Effectiveness of buffer strips in the Netherlands : research plan

On 1 July 2004 the European Commission and the Netherlands reached an agreement about the implementation of the Nitrates Directive for the nearby future. In this decree narrow fertilizer-free strips of 0.25 – 1.501 m are prescribed, depending on the type of crop and the method of herbicide application, whereas many other countries use a fertiliser-free zone2 of at least 5 m.