the management of the Oostvaardersplassen by stakeholders in newspapers |url=https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/382647 |date=28 June 2019 |website=Utrecht University Repository |publisher=Utrecht University |hdl=1874/382647 |access-date=21 August 2021 |archive-date=21 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210821130004/https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/382647 |url-status=dead }} and occasional public protests.{{cite journal |last1=Smeets |first1=Eline |title=The Oostvaardersplassen: 'Making Space' (for) Wilderness |journal=MaRBLe |date=15 December 2016 |volume=5 |doi=10.26481/marble.2015.v5.342 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319983280|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/slaughter-starving-wild-horses-divides-netherlands-n895156|title=Circle of life or experiment gone wrong? Horse slaughter sparks debate|website=NBC News|date=23 August 2018 |language=en|access-date=2018-12-13}} The experiment is considered scientifically controversial due to the lack of predators and other native megafauna such as wolves, bears, lynx, elk, boar, and wisent.

Vera and others started a new approach to Dutch nature conservation in the 1980s, and the current ecological strategy for the Netherlands is partly derived from his work at Oostvaardersplassen, striving for a varied but especially more "natural" environment, in which certain natural processes are given more space. Together with five colleagues Vera authored the Plan Ooievaar ("Stork Plan"),{{sfnp|de Bruin|Hamhuis|van Nieuwenhuijze|Overmars|1987}} which proposed restoring natural processes such as flooding the floodplains of big rivers. This plan has been one of the foundations of the Nature Development policy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV), especially in relation to the development of nature along the great rivers in the Netherlands.{{cite book

| last = Postma | first = Renske

| title = Waardevolle natuurontwikkeling langs de grote rivieren: 25 jaar kansen pakken en volhouden (Valuable nature development along the great rivers: 25 years of taking chances and persevering)

| language = nl

| date = 2021

| location = The Hague

| publisher = Ministerie van Landbouw, Natuur en Voedselkwaliteit, Staatsbosbeheer en Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat

| url = https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/rapporten/2021/01/31/waardevolle-natuurontwikkeling-langs-de-grote-rivieren/Waardevolle+natuurontwikkeling+langs+de+grote+rivieren.pdf

| access-date = 2021-10-17

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211017143951/https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/binaries/rijksoverheid/documenten/rapporten/2021/01/31/waardevolle-natuurontwikkeling-langs-de-grote-rivieren/Waardevolle+natuurontwikkeling+langs+de+grote+rivieren.pdf

| archive-date = 2021-10-17

| url-status = live

| pages = 17

}}

Although his theory about large grazers in the original European landscape, and the operation of the Oostvaardersplassen Nature Reserve, remains controversial,{{cite journal |last1=Kopnina |first1=Helen |last2=Leadbeater |first2=Simon |last3=Cryer |first3=Paul |title=The golden rules of rewilding - examining the case of Oostvaardersplassen |journal=Ecos - A Review of Conservation |date=7 December 2019 |volume=40 |issue=6 |url=https://www.ecos.org.uk/ecos-406-the-golden-rules-of-rewilding-examining-the-case-of-oostvaardersplassen/}} he has had great influence. His key work is the 1997 thesis {{lang|nl|Metaforen voor de Wildernis}} ("Metaphors for the Wilderness"), of which an adapted English version was published in 2000 entitled Grazing Ecology and Forest History.

The greatest impact of Vera's hypothesis is that some ecologists now believe the key principle of "rewilding" should be to change conservation away from preservation and towards the restoration of natural processes, by letting the landscape with its plants and animals run wild.{{cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/01/rewilding-conservation-ecology-national-trust | title = 'It is strange to see the British struggling with the beaver': why is rewilding so controversial? | first = Patrick | last = Barkham | work = The Guardian | date = 3 July 2017}} Traditionally, it was expected that this approach would result in dense forest, and a mass extinction of wild flowers and butterflies requiring sunlight. The experiment at Oostvaardersplassen has shown that “natural” grazing can create a more dynamic landscape of open glades and wooded groves.

