RIBES research theme I: Macronutrients and Chemicals of Emerging Concern

Research on the microbial nitrogen cycle

Over the next few years, we aim to understand the ecology and physiology of novel nitrogen cycle bacteria in various aquatic ecosystems and apply these bacteria in drinking water and wastewater plants for the removal of residual nitrogen and pharmaceuticals. To resolve metabolic and adaptation strategies at the molecular level, a complementary array of state-of-the-art methods will be used. Building on these research efforts, we will further focus on N-removal at the ecosystem scale by a cascade of invertebrates and aquatic macrophytes, in concert with microbial activity, in circular wastewater treatment plants.

Excess N deposition in past decades has led to acidification and eutrophication (including excess of P in agriculture) with cascading effects on declining animal and plant populations. The Ecology and Plant & Animal Biology departments have the ambition to develop and test new evidence-based methods to counteract the effects of N deposition. The challenge in the next years is to define novel methods to improve soil conditions and nutrient cycling in natural and agricultural systems. In tandem with ecological restoration, we will contribute to societal and economic changes in order to modernize Dutch agriculture to a world-class example of sustainability and efficiency. To this end, RIBES ecologists have initiated the interdisciplinary Healthy Landscape consortium, in which Radboud researchers from 5 different faculties are collaborating.

CECs

Chemicals of Emerging Concern (CECs) have chronic and toxic effects on aquatic life even at low nanogram quantities, and their presence in the environment is slowly but steadily increasing due to the use of personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and pesticides. In the next years, we will expand our research efforts in this area by combining the expertise of several research groups to assess the risk posed by these compounds and find sustainable solutions to remove them from aquatic environments. At a higher scale, landscape characteristics will be integrated with population and ecotoxicological modelling to better assess the effects of pharmaceuticals.