Soil biodiversity is of great importance for the maintenance of multifunctionality in terrestrial ecosystems.

While ecosystems have concrete benefits for human society, these benefits are typically overlooked in decision-making.

Urbanisation is steadily increasing with estimates expecting that 68% of the global population will live in cities by 2050. To accommodate the rural to urban transition, large quantities of land are transformed from natural to urban lands.

Exploring the Meanings of Lands and Forests as an Avenue for Mutual Development of People and Nature in Ghana

There is accumulating evidence for an increase in severe global drought events. In particular, Europe experienced several severe droughts in 2003, 2015, and 2018 (unprecedented in the past 2,110 years). Such droughts have caused serious and far-reaching impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.

The application of nanomaterials in industrial processes and consumer products provides many societal benefits, but can also lead to the release of nanomaterials into the environment. The work in this dissertation aims to provide insights into the potential environmental impacts that may follow from…

To contribute to the body of knowledge aiming at a better coverage of ecosystem service assessment in LCA studies, this thesis dives into the challenges of incorporating existing ecosystem service methods within the impact assessment phase of the conventional LCA framework.

Promotores: G.R. de Snoo, W.T. de Groot, Co-promotor: C.J.M. Musters

This thesis describes the role of pollution, specifically neonicotinoid insecticides, as an actor of the ongoing biodiversity decline.

Vast, often populated, areas in dryland ecosystems face the dangers of desertification.

Promotores: Prof.dr. W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg & Dr. M.G. Vijver

CML rapport 192

The effects of anthropogenic noise on interactions between predators and their prey are still little understood.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Prof.dr. G.A. Persoon, Co-promotor: H.H. de Iongh

Ethiopian wolves are endangered diurnal Afroalpine rodent hunters. I investigated the interaction between wolves, rodents and human land use in Borena Sayint National Park (BSNP), Abune Yosef and Aboi Gara in Ethiopia.

Seagrass is a marine flowering plant with special adaptations to coastal and marine environments, playing a crucial role in providing a wide range of ecosystem services.

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

What is the optimal design of sandy solutions for sustainable climate change adaption, from an ecological, biophysical and societal point of view?

Een kleine geschiedenis van het leven op aarde, verteld aan de hand van eilanden. Wat kunnen wij leren van deze werelden in miniatuur?

This thesis addresses the challenge of sustainable urban development by analyzing the interplay between green and grey infrastructure to optimize resource use and ecosystem services.

Binnen de eerste subsidieronde van het NWO-onderzoeksprogramma Complexity is het project 'Critical transitions and early-warning signals in spatial ecosystems', gezamenlijk ingediend door Arjen Doelman, Jens Rademacher (CWI) en Max Rietkerk en Martin Wassen (beiden geowetenschappen, UU), gehonoreerd…

Wetland plants are distinguished from plants of other terrestrial ecosystems by their adaptations to specific habitat stresses, including waterlogged and flooding and the subsequent abundance of phytotoxic compounds.

The soil ecosystem consists of the largest reservoir of biodiversity on Earth.

Freshwater and brackish water ecosystems are arguably the most vulnerable ecosystems on earth, due to concentrated human developments in and around them. The Pontocaspian (PC) region located at the border of Europe and Asia contains a variety of brackish water ecosystems and unique inhabitants, known…

Promotores: J.A.van Veen, P.L.G.Klinkhamer. Co-promotor: E.E.Kuramae

Freshwater is an important resource, but at a great risk of species decline due to habitat loss, pollution and over-exploitation, and invasive alien species.

Plastics have become an integral part of modern society due to their versatility and durability.

Promotores: Prof.dr. H. van Veen & Prof.dr. W. de Boer (Wageningen University)

Marine sponges are important members of reef ecosystems, as they play ecological roles that are essential for the health of the reef.

Plants and soils from natural ecosystems harbor great diversity of soil microorganisms, which could potentially contribute to the sustainability of horticulture. The knowledge about using wild plant species and soil from natural ecosystem to improve the crop health will advance the application of ecological…

Globally and regionally, biodiversity is declining and there are shifts in species’ occurrences and functional traits.

The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) invites applications for a postdoctoral Researcher (0.8 fte for 3 years) in the ERC Starting Grant project ‘Pages of Prayer: The Ecosystem of Vernacular Prayer Books in the Late Medieval Low Countries, c. 1380-1550’ (PRAYER). Candidates are…

In light of climate change, it is crucial to determine whether plant species can adapt to future climates to avoid extinction. Plants adapt to various conditions by altering their functional traits, such as leaf size or photosynthetic rate. Some traits appear linked and vary together between species,…

One of the effects of climate change is the phenomenon of desertification, a process that occurs in semi-arid and arid areas and causes land degradation as well as vegetation loss. Due to the lack of resources, vegetation self-organizes to sustain itself by forming large-scale spatial patterns.

Projecten in de afdeling Industrial Ecology

Met stadsgroen kunnen we onze steden verduurzamen. Er is echter nog veel discussie over de hoe we dat dan precies moeten aanpakken en welke keuzes we daarbij moeten maken. In de Engelstalige podcast Future Cities praat milieuwetenschapper Joeri Morpurgo met de overheid en de industrie over hoe je het…

Wetlands provide many ecosystem goods and services which include fish production. The sustainability of small-scale fisheries (SSF) has received considerable attention in recent years because fish is one of the major sources of animal protein to a considerable fraction of the global population which…

Software development is a complex process. It is important that software products become stable and maintainable assets.

Promotor: G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotores: M.G. Vijver, J.P.M. Vink

Hoe kunnen we onze maatschappij zo inrichten dat de wereld leefbaar blijft voor onszelf en al het andere leven om ons heen? Aan dat vraagstuk werken Leidse wetenschappers samen vanuit allerlei disciplines, van biologie tot datawetenschap en van milieueconomie tot archeologie.

Promotor: E.F. Smets, Co-promotor: J. Geml

The external tissues of plants and animals are colonized by microbial communities termed microbiota. When organisms are exposed to environmental pollutants, these substances will therefore encounter microbiota at the exposure interface.

The energy system is at the heart of two of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: decreasing CO2 emissions to meet the ambitions of the Paris agreement while fulfilling the growing energy demand associated with the economic aspirations of a growing world population.

Promotor: J.A. van Veen, Co-promotor: E.E. Kuramae