Ralf Seppelt Explained

Ralf Seppelt
Birth Date:1969
Birth Place:Germany
Fields:Land resources management, modelling systems
Workplaces:Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg
Stellenbosch Centre for Advanced Studies
Education:Diploma in Applied Mathematics
PhD in Agroecology and System Analysis
Habilitation
Alma Mater:Clausthal University of Technology
Technical University of Braunschweig

Ralf Seppelt is a German mathematician, academic and author. He is a professor of Landscape Ecology and Renewable Resource Economics at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, head of the Research Unit Ecosystem of the Future and the co-head of the Department of Computational Landscape Ecology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research.[1]

Seppelt's research has focused on optimizing resource use and land management strategies by modeling human-environment interactions, synthesizing regional studies for global insights, and developing theories for managing multifunctional landscapes. His authored works include articles published in academic journals, as well as contributions to books such as 3 Degrees More: The Impending Hot Season and How Nature Can Help Us Prevent It.[2]

Education

Seppelt earned a diploma in Applied Mathematics from the University of Clausthal, Germany in 1994. He then pursued a doctoral degree in Agroecology and System Analysis at the Technical University of Braunschweig, completing it in 1997. In 2004, he achieved his habilitation, and in 2011, he graduated from the Helmholtz Academy on Science Management.[3]

Career

Seppelt began his academic career in 1994 as a researcher for the Collaborative Research Center at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Between 1997 and 2004, he served as a post-doctoral researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Geoecology at the same institution. From 2004 to 2021, he was a professor of Applied Landscape Ecology at Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. Since 2022, he has been a professor of Landscape Ecology and Renewable Resource Economics at Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. He is a fellow of the Stellenbosch Centre of Advanced Studies.[4]

Seppelt served as the head of the Department of Computational Landscape Ecology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research from 2004 to 2022. Since 2022, he has led the research unit 'Ecosystem of the Future' and co-led the Department of Computational Landscape Ecology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research.[1] He has also been a member of scientific advisory bodies, including Leopoldina[5] and Intergovernmental Platform for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES).[6]

Research

As part of his research, Seppelt has contributed to publications, including books and articles in academic journals.[7]

Regional studies on optimizing land use and ecosystem service

Much of Seppelt's research has focused on the regional studies on optimizing land use and ecosystem service. His early research in this regard highlighted the need for consistent, integrated approaches to ecosystem services and land-use conflict research, advocating for methodological rigor, stakeholder involvement, and the use of optimization algorithms for sustainable resource management across scales.[8] [9] Through his research, he demonstrated that increased crop diversity enhances the stability of agricultural production, with benefits varying by region, landscape, and crop type, and highlighted the importance of spatial and temporal diversity in stabilizing food systems.[10] [11]

Global land use science

Seppelt made contributions to global change research by coordinating projects that focused on Sustainable Land Management[12] specifically assessing global land use dynamics and their impact on greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem services.[13] The project mapped global land system archetypes, offering information on land-use intensification and discussing region-specific strategies for sustainable land management in the face of environmental change.[14] Notably, the spatial analysis of global pollination benefits identified key hotspots for biodiversity protection.[15]

As an alternative to the planetary boundary concept, he suggested to investigate global limitation of renewable resource production by identifying the synchronized peak-rate years of 27 global resources, demonstrating that most renewable resources had surpassed their appropriation peak, posing challenges for sustainable resource management in the Anthropocene.[16] [17] [18] In his 2019 study examining the trade-offs between cropland expansion and intensification to meet rising biomass demand, he found that both strategies reduced global crop prices but harmed biodiversity, particularly in tropical regions, while economically benefiting Europe and North America.[19]

Human societies' dependency on biodiversity

Seppelt has conducted research on the relationships between biodiversity, intact ecosystems, and the provisioning of renewable resources to assess humanity's dependence on biodiversity and intact ecosystems. In a 2016 study, he explored reconciling biodiversity conservation and agricultural production by proposing a conceptual framework that linked land use, biodiversity, and production, suggesting nonlinear relationships and offering solutions to harmonize these conflicting objectives.[20] His 2019 study examined how conventional land-use intensification impacts biodiversity and yield, and through a meta-analysis, it found that while intensification increased yield, it generally reduced species richness, with effects varying by system type and intensity level.[21] [22]

Principles of high-quality science

Seppelt also contributed to the discussions on the principles of quality of science. He has advocated for a shift in science from a growth-oriented focus to one emphasizing quality, curiosity, discovery, and societal relevance, addressing concerns about the impact of misinformation in a 'postfactual' era.[23]

Media coverage

Seppelt's work has garnered media attention, with mentions in Die Zeit,[24] The Independent,[25] and interviews with German news outlets.[26] [27] He also co-authored a season of Wissen-vor-8 Natur on sustainbility and Climate Change for German ARD broadcasting.[28]

