Welcome to my personal profile page. I’m Associate Professor at the Environmental Sciences section of the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development of Utrecht University, The Netherlands. I graduated as an environmental scientist and hold a PhD in wetland restoration ecology from the Free University in Amsterdam. My research and teaching focus on the impact of environmental change on ecosystems and community dynamics in the context of nature conservation, and how to target the main anthropogenic drivers of biodiversity loss through societal sustainability transformations.

My ecological work focuses on the role of nitrogen and phosphorus in structuring plant communities. I’m specifically interested how changes in nutrient stoichiometry affect plant traits that drive competitive interactions between species and influence the dispersal capacity of species through the landscape. I use the insights of this research to design effective conservation measures.

Recognizing that in many cases the cause of environmental change is related to unsustainable agriculture, I also work on enhancing the sustainability of our food system. Next to performing impact studies to highlight the need for change, this work includes transdisciplinary projects empowering sustainable farming initiatives, building knowledge networks for sustainable farming and designing transition pathways towards sustainable food systems. I specifically focus on the interaction of individual motivations, competences and agency of farmers and other stakeholders with institutions and political economic structures in food system transitions. 

I lecture in the Global Sustainability Science BSc program and the Sustainable Development MSc program of Utrecht University where I coordinate courses and supervise student research on ecology, nature conservation, sustainable agriculture and food system transitions.

• Interview for BNR Nieuwsradio about the sustainability transition in Dutch agriculture (in Dutch)
• Lezing voor Studium Generale over Rachel Carson en de impact van pesticiden op de leefomgeving
• Why intensive, unsustainable agriculture will not save the world
• Essay: A transition to nature-inclusive agriculture: from why to how? [in Dutch]
• Climate blog: transformation failure is hampering climate action [in Dutch]
• Interview for Kennislink about circular agriculture
• 2017 Why we need sustainable agriculture and how it can be done. Interview with Jerry van Dijk and Geert van der Veer from 'Herenboeren' [in Dutch]
• 2014 Interview for the national television show Keuringsdienst van Waarde about the environmental impact of potting soil [in Dutch]