Pesticides used in agricultural practices can leach out of fields, contaminating surface water and groundwater, and threatening both ecosystem health and drinking water production. Soil organic matter to a large extent controls the leaching of pesticides. This project focuses on understanding how soil organic matter dictates pesticide emissions in fields and examines which soil organic matter sources could be used reduce pesticide leaching. The research results are nature-based solutions for reducing the emissions of pesticides to water bodies, based on a fundamental understanding of the processes that determine pesticide retention in soil. The research is executed together with agriculture and water agencies consultancy, and university of applied sciences, ensuring that the results can be translated to practice.