WOPKE VAN DER WERF

I studied Plant Health (at the time: Crop Protection) in Wageningen from 1997 till 1983, and did a PhD on the spread and yield effects of yellowing viruses in sugarbeet (1984-1988). I then got appointments as assistant and associate professor at Wageningen University. I have wide international experience from sabbaticals in the USA and collaborative research in Europe and Asia, especially China, but recently also in Vietnam and Cambodia. In my lab. we study the ecology of agricultural ecosystems at levels of scale from the plant up to the continental. In the research, we combine ecological theories with data through modelling and advanced statistics. Current research is in four domains: spatial ecology and ecosystem service provisioning in agricultural landscapes, ecology of intercropping, invasive species risk assessment, and biological pest control. I teach courses in population and systems ecology, ecological modelling and data analysis in R, integrated pest management, and agrobiodiversity. I am a member of the plant health expert panel of the European Food Safety Authority. This panel of 21 experts provides the European Commission with scientific advice on the management of plant health risks from exotic plant pests, including the use of biological control.