Bibliography

Books

Selected articles

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ralf Seppelt - Researchgate.
  2. Web site: 3 Degrees More: The Impending Hot Season and How Nature Can Help Us Prevent It.
  3. Web site: Ralf Seppelt - Global Land Programme.
  4. Web site: Fellows - STIAS.
  5. Web site: Biodiversität in der Agrarlandschaft (Abgeschlossen).
  6. Web site: Ralf Seppelt - IPBES.
  7. Web site: Ralf Seppelt - Google Scholar.
  8. A quantitative review of ecosystem service studies: approaches, shortcomings and the road ahead. 2011 . 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01952.x . Seppelt . Ralf . Dormann . Carsten F. . Eppink . Florian V. . Lautenbach . Sven . Schmidt . Stefan . Journal of Applied Ecology . 48 . 3 . 630–636 . 2011JApEc..48..630S .
  9. Identifying trade-offs between ecosystem services, land use, and biodiversity: a plea for combining scenario analysis and optimization on different spatial scales. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability . Human settlements and industrial systems . October 2013 . 5 . 5 . 458–463 . 10.1016/j.cosust.2013.05.002 . Seppelt . Ralf . Lautenbach . Sven . Volk . Martin . 2013COES....5..458S .
  10. More farms, less specialized landscapes, and higher crop diversity stabilize food supplies. 2021 . 10.1088/1748-9326/abf529 . Egli . Lukas . Mehrabi . Zia . Seppelt . Ralf . Environmental Research Letters . 16 . 5 . 2021ERL....16e5015E . free .
  11. Crop diversity effects on temporal agricultural production stability across European regions. 2021 . 10.1007/s10113-021-01832-9 . Egli . Lukas . Schröter . Matthias . Scherber . Christoph . Tscharntke . Teja . Seppelt . Ralf . Regional Environmental Change . 21 . 4 . 96 . 2021REnvC..21...96E . free .
  12. Web site: Making sense of research for sustainable land management.
  13. Web site: Sustainable Land Management - PECS. 6 November 2019 .
  14. Mapping global land system archetypes. Global Environmental Change . December 2013 . 23 . 6 . 1637–1647 . 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2013.09.004 . Václavík . Tomáš . Lautenbach . Sven . Kuemmerle . Tobias . Seppelt . Ralf . 2013GEC....23.1637V .
  15. Spatial and Temporal Trends of Global Pollination Benefit. 2012 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0035954 . free . Lautenbach . Sven . Seppelt . Ralf . Liebscher . Juliane . Dormann . Carsten F. . PLOS ONE . 7 . 4 . e35954 . 22563427 . 3338563 . 2012PLoSO...735954L .
  16. Synchronized peak-rate years of global resources use. 26269685 . Seppelt . Ralf . Manceur . Ameur M. . Liu . Jianguo . Fenichel . Eli P. . Klotz . Stefan . Ecology and Society . 2014 . 19 . 4 . 10.5751/ES-07039-190450 .
  17. Web site: Global Agricultural Production: Trends and Stability.
  18. Web site: Peak Stability Agriculture.
  19. Global impacts of future cropland expansion and intensification on agricultural markets and biodiversity. 2019 . 10.1038/s41467-019-10775-z . Zabel . Florian . Delzeit . Ruth . Schneider . Julia M. . Seppelt . Ralf . Mauser . Wolfram . Václavík . Tomáš . Nature Communications . 10 . 1 . 2844 . 31253787 . 6598988 . 2019NatCo..10.2844Z .
  20. Web site: Harmonizing Biodiversity Conservation and Productivity in the Context of Increasing Demands on Landscapes.
  21. Conventional land-use intensification reduces species richness and increases production: A global meta-analysis. 2019 . 30964578 . Beckmann . M. . Gerstner . K. . Akin-Fajiye . M. . Ceaușu . S. . Kambach . S. . Kinlock . N. L. . Phillips HRP . Verhagen . W. . Gurevitch . J. . Klotz . S. . Newbold . T. . Verburg . P. H. . Winter . M. . Seppelt . R. . Global Change Biology . 25 . 6 . 1941–1956 . 10.1111/gcb.14606 . 2019GCBio..25.1941B . 1871.1/d6bc0535-125f-450a-b064-ff198ce76533 . free .
  22. Web site: Deciphering the Biodiversity–Production Mutualism in the Global Food Security Debate.
  23. The Art of Scientific Performance. 2018 . 30270172 . Seppelt . R. . Beckmann . M. . Václavík . T. . Volk . M. . Trends in Ecology & Evolution . 33 . 11 . 805–809 . 10.1016/j.tree.2018.08.003 . 2018TEcoE..33..805S .
  24. News: "Die Arten dieser Erde sichern unser Überleben". Die Zeit . 6 May 2019 . Mast . Dr Maria .
  25. Web site: Have we reached 'peak food'? Shortages loom as global production rates slow. . 29 January 2015 .
  26. Web site: Video "Leben auf einem vollen Planeten", Ralf Seppelt, Landschaftsökologe, zum Ressourcenverbrauch der Menschheit.
  27. Web site: "Alle Länder leben auf Pump".
  28. Web site: Climate protection and sustainability at "Wissen vor acht".

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