Prof. Dr. Berta Martín-López
Vita
Prof. Dr. Berta Martín-López is Professor of International Sustainable Development and Planning and heads the Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI) at Leuphana with Prof. Dr. Jörn Fischer. Her research is collaborative, inter- and transdisciplinary aiming to understand the role of values, knowledge, and institutions in supporting transformation pathways to sustainability. She puts special emphasis on "care-full" research processes that foster reciprocity, reflexivity, and respect for all persons involved in the research process, including praxis partners, early career scholars and minorities. Berta Martín-López is one of the most cited researchers worldwide ("Highly Cited Researchers") and elected member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences.
- Since 2015: Professorship for International Sustainable Development and Planning at Leuphana University Lüneburg
- 2015: Visiting Scientist at the University of Oxford at the Institute for Environmental Change
- 2014-2015: Visiting Scientist at the University of Copenhagen at the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management
- 2009-2014: Professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- 2008-2009: PostDoc position at the Universidad de Almería
Projects
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Humboldt-Forschungsstipendium für Frau Dr. Lauren Lambert
Berta Martín-López (Project manager, academic)
→Project: Research
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Forschungszuschuss Beatriz Vizuete
Berta Martín-López (Project manager, academic)
→Project: Research
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Understanding the social-ecological Transformative potential of Farming initiatives (TransFarm)
Berta Martín-López (Project manager, academic)
→Project: Research
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Embracing Transformation: Leuphana Transformation Lab
Erich Hörl (Project manager, academic) , Berta Martín-López (Project manager, academic) , Anke Gruendel (Coordination) , Henrike Kohpeiß (Project staff)
→Project: Research
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DFG research unit “The role of nature for human well-being in the Kilimanjaro Social-Ecological System” (Kili-SES-2) - Sub project 3: “Understanding social-ecological transformations: the role of initiatives’ values, rules and knowledge”
Berta Martín-López (Project manager, academic) , Milena Groß (Project manager, academic)
→Project: Research
Publications
Books and anthologies
- Gender perspectives in resilience, vulnerability and adaptation to global environmental change
Federica Ravera (Editor) , Irene Iniesta-Arandia (Editor) , Berta Martín-López (Editor) , Unai Pascual (Editor) , Purabi Bose (Editor) , 2016 Secaucus , 393 p.Research output: Books and anthologies › Special Journal issue › Research
Journal contributions
- A global–local analytical framework for social-ecological systems: A deductive–inductive approach
Patricia Santillán-Carvantes (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Manuel Pacheco Romero (Author) , Maraja Riechers (Author) , Patricia Balvanera (Author) , 01.06.2026 , in: Sustainable Futures, 11 , 14 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Interplays between nature’s contributions to people, values of nature, and emotions expressed by smallholder farmers in Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: insights for inclusive conservation
John Julius (Author) , Jasmine Pearson (Author) , Tuyeni H. Mwampamba (Author) , Jennifer K. Sesabo (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , 01.05.2026 , in: Sustainability Science, 21, 3 , p. 1059-1082 , 24 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- Combining social, ecological and economic approaches in knowledge co-production enables the identification of sustainable farming options
Neema R. Kinabo (Author) , Dominic A. Martin (Author) , Koggani D. Koggani (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Milena Groß (Author) , Christian Schleyer (Author) , Verena Hackmann (Author) , Andreas Thiel (Author) , Katrin Böhning-Gaese (Author) , Peter Manning (Author) , 01.05.2026 , in: People and Nature, 8, 5 , p. 1261-1279 , 19 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- A multi-layered values-based approach to advance social-ecological restoration: Insights from real-world laboratories in Germany
Konrad Gray (Author) , Jacqueline Loos (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Maraja Riechers (Author) , Anita Kirmer (Author) , Miguel A. Cebrián-Piqueras (Author) , 01.03.2026 , in: Ambio, 55, 3 , p. 571-590 , 20 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
- The difficult construction of horizontalities: power relations in collaborative multi-actor social-ecological systems management
Loni Hensler (Author) , Juliana Merçon (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , 01.03.2026 , in: Ecology and Society, 31, 1 , 29 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Contributions to collected editions/anthologies
- Quantifying the impact of social and ecosystem changes through expanded ecosystem multifunctionality metrics
Margot Neyret (Author) , Andrea Larissa Boesing (Author) , Gaëtane Le Provost (Author) , Sophie Peter (Author) , Dickson G. Mauki (Author) , Neema R. Kinabo (Author) , Koggani D. Koggani (Author) , Andreas Thiel (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Peter Manning (Author) , 01.01.2026 , p. 123-151 , 29 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review
