Land systems as social–ecological systems
We study land systems — coupled systems in which land use is the main link between people and nature. This framing matters practically: it pushes us to look at interactions and feedbacks rather than at land cover alone, to follow dynamics through time rather than compare snapshots, and to trace connections across scales, since a decision in one place often changes land use somewhere else entirely.Evidence first
Our default is quantitative, spatially explicit evidence built from open data. In practice that means satellite image time series, national statistical and geospatial datasets, and published global products — analysed reproducibly so that results can be checked, extended, and reused.Working across scales
Local
Cities and landscapes, where exposure and adaptation are experienced.
National
Where land-use policy is made and scenarios are most decision-relevant.
Global
Where displacement, telecoupling, and long-run trends become visible.
Principles
- Open and reproducible. We favour open data and open tools, and we release code and derived datasets where licensing allows.
- Decision-relevant. We aim for results that can inform conservation, urban planning, and climate adaptation, not only the literature.
- Collaborative. Land-system questions are interdisciplinary by nature; we work with ecologists, planners, social scientists, and modellers.