Vera’s views have been used as the partial basis for several projects, such as those at Oostvaardersplassen, at Knepp Wildland in England,{{sfn|Tree|2018|pp=58-60}} and for the Rewilding Britain organisation.

On 29 September 1990 Vera received the {{lang|nl|Gouden Lepelaar}} ("Golden Spoonbill") award from Vogelbescherming Nederland for his important contribution to the protection of birds, as an expert in the field of nature development, and his close involvement in the conservation and development of the Oostvaardersplassen.{{cite journal |journal=VOGELS |title=Vogelbescherming actueel (Bird Protection News) |publisher=Vogelbescherming Nederland |date=November–December 1990 |volume=10 |issue=60 |page=238}}

Publications by Vera include:

• {{cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=F. W. M. |title=Het Oostvaardersplassengebied; uniek oecologisch experiment (The Oostvaardersplassen area: a unique ecological experiment) |journal=Natuur en Milieu (Nature and Environment) |date=1979 | language = nl |volume=3 |pages=3–12}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=F. W. M. |title=De Oostvaardersplassen : de mogelijkheden tot behoud en verdere ontwikkeling van de levensgemeenschap (The Oostvaardersplassen. The possibilities for preservation and further development of the ecological community) |publisher=Staatsbosbeheer |date=1980 | language = nl |volume=1980-1 |page=63 |oclc=905679450 |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/905679450}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=F. W. M. |last2=Hendriks |first2=J. L. J. |title=De ontwikkeling van het Markiezaatsmeer als natuurgebied: een beheersvisie (The development of the Markiezaatsmeer as a nature reserve: a management vision) |publisher=Staatsbosbeheer |date=1981 | language = nl |volume=1981 |oclc=64271299 |url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64271299}}
• {{cite book |last1=Vera |first1=F. W. M. |last2=Hancock |first2=J. |last3=Wolff |first3=W. J. |last4=Braakhekke |first4=W. G. |title=Waterland : waterrijke natuurgebieden in de wereld (Waterland: wetlands in the world) |date=1985 | language = nl |publisher=M&P |location=Weert |oclc=64199752 |url=http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/64199752}}
• {{cite book |last1=de Bruin |first1=Dick |last2=Hamhuis |first2=Dick |last3=van Nieuwenhuijze |first3=Lodewijk |last4=Overmars |first4=Willem |last5=Sijmons |first5=Dirk |last6=Vera |first6=Frans | title=Plan Ooievaar: De toekomst van het rivierengebied (Stork Plan: The future of the river area)|date=1987 | language = nl |publisher=Stichting Gelderse milieufederatie |location=Arnhem |url=http://www.wildernis.eu/chart-room/?nav0=Plan%20Ooievaar&nav1=Plan%20Ooievaar%20tekst}}
• {{cite book |last1=Vera |first1=F. W. M. |title=De Oostvaardersplassen. Van spontane natuuruit-barsting tot gerichte natuurontwikkeling (The Oostvaardersplassen: from spontaneous natural eruption to targeted nature development) |date=1988 | language = nl |publisher=IVN/Grasduinen-Oberon |location=Haarlem |isbn=90-320-70010}} According to Voous (1995, p. 514) “a masterpiece of thorough observation and courageous management vision”.
• {{cite book | last1=Baerselman | first1=Fred | last2=Vera | first2=Frans

| date = 1995

| title = Nature Development. An exploratory study for the construction of ecological networks

| location = The Hague

| publisher = Ministry of Agriculture, Nature management and Fisheries

| id = {{OCLC|1016789829|show=all}}

| url = https://edepot.wur.nl/159304

}}

• {{cite book

| last = Vera | first = F.W.M.