- A metacoupling lens on the co-production of nature’s contributions to people: Insights for sustainability
Anna Mayer (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Bruno Locatelli (Author) , Gabriela Rabeschini (Author) , Jianguo Liu (Author) , Jacqueline Loos (Author) , María R. Felipe-Lucia (Author) , Maraja Riechers (Author) , Roman Isaac (Author) , 01.01.2025 , p. 91-115 , 27 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review
- Disziplinäre Perspektiven erweitern: Nachhaltigkeit als Nebenfach (Minor Sustainability Science)
Daniel Fischer (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Gesche Keding (Author) , 16.10.2023 Leverkusen , p. 99-114 , 16 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research
- Governing the co-production of nature's contributions to people: the road ahead
Roman Isaac (Author) , Eerika Albrecht (Author) , María R. Felipe-Lucia (Author) , María Piquer-Rodríguez (Author) , Klara J. Winkler (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , 01.01.2023 , p. 1-15 , 15 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Chapter › Research › peer-review
- What are social- ecological systems and social-ecological systems research?
Reinette Biggs (Author) , Hayley Clements (Author) , Alta de Vos (Author) , Carl Folke (Author) , Amanda Manyani (Author) , Kristine Maciejewski (Author) , Berta Martín-López (Author) , Rika Preiser (Author) , Odirilwe Selomane (Author) , Maja Schlüter (Author) , 30.07.2021 London , p. 3-26 , 24 p.Research output: Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Contributions to collected editions/anthologies › Research › peer-review
Activities
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The forest beyond the trees: a network perspective on governing nature’s contributions to people co-production
Roman Isaac (Speaker) , Berta Martín-López (Coauthor) , María R. Felipe-Lucia (Coauthor) , Graeme S. Cumming (Coauthor)
→Activity: Conference Presentations › Research
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The forest beyond the trees: a network perspective on governing nature's contributions to people co-production
Roman Isaac (Speaker) , Berta Martín-López (Coauthor) , Jana Kachler (Coauthor) , María R. Felipe-Lucia (Coauthor) , Graeme S. Cumming (Coauthor)
Activity: Conference Presentations › Research
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Governing anthropogenic capitals for nature's contributions to people in forests
Roman Isaac (Speaker) , Berta Martín-López (Coauthor) , Christian Schleyer (Coauthor) , Johanna Hofmann (Coauthor) , Jana Koegst (Coauthor) , Lene Salia Däfler (Coauthor)
Activity: Presentations (poster etc.) › Transfer
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Effects of Land Management on Nature’s Contributions to People In- and Outside of Protected Areas in Germany: Understanding the Pathways of Natural and Anthropogenic Capitals in the Co-production of Nature’s Contributions to People
Roman Isaac (Speaker) , Jana Kachler (Speaker) , Berta Martín-López (Coauthor) , María Felipe-Lucia (Coauthor)
→Activity: Conference Presentations › Research
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The role of co-production in the governance of nature’s contributions to people: a multilevel approach
Roman Isaac (Speaker) , Lene Däfler (Coauthor) , Christian Schleyer (Speaker) , Berta Martín-López (Speaker)
Activity: Conference Presentations › Research
Press / Media
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Unequal access to nature: Few outdoor spaces in Europe and the U.S. accommodate sensory, mental disabilities
Interviewed oncePress/Media: Press/Media
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THE VALUE OF NATURE: CLIMBING KILIMANJARO FOR HEALING CANCER
1 Media contributionPress/Media: Press/Media
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Berta Martín-López: The paradigm of nature's contributions to people
Interviewed oncePress/Media: Press/Media
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Top UN panel paints bleak picture of world’s ecosystems
1 time citedPress/Media: Press/Media
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Life on Earth Is Under Assault—But There’s Still Hope
1 time citedPress/Media: Press/Media
Prizes
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Herausragende Leistungen in der Forschung
Vicky Temperton (Recipient) Joern Fischer (Recipient) Jacqueline Loos (Recipient) Berta Martín-López (Recipient) ,Prize: Leuphana internal Prize, Scholaships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Elected member of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Spain
Berta Martín-López (Recipient) ,Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Highly Cited Researcher 2023
Berta Martín-López (Recipient) ,Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Highly Cited Researcher 2022
Berta Martín-López (Recipient) ,Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
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Highly Cited Researcher 2021
Berta Martín-López (Recipient) ,Prize: external Prizes, scholarships, distinctions, appointments › Research
Courses
With the increasing human pressure on ecosystems and natural landscapes, one of the main challenges is to design and develop actions that supports the preservation of biodiversity, ecosystem services and human wellbeing. A central theme here is to integrate the ecological dimension with the socio-cultural dimension in order to create sustainable landscapes and equitable societies. Therefore, this module does not only focus on biodiversity, but also on human societies and their wellbeing.
