Research
Ongoing research projects
Erasmus+ BESTNATURE: Boosting EU Biodiversity STrategy by empowering high education curricula and green skills for NATURE protection and restoration (2023-2026, with University of Tuscia, University of Bologna, University of Graz, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences and E.C.O. – Institute for Ecology, Austria)
LIFE PROGNOSES: LIFE PRotection of Old Growth Forests in Europe: Natural heritage, Outline, Synthesis and Ecosystem Services - Strengthening primary and old growth forest protection in Europe by capitalising on World Heritage sites. (2021-2024, involved in work packages 1 and 2, with Northwest German Forest Research Institute (NW-FVA) and many other partners)
BioCult: Culture and Conservation – Harnessing synergies between cultural traditions and biodiversity protection (2021-2024, leader vegetation group, with Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and many other partners)
Improving dietary quality and livelihoods using farm and wild biodiversity through an integrated community-based approach in Kenya (2019-2023, leader wild edible plants group, with Bioversity International, Nairobi, Kenya, and many other partners)
Organizational sense-making, innovation, and adaptation in response to extreme exogenous jolts – The responses of natural parks in Ukraine to the Russian onslaught in 2022 (2022-2023, cooperation project with refugee scientists from the Ukraine and many other partners funded by the Volkswagen Foundation
Selected past research projects
Reconciling human livelihood needs and nature conservation in East African forest biodiversity hotspots(2016-2019, leader vegetation group)
BiomassWeb - Improving food security in Africa through increased system productivity of biomass-based value webs(2015-2018, project coordinator)
Floristic composition and affinities of the Ethiopian coffee forest vegetation(2009-2013, project lead)
The protection of forests under global biodiversity and climate policy (2009-2013, sub-project lead)