The book ‘Pesticides and the Environment’ gives a transparent overview of facts and figures concerning pesticide use in the Netherlands and the impact of pesticides on the environment.

Description of Atlas of the surfacewater concentrations of pesticides in the Netherlands, a pilotstudy.

Improving environmental risk assessment of pesticides in surface waters

The aim is to develop methods to assess environmental and occupational exposure to (individual) pesticides, to be applied in epidemiological studies investigating pesticide exposure and human health. Furthermore, we aim to investigate the potential association between exposure to pesticides and Parkinson’s…

Promotores: W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg, G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotor: M.G. Vijver

The thesis describes terrestrial field trials aimed to detect side-effects of pesticides within the framework of pesticide registration procedures. Field trials were developed using vascular plants Brassica napus and Poa annua, caterpillars Pieris brassicae and effects on decomposition were studied…

Can thrips resistance in strawberry be explained based on secondary metabolite profiles and plant morphological traits?

Can we distinguish the effects of pesticides from other abiotic and biotic factors that occur in the field? And how do these factors interact with pesticides?

The Dutch atlas with pesticides concentrations in surface waters have been overhauled. This new, free accessible, website is in line with the European Framework Directive on Water (In Dutch: KRW).

A new regional atlas, with information about the presence of pesticides in surface waters, has been developed by the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) in collaboration with Royal Haskoning DHV. The aim of the regional pesticide atlas is to support decision making at local and regional levels,…

Dutch book about pesticides and waterquality

On 24 September the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) in Leiden will launch the new version of the Pesticides Atlas in cooperation with Rijkswaterstaat and Royal HaskoningDHV. The online tool is now faster, more user-friendly, more accessible and all data can be downloaded directly. Users can…

Radio interview with CML researchers Martina Vijver and Henrik Barmentlo in the NTR radio programme: Nieuws en Co on Friday 24 March 2017. The researchers gave an overview of the research which will be conducted in the Living Lab in the coming year. The Living Lab is located in the BioScience Park in…

What are interactive effects of human pressures on aquatic communities?

Tools and Data of the department of Environmental Biology

Overview of CML software and data

Chemical substances and nanomaterials are processed on a massive scale in diverse products, while their risks have not been properly assessed. Time and again synthesised substances have been shown to pollute the environment more than lab tests predicted. This is the warning given by Professor of Ecotoxicology…

A management strategy has been developed for field margins to reduce pesticide drift to non-target areas and to promote biodiversity on arable land. To this end, 3 and 6 m wide strips along the edges of winter wheat, sugar beet and potato crops have been left unsprayed with herbicides and insecticides…

Information about the products of the extract library.

Chemical-induced organ toxicity is a major concern in the development and use of chemicals, including drugs, pesticides, industrial chemicals and cosmetics. In the last decades, the onset and progression of chemical-induced organ toxicity has been linked amongst others to perturbation of mitochondri…

Interview in the popular journal for the agricultural sector Nieuwe Oogst with CML-researcher Martina Vijver about the Dutch policy on pesticides and it’s possible conflicts with the aims for clear surface and groundwater.

Breeding for resistance becomes more and more important because we want to reduce the use of pesticides. A fast and cheap alternative can be to make use of morphological or chemical markers.

Soil is a home for an unbelievable diversity and abundance of microbial life that is essential for supporting life on our planet.

In 2015, CML published over 70 papers, contributed to the United Nations conference on climate change in Paris, won awards and advised the Dutch government on the safe use of pesticides. CML awarded 11 PhDs and taught students from all over the world how to contribute to sustainability. We wish you…

As a new vision on food production, the feasibility study on LED light to grow crops with the biological- and chemical evaluation of final products.

Description of Effects of glufosinate-ammonium on off crop vegetation.

The applications of studying the early development of insects range from agriculture to material science.

They were called 'annoying brats', the group of campaigning scientists who in 1978 founded what is now an internationally acclaimed ecological research institute. Their stories and those of the current staff of the Institute of Environmental Sciences are described in the book 'Forty years of Leiden…

CML is an institute of the Faculty of Science of Leiden University.

Research at the department of Environmental Biology

This research programme aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services to facilitate strategic management of natural resources. To this end, we address urgent challenges in relation to the mechanisms involved…

Are there significant differences among the environmental impacts resulting form the production of Asian aquaculture commodities and what are the main causes for these?

Which plant leaf characteristics are involved in thrips resistance in tomato?

The mission of the Plant Science research programme is to contribute to the sustainable production of high quality crops, flowers and high-value bio-based products. This is realised by generating fundamental knowledge of basic biological processes related to development of plants and their interaction…

This report investigates the different approaches in the authorization process of GMOs for commercial use in the European Union and the United States of America. Three main aspects are considered and analyzed as potential causes of differences in the authorization process of GMOs for commercial use.…

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Bioactive Molecules research theme is to identify new plant bioactive molecules, and unravel their mechanisms of action in plant development or health, and the regulatory networks and (bio)synthetic pathways required for their production.

The latest research from the Leiden outdoor laboratory ‘Living Lab’ shows that the insecticide thiacloprid strongly influences even the most common and robust dragonfly species in the Netherlands. The study was published in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

The Netherlands is not particularly rich in ‘wild nature’. Comparatively, what we have is a lot of intensively used agricultural land. This means that from nature’s perspective there much to be gained by combining the ‘nature’ and ‘agriculture’ functions. Not an easy task in such a densely populated…

Human activity, such as pollution, may disturb the balance of living water systems, which has consequences for biodiversity, but also for other functions such as water purification. Leiden University maps living water systems using the most advanced technologies.

Natural resources are becoming increasingly scarce. If we want to maintain our current standard of living, we will need inventive solutions. The researchers at the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) share their thoughts on how to achieve a fully circular economy in which as little use as possible…

A critical look at the impact assessment modelling of metals in Life Cycle Impact Assessment and improvement options.

How do we approach education that facilitates creative confidence for students that leads to innovative solutions to society’s present day and future sustainability challenges? This education research project tackles a sustainability dilemma faced by households in everyday life viz.

Kirsten Leiss, at the IBL since 2001, is developing new ways of crop protection in order to decrease the use of pesticides: As a model she uses the thrip, a tiny insect which causes economic losses worldwide by silver- and growth damage and virus transmission to vegetables, fruits and flowers.

Two scientific papers in Science deliver new pieces of the puzzle for the reasons of bee decline. Professor Koos Biesmeijer comment on this research in articles in the Dutch newspapers Volkskrant and NRC.

Overview of the CML reports

Does knowledge of environmental performance change farmer's behaviour?

We depend on nature for so many things: from clean water, wood and food to carbon absorption, water purification and coastal protection, as well as for relaxation, inspiration and identity. Nevertheless, our modern world putting increasing pressure on these ecosystem services. Leiden researchers investigate…