During the seminar we will examine why we conserve biodiversity, how are biological and cultural diversities linked, and what are the key basic elements and processes to look at in order to think and design conservation policies and actions linked to wellbeing.
Please make sure you attend this introductory meeting as all other tasks will depend on information you gain in this meeting and we will talk about the pecha kucha examination format.
Students are now in four different groups:
1) Butterflies
2) Pollinators
3) Outreach and connection to nature
4) Camera traps
In this semester you will develop your plans you started for the posters in the winter and sample the orchard with your goals in mind.
We are currently losing pollinators, the bees and the flies and the butterflies, in our intensively managed landscapes and we need theses organisms not least to feed ourselves. What can we do? Come and help us to restore, study and manage cultural landscapes that can provide us with both food and the diversity of life!
One of the most important challenges of our time is how to combine biodiversity and food security, as our human population and our influence on the biophysical basis of our existence on earth increases. Many people are no longer connected to nature, and feel alienated from natural processes and places. Our activities are causing major biodiversity decline that in turn affects how our ecosystems that we depend on function and the services they provide for us humans. Although our influence is often negative, there are many ways in which we can have positive effects on biodiversity as well as ensuring food security is possible.
What can we do?
This course combines key aspects of biodiversity conservation and
ecological restoration of degraded ecosystems with the extensive management of cultural landscapes. The latter provide us with food and resources whilst at the same time fostering biodiversity. It is also highly relevant for the topic of sustainable consumption, as it instills in participants the value of extensively managed landscapes that cannot provide us with huge bumper harvests but are more resilient in face of climate change and provide much more habitat for many species to co-exist with us.
In this planning seminar, we will plan projects in detail. Our baseline project is a wonderful cultural landscape site near the village of Wendisch-Evern, where together with the a traditional orchard club (Streuobstwiesenverein) in November 2016 we restored an apple (and cherry and pear) orchard to a degraded horse paddock with low biodiversity and high nutrients in the soils (not good for biodiversity).
Since the restoration action we have been doing two main things with different student cohorts:
1) tracking how the plants and animals change at the site over time; we expect that the biodiversity of plants and insects and birds will increase over time, as we remove nutrients by mowing or grazing the site and this is good for promoting more plant and hence also animal species.
2) We are testing whether we can attract even more insects to the site but planting different grassland plants under each of the 15 apple trees; more tasty clover and co species (Klee) or forbs species that attract pollinators but are not quite as tasty as the clover and co species.
This is the first time that anybody has studied this option scientifically in a traditional orchard, and if it works, it may be a nice option for attracting more pollinators to many other orchard sites.
We are embedded in a cultural landscape including returning wolves and a shephard who does not want to have her sheep at our site - there are plenty of socio-ecological topics within the overall topic of the magic orchard and its transformation over time.
GENERAL INFO:
This course is one several different courses in the sustainability minor (sustainable consumption, sustainable governance, life cycles)- you need to choose one of the main courses and then you stick to this course over two years. This course in the summer semester, Module 3 and 4, takes place in the third semester of your minor.
Building on the preceding modules introducing you to transdisciplinary research and projects, and to the key concepts and methods in ecological restoration, this semester you take part in this seminar that moves into the more active sphere.