Bacteria and fungi on organic dairy farms are significantly different from those on conventional farms. That was discovered by postdoc researcher Sofia Gomes and her supervisors Nadia Soudzilovskaia and Peter van Bodegom in collaboration with the Louis Bolk Institute and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre.…

Food security is challenged by a growing global population and by climate change. Drought and soil salinity are considered the most important ones that inhibit crop yield and distribution. Worryingly, climate change is predicted to increase not only their frequency and severity, but also their co-occurrence,…

The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) is an internationally oriented institute for research and education in biology. We are part of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University.

Supervisor: P.J.J. Hooykaas

It is well-known that humans have significantly transformed ecosystems since their adoption of agriculture. However, in a deeper past, prehistoric hunter-gatherers may already have altered and modified their niche in ways that had major impacts on ecosystems.

Supervisor: P.J.J. Hooykaas Co-Supervisor: R. Offringa

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.P. van Wezel, Co-Promotor: E. Vijgenboom

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.

Mycorrhizas are symbiotic associations between soil fungi and most plant species.

Fieldwork is an essential part of this research and of course this part of the project is also a joint effort by citizen scientists and professional archaeologists. Discover when fieldwork will take place and how you can participate.

The overall objectives of my thesis are to investigate the dynamics of the sorghum root microbiome and to explore the beneficial effects of the root microbiome on sorghum growth and stress tolerance.

We aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of eukaryotic cells by Agrobacterium.

Promotores: H.A. Udo de Haes, H.H.T. Prins, Co-promotor: H.H. de Iongh

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…

Paul Hudson, Associate Professor of Physical Geography at Leiden University College, examines human impacts on lowland rivers in his new book.

In late medieval and early modern times, books, as well as the people who produced and read (or listened to) them, moved between regions, social circles, and languages with relative ease. Yet, in the multilingual Low Countries, francophone literature was both internationally mobile and firmly rooted…

Trust in public institutions in the Tata Steel case and beyond

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel, Co-promotor: D. Claessen

Mycoheterotrophy is a particular mode of life in which plants obtain carbohydrates from their associated fungal partners, instead of by using photosynthesis.

Corrie Bakels & Hans Kamermans (eds) (2009)

Agrian History, 5300 BC - AD 1000; C.C. Bakels

Mission: The Environmental Biology department aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through this understanding they facilitate strategic management of natural resources by addressing urgent challenges…

'Skill, craft, and poiesis-intensive innovation' is written by Cristina Grasseni and is published in FormAkademisk.

PhD defence

On this page you can find information about previous CCLS events.

How can we organise society so as to keep our planet habitable for us and for all other life forms around us? To answer this question, Leiden researchers collaborate across disciplines, from biology to data science, and from environmental economy to archaeology.

The aim of this project was to estimate emissions from lead products-in-use for the past, the present and the future and assess the development of toxicological risks associated with these products.

Can we provide the Dutch government with an integrative framework, wherein the various policies can be placed and the need for further measures can be identified?

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…

Plants are colonized by an astounding number of microorganisms that can provide different life-support functions, including nutrient acquisition and protection against (a)biotic stresses like drought or pathogen attack.

Creating information portals for support of European environmental policy.

My PhD thesis investigates the ecological significance of resistance against drought-induced air bubble formation inside the water conduits of plants (embolism), and the plasticity and functional aspects of stem anatomical traits in woody and herbaceous species.

The Oral History project, as part of the Tell Balata Archaeological Park project, published an arabic-english booklet of local stories about the site of Tell Balata. An archaeological site near Nablus (West Bank).

Open up a world of opportunities with your master's degree in Archaeology from Leiden University!

Research into the evolutionary backgrounds of our diets can help us make the right choices in diet, health and lifestyle.

Are you a student, resident, civil servant or scientist and want to participate in devising or conducting research to make Hague neighborhoods more sustainable? Then read on.

A special relationship between plants and fungi, which plays an important role in carbon storage in soil, has the potential to slow down climate change. However, the amount of carbon stored in soil is decreasing as a result of human activity. This is what researchers say in a publication in Nature Communications.…

Yesterday, an article appeared in Biznews about the watershortages in California. David Zetland, university lecturer at Leiden University College, gives his opinion about this problem.

Leiden archaeologists investigate how people in the past impacted their environment. Together with scientists, environmental scientists, and humanities experts, they use this information to draw conclusions about the present – and show what we can learn from it for the future.

In ancient times, the steppe in the hinterland of Petra (Jordan) was transformed into a green oasis. This project tries to shed insights in the agricultural, water management and societal processes resulting in this transformation. This will be accomplished by practicing an interdisciplinary research…

Promotores: W.T. de Groot, M. Tchuenté, Co-promotor: J.P. Cheylan

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Evolution & Biodiversity research theme is to understand what are the key drivers of plant biodiversity during evolution with a focus on plant life history and resilience traits and develop tools to restore and maintain plant biodiversity.

Accumulation of metals in economy and environment and its associated risks, within the Netherlands and the EU.

Combining results from bibliometric analyses, a global sample of researcher opinions and case-study interviews, a new report reveals that although the benefits of open research data are well known, in practice, confusion remains within the researcher community around when and how to share research…

The project Deconstructing Stability aims to improve reconstructions of late prehistoric landscapes and predictive models for the purpose of archaeological heritage management.

In the research programme Microbial Sciences we perform state-of-the-art research in the field of biotechnology and microbial sciences.

It is estimated that approximately 30% of all proteins require a metal to function. Investigating the relationship between metal-binding and peptide/protein folding allows us to uncover fundamental rules for creating metallo-peptides and proteins, which in turn leads to the creation of new structures,…