Stefan Dekker

Biography

My research theme is Global Eco-Hydrology and Sustainability. My goal is to understand the interactions and feedbacks between soil, vegetation, atmosphere and climate. The understanding of terrestrial processes plays a crucial role in addressing the major sustainability challenges of our time, including food security, desertification, degradation, transition to a bio-based economy, land-change and freshwater supply. Key contributions include the generation of new knowledge on these interactions, feedbacks and regime shifts between different environmental compartments and socio-economic drivers. I have developed my research on the interface between hydrology, ecology, soil science and socio-economy, key issues within Sustainability Science. In my vision the most important questions on the environmental agenda emerge at these interfaces and therefore calls for a multi-disciplinary research agenda. To increase the carrying capacity of the land for a large diversity in ecosystem services we need new innovative solutions that take into account all interactions and feedbacks on the interface in the natural and social system.

Research Interest

Earth and Sustainability