I’m Fabian Ercan, PhD. I connect climate biology, ecological research and education — from the stories in fossil leaves to the landscapes of tomorrow.
Nature doesn’t work in isolation.
Neither should our thinking.
I’m a climate biologist, lecturer and researcher at HAS green academy. My work brings together biology, geography and palaeoecology to explore how organisms and their environment shape one another.
My doctoral research examined past growing seasons in the Arctic. Today, I connect that perspective with applied questions about soil, water, vegetation and climate-resilient land use.
Research at the intersection of climate, water, soil and the living landscape.
Reconstructing Holocene growing-season warmth in Central Europe by combining fossil birch-leaf micro-phenology with pollen records from a Polish peatland.
Explore the Holocene studyExploring how streamside wet woodlands can restore the sponge function of sandy landscapes, supporting water retention, water quality and biodiversity.
Explore the woodland articleInvestigating climate-robust stream landscapes through the lenses of soil and water, agricultural opportunity, viable business models and governance.
Explore the SIA projectSelected publications and completed collaborative research. Links open publication or funder records. The landscape illustrations are decorative, not research data.
A new branch of my digital workspace.
Step into EcoLab — a dedicated site, growing alongside this portfolio.
8 selected publications
Eliise Poolma, Friederike Wagner-Cremer, Piotr Kołaczek, Sandra Słowińska, Anneli Poska, Mariusz Lamentowicz, Fabian E. Z. Ercan, Karolina Leszczyńska, Katarzyna Marcisz, Jakub Niebieszczański, Michał Słowiński, Witold Szambelan, Siim Veski & Leeli Amon (2026). First multi-proxy Holocene growing season thermal conditions reconstruction from Central Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews, 391, 110237. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2026.110237 ResearchGate
Published online 21 August 2026; assigned to the November 2026 issue.
Fabian Ercan, Hanneke van Leur, Paul van der Donk, Leon van Kouwen & Ellen Weerman (2025). Herstel van beekbegeleidende broekbossen: sponswerking in zandlandschappen. Vakblad Natuur Bos Landschap, 218, 4–7. ResearchGate Publisher PDF
October 2025, issue 218, pages 4–7.
Fabian E. Z. Ercan, Mark J. van de Wouw & Ellen Weerman (2023). Klimaatrobuuste graskruidenmengsels in heringerichte sloten op zandgronden. Water Matters. Publication issue
Fabian Everardus Zahit Ercan (2022). Growing Season Changes over the Past Millennium in Northern High Latitudes: Tundra and Taiga Through Time. Utrecht University. 10.33540/977
Fabian E. Z. Ercan, Daan Blok, Stef Weijers, Astrid Odé & Friederike Wagner-Cremer (2021). North Atlantic Oscillation seesaw effect in leaf morphological records from dwarf birch shrubs in Greenland and Finland. Polar Research. 10.33265/polar.v40.7709
Fabian E. Z. Ercan, Juha Mikola, Tarja Silfver, Kristiina Myller, Elina Vainio, Sandra Słowińska, Michał Słowiński, Mariusz Lamentowicz, Daan Blok & Friederike Wagner-Cremer (2021). Effects of experimental warming on Betula nana epidermal cell growth tested over its maximum climatological growth range. PLOS ONE. 10.1371/journal.pone.0251625
Fabian E. Z. Ercan, Hugo Jan de Boer & Friederike Wagner-Cremer (2020). A growing degree day inference model based on mountain birch leaf cuticle analysis over a latitudinal gradient in Fennoscandia. The Holocene. 10.1177/0959683619865605
B. van de Schootbrugge, A. J. P. Houben, F. E. Z. Ercan, R. Verreussel, S. Kerstholt, N. M. M. Janssen, B. Nikitenko & G. Suan (2020). Enhanced Arctic-Tethys connectivity ended the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event in NW Europe. Geological Magazine. 10.1017/S0016756819001262
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At HAS green academy, I teach within Applied Biology and Applied Geo-information Science. My teaching spans statistics, sustainable agriculture and climate biology.
Research, coaching and education belong together: learning to ask a useful question is the beginning of understanding.
Let’s talk educationLooking at the relationships between plants, ecosystems and climate — across places and through time.
Connecting research questions with experimental design, quantitative analysis and clear interpretation.
Bringing soil, water and vegetation into the same conversation about the future of our landscapes.
From biology and environmental science to doctoral research in climate biology — and from fundamental understanding to applied research and education.
View academic CVHAS green academy
Applied BiologyUtrecht University
Research focus: Arctic climate biologyUtrecht University
Utrecht University
Environmental questions and research design.
Statistical analysis and interpretation.
Papers, reports and research proposals.
Science, statistics and project guidance.
A research question, an educational idea or a new collaboration?
Let’s find the connections.