People • Nature • Landscapes: Research on Social-Ecological Interactions
This blog reports stories and updates from the Social-Ecological Interactions Group, based at the University of Göttingen and the University of Kassel. We showcase news from our international research on rural landscapes, ecosystem services, and sustainable land use.
Welcome to the blog of the Social-Ecological Interactions in Agricultural Systems research group (Chair: Prof. Tobias Plieninger), affiliated with the University of Kassel and the University of Göttingen in Germany.
We are a group of researchers from different regions of the world, educated in disciplines as diverse as environmental sciences, geography, biology, botany, landscape management, ecology or planning. Under the umbrella of sustainability science, we conduct research at the intersection of social and natural sciences:
We explore agricultural landscapes as social-ecological systems, thus focusing in particular on the interactions between nature and society — with the overarching goal of promoting sustainability in agriculture and other forms of land use.
We are particularly interested in landscape changes over time and their effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services — meaning the benefits that ecosystems provide to humans (be it food or resources, climate regulation or simply recreation). Our aim is to develop an in-depth understanding of how these interrelate in different contexts.
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Most of us conduct their research from our two offices in central Germany, located at a distance of approximately 30 km away from each other. Part of the group thus can be found at the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development in the Lower-Saxon university town of Göttingen, while the other one is based at Kassel University’s Faculty of Organic Agricultural Sciences in the North Hessian town Witzenhausen.
Research Projects: Global Issues at Landscape Level
Extending this cross-border setting, our research is located at multiple scales and in an international context: We address current environmental issues of global relevance by means of landscape-level case studies. Our projects lead us to diverse regions on different continents, mainly in Europe, Africa and Asia.
Among our research topics are the challenges in the management of forests and protected areas (Europe, US), agroforestry practices (Europe), the upscaling of Conservation Agriculture (Mediterranean region), the social and ecological aspects surrounding sacred groves (Iran), the governance of urban green infrastructure (India), the implementation of collaborative agri-environmental action, and many more.
Collaborative, inter- and transdisciplinary research
We are convinced that the threats to our ecosystem and a transformation towards more sustainability can only be investigated together with land users, policymarkers and society. Our research is therefore collaborative, inter- and transdisciplinary, combining natural and social science approaches under the umbrella of sustainability science.
Our group is connected with networks, institutes and groups around the world that are leaders in sustainability science, such as the following:
- Stockholm Resilience Centre
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science
- Institute for Environmental Studies of the Free University of Amsterdam
- Division of Society & Environment of the University of California at Berkeley
For more information on our group, our staff and projects, see our University of Kassel or Göttingen websites. Enjoy reading!