| date = 1997

| title = Metaforen voor de wildernis: eik, hazelaar, rund en paard (Metaphors for the wilderness: oak, hazel, cattle and horse)

| location = Wageningen

| language = nl

| publisher = Wageningen University and Research (dissertation)

| id = {{OCLC|1016608759|show=all}}

}} (adapted English version: {{harvnb|Vera|2000}})

• {{cite book

| last = Vera | first = F.W.M.

| date = 2000

| title = Grazing ecology and forest history

| location = Wallingford etc.

| publisher = CABI publishing

| id = {{OCLC|468711118|show=all}}

|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273108489

|isbn=978-0851994420

}} (adapted English version of {{harvnb|Vera|1997}})

• {{cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=Frans W. M. |title=The Dynamic European Forest. |journal=Arboricultural Journal |date=2002 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=179–211 |publisher= AB Academic Publishers |doi=10.1080/03071375.2002.9747335 |bibcode=2002ArbJ...26..179V |s2cid=129801882 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/595ca91bebbd1a1d0aaab285/t/596da4d1e3df2818622e77d5/1500357843593/The+Dynamic+European+Forest_Frans+W.M.+Vera+2002.pdf}}
• {{cite book |author1-last=Vera |author1-first=Frans W. M. |author2-last=Bakker |author2-first=Elisabeth S. |author3-last=Wolff |author3-first=Hans |contribution= Large herbivores: missing partners of western European light-demanding tree and shrub species? |editor-first1=Kjell |editor-last1=Danell |editor-first2=Patrick |editor-last2=Duncan |editor-first3=Roger |editor-last3=Bergström |editor-first4=John |editor-last4=Pastor |title= Large Herbivore Ecology, Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780511617461 |pages=203–231 |url=http://media.longnow.org/files/2/REVIVE/Vera_Large%20herbivores%20missing%20partners%20light%20demanding%20tree%20and%20shrub%20species.pdf}}
• {{cite book |last1=Vera |first1=Frans |last2=Buissink |first2=Frans |last3=Weidema |first3=Jaap |title=Wilderness in Europe. What really goes on between the trees and the beasts |date=2007 |publisher=Tirion Natuur |location=Baarn |isbn=9789052106885}}
• {{cite journal |last1=Vera |first1=Frans W. M. |title=Large-scale nature development - the Oostvaardersplassen. |journal=British Wildlife |date=2009 |volume=29 |pages=29–36 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/595ca91bebbd1a1d0aaab285/t/5a3168bf652dea5202a55032/1513187519795/british_wildlife_vera.pdf}}
• {{cite book |author-last=Vera |author-first=Frans |contribution= The Shifting Baseline Syndrome in Restoration Ecology |editor-last=Hall |editor-first=Marcus |title= Restoration and History - The Search for a Usable Environmental Past |date= 2010 |publisher= Routledge Studies in Modern History |pages=98–110 |url=http://media.longnow.org/files/2/REVIVE/The%20Shifting%20Baseline%20Syndrome%20in%20Restoration%20Ecology_Frans%20Vera.pdf}}
• {{cite book |author-last=Vera |author-first=F. W. M. |contribution= Can't See the Trees for the Forest |editor-first=Ian D. |editor-last=Rotherham |title= Trees, Forested Landscapes and Grazing Animals - A European Perspective on Woodlands and Grazed Treescapes |date= 2013 |publisher= Routledge |pages=99–126}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last=Voous |first=Karel Hendrik | author-link = Karel Voous

|date=1995 |title=In de ban van vogels. Geschiedenis van de beoefening van de ornithologie in Nederland in de twintigste eeuw (Under the Spell of Birds. History of the Practice of Ornithology in the Netherlands in the Twentieth Century).

|location= Utrecht |publisher=Scheffers.

