Wageningen University - Centre for Crop Systems Analysis - Crop & Weed Ecology Group
Brief personal history
I studied crop protection at Wageningen University from 1977 to 1983, and did my PhD thesis on the epidemiology of plant viruses from 1984 - 1987. I have been appointed in several functions at Wageningen University since 1987. My current function is associate professor in the Centre for Crop Systems Analysis – Crop & Weed Ecology Group. I have wide international experience through sabbaticals and international collaboration, and spent more than 2 years abroad. I have acted as chairperson for the Crop & Weed Ecology Group from 2001-2005, and as chair person for the BSc and MSc Program Committee Plant Sciences & Plant Biotechnology of Wageningen University from 2001-2008.
Research & teaching
My research is on quantitative agro-ecology in a wide sense. This research aims at developing insights and tools for sustainable and healthy cropping systems that optimize production and natural pest regulation based on natural mechanisms, including biotic interactions and spatial processes. I conduct, for instance, research on biological control of insects with viruses, dispersal of beneficial insects at field and landscape scale, disease spread at landscape scale and beyond, intercropping for high productivity and sustainable land use, ecology and biological control of weeds, and much more. My main strength is on the interface of field-based experimental studies and mathematical modelling. My teaching involves BSc-, MSc- and PhD-level courses in Population and Systems Ecology, Agrobiodiversity, Mathematics and Statistics, and Ecological Modelling. As part of the research & education process, I have coached 18 PhD students towards a successful completion of their PhD thesis. In 2007, I was chosen by students among the ten best teachers at Wageningen University.
Reviewing
I have reviewed manuscripts for many journals, including reputed journals such as Science, Ecology, Ecological Applications, Journal of Applied Ecology, Phytopathology, Ecological Modelling, Environmental Entomology, Journal of Economic Entomology, Agricultural and Forest Entomology, Entomologia Experimentalis & Applicata, Biological Control, Agronomy Journal, NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, Annals of Applied Biology, Field Crops Research, Plant Soil, Agricultural Water Management, and more.
Publications
I have authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles since my graduation in 1988, and more than 50 in the last 5 years. A full list of publications is provided here. Some recent key references are given below.
van der Werf W, Hemerik L, Vlak J, Zwart MP (2011) Heterogeneous Host Susceptibility Enhances Prevalence of Mixed Genotype Micro-Parasite Infections. PLoS Computational Biology Volume 7 (6) e1002097 - 30 June 2011.
Skelsey P, Kessel GJT, Rossing WAH, van der Werf W. (2010) Invasion of Phytophthora infestans at the Landscape Level; How Do Spatial Scale And Weather Modulate The Consequences Of Spatial Heterogeneity In Host Resistance? Phytopathology 100: 1146-1161. doi:10.1094/PHYTO-06-09-0148
Zhang W, van der Werf W, Swinton SM (2010) Spatially optimal habitat management for enhancing natural control of an invasive agricultural pest: soybean aphid. Resource and Energy Economics 32, 551-565. doi:10.1016/j.reseneeco.2010.04.006
Surkov IV, Oude Lansink AGJM, van der Werf W (2009) The optimal amount and allocation of sampling effort for plant health inspection. European Review of Agricultural Economics 36: 295-320. doi:10.1093/erae/jbp030
Zwart MP, Hemerik L, Cory JS, de Visser JAGM, Bianchi FJJA, Vlak JM, van Oers MM, Hoekstra RF, van der Werf W (2009) An experimental test of the independent action hypothesis in virus-insect pathosystems. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 276, 2233–2242. doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.0064
Landis DA, Gardiner MM, van der Werf W, Swinton SM (2008) Increasing Corn for Biofuel Production Reduces Biocontrol Services in Agricultural Landscapes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(51), 20552-20557; doi: 10.1073/pnas.0804951106
Zhang L, van der Werf W, Bastiaans L, Zhang S, Li B, Spiertz JHJ (2008) Light interception and radiation use efficiency in relay intercrops of wheat and cotton. Field Crops Research 107: 29-42.
van der Werf W, Keesman K, Burgess PJ, Graves AR, Pilbeam DJ, Incoll LD, Metselaar K, Mayus M, Stappers R, van Keulen H, Palma JHN, Dupraz C (2007) Yield-SAFE: a parameter-sparse process-based dynamic model for predicting resource capture, growth and production in agroforestry systems. Ecological Engineering 29: 419-433.
Costamagna AC, van der Werf W, Bianchi FJJA, Landis DA (2007) An exponential growth model with decreasing r captures bottom-up effects on the population growth of Aphis glycines Matsumura (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Agricultural & Forest Entomology 9: 297-305.
Westerman PR, Hofman A, Vet LEM, van der Werf W (2003) Relative importance of vertebrates and invertebrates in epigaeic weed seed predation in organic cereal fields. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 95: 417-425.
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Updated: 1 July 2011