| language = nl

| pages = 514–515}} {{ISBN | 90 5546 013 3}}

• {{cite web |title=Eurosite workshop 2014: Living with wilderness in Europe: communicating non intervention management strategies and dealing with public perceptions of growing populations of large herbivores and carnivores |url=https://www.eurosite.org/wp-content/uploads/Wilderness-workshop-programme-vs-2014-09-12.pdf |page=5 |website=Eurosite workshop |publisher=Eurosite |access-date=15 October 2021 |ref={{harvid|Eurosite|2014}}

}}

• {{cite journal |last1=Schulting |first1=Renske |last2=de Baaij |first2=Gerard

| date=1998

| title=Een interview met Frans Vera: Het wandelende bos (An interview with Frans Vera: The walking forest)

| journal=Nederlands Bosbouw Tijdschrift (Netherlands Forestry Magazine)

| volume = 70

| issue = 3

| url=https://edepot.wur.nl/271714

| oclc = 1156550572

| language = nl

}}

• {{cite book |last=Tree |first=Isabella |author-link=Isabella Tree |title=Wilding: the return of nature to a British farm. |publisher= Picador|year=2018|isbn=978-1-5098-0509-9|location=London|oclc=1035680140}}

• {{cite book |last=Gill |first=Robin |contribution= The influence of large herbivores on tree recruitment and forest dynamics. |editor-first1=Kjell |editor-last1=Danell |editor-first2=Patrick |editor-last2=Duncan |editor-first3=Roger |editor-last3=Bergström |editor-first4=John |editor-last4=Pastor |title= Large Herbivore Ecology, Ecosystem Dynamics and Conservation |date=2006 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=9780511617461 |pages=170–202 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/large-herbivore-ecology-ecosystem-dynamics-and-conservation/influence-of-large-herbivores-on-tree-recruitment-and-forest-dynamics/3C1534BEAF35AFBCECD2110C16AC4E9E}}
• {{cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Fraser J. G. |title=How open were European primeval forests? Hypothesis testing using palaeoecological data. |journal=Journal of Ecology |date=2005 |volume=93 |issue=1 |pages=168–177 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2745.2004.00964.x |s2cid=85163768 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2005JEcol..93..168M }}
• {{cite book |last=Monbiot |first=George |author-link=George Monbiot |title=Feral: Searching for Enchantment on the Frontiers of Rewilding |publisher= Penguin Books |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-84614-748-7 |location=London}}
• {{cite journal |last=Poorter |first=E.P.R. |title=De Oostvaardersplassen : een nieuw natuurgebied in Nederland |trans-title=The Oostvaardersplassen: a new nature reserve in the Netherlands |journal=De Lepelaar |date=1979 |volume=60 |pages=3–12, 60}}
• {{cite book |last=van der Windt |first=Henny J. |author-link=Henny van der Windt |date=1995 |title= En dan: wat is natuur nog in dit land? Natuurbescherming in Nederland 1880 - 1990 |trans-title=And Then: What is Nature in This Country? Nature Conservation in the Netherlands 1880-1990 |location= Amsterdam |publisher=Meppel: Boom. 336 pgs. (Also published as a dissertation RU Groningen 1995)}} {{ISBN | 90 5352 132 1}}

• [http://www.staatsbosbeheer.nl/Natuurgebieden/Oostvaardersplassen.aspx Oostvaardersplassen] {{in lang|nl}} at the website of Staatsbosbeheer
• [https://knepp.co.uk/home Knepp Wildland Project]
• [http://www.rewildingbritain.org.uk/ Rewilding Britain]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ph2cogdWwb4/ A talk by Frans Vera: The search for Wilderness needs Wilderness in the mind]
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khA2b27Tbug/ A talk by Frans Vera: Freeing the Landscape - grazing animals as ecosystems engineers]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vera, Frans}}

Category:Living people

Category:1949 births

Category:Dutch biologists

Category:Dutch conservationists

Category:Dutch ecologists

Category:Rewilding advocates

Category:Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alumni

Category:Academic staff of Wageningen University and Research

Category:Academic staff of the University of Groningen