Antonio J. Castro Martínez

Responsible for the Socioecosystems and Sustainability team - Sustainability, Resilience and Governance of Socio-Ecological Systems

Antonio J. Castro Martínez

I have a degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Granada (2005) and a PhD in Ecology of Arid Zones from the University of Almeria (2009). Throughout my professional career, I have been fortunate to have worked for more than 8 years in internationally renowned research centers in Australia, Holland, Argentina and the United States. During my predoctoral research, I worked at the Laboratory of Regional Analysis and Remote Sensing (LART) of the University of Buenos Aires (Argentina, 2006-2007). Subsequently, as a postdoctoral researcher, I made stays as a visiting researcher at Charles Sturt University (Australia, 2010-2011) and at VU University Amsterdam (The Netherlands, 2011-2012). From 2012-2015 I obtained a contract as Senior Researcher at the Oklahoma Biological Survey at the University of Oklahoma (2012-2015), where I also obtained a position as Adjunct Professor. Subsequently, I obtained a position as Assistant Professor of Socio-Ecological Systems at Idaho State University (2015-2018). Since 2018 I am Adjunct Professor at Idaho State University, and since 2020 Full Professor at the University of Almeria where I teach Global Change and Socio-Ecological Systems and Field Techniques and Data Analysis in the Environmental Sciences degree, and Ecosystem Services and Sustainability in the Master in Sustainable Use of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Services.

RESEARCH

As a socio-ecological researcher, my research interests focus on exploring the complexity of human-nature relationships, with the ultimate goal of understanding the ecological, moral and psychological dimensions of human behavior that affect the conservation of nature and the maintenance of human well-being.

My research is based on a strong personal conviction about the urgent need for a type of science that ensures the social and economic well-being of society without compromising the health and functioning of the ecosystems that sustain it. My scientific approach is inclusive and collaborative, facilitating interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams to achieve new models of knowledge that meet the interests of society. The international character of my research allows me to offer cutting-edge teaching, in which I aim to motivate and inspire my students with the objective of promoting this change of thinking in their professional careers. My vision is based on: Improving the social-ecological resilience of multifunctional landscapes in a rapidly changing world and changing the way science generates and applies knowledge to improve the sustainable management of social-ecological systems (human-nature systems) and promoting this change to other academic disciplines.

RESEARCH GROUP: Sustainability, Resilience and Governance of Socio-Ecological Systems (RNM-933)

RESEARCH LINES

  • Analysis and governance of Socio-Ecological Systems.
  • Valuation and Quantification of Ecosystem Services
  • Multiple values of nature
  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Management and planning of coastal ecosystems
  • Transdisciplinary Science
  • Ecological and computational modeling
  • Sustainability of agricultural systems
  • Agroecology

PARTICIPATION IN NETWORKS (REGIONAL/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL)

  • The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) (https://ipbes.net/values-assessment)
  • Program on Ecosystem Change and Society (PECS) (https://pecs-science.org/)
  • GEOBON Ecosystem Services Group (https://geobon.org/ebvs/ecosystem-services/)
  • Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP) (https://www.es-partnership.org/community/workings-groups/biome-working-groups/bwg-4-drylands/)

PROJECTS TO HIGHLIGHT

  • ECOSER - Contribution of marine ecosystem services of natural protected areas to human well-being. Biodiversity Foundation(https://fundacion-biodiversidad.es/es/content/ecoser-contribucion-de-los-servicios-ecosistemicos-marinos-de-areas-naturales-protegidas-al)
  • PREDICT: Predicting impacts of future policy-based land use scenarios on Idaho’s Ecosystem Services and implications for human wellbeing” National Science Foundation, EE.UU. (https://www.isu.edu/cere/researchsites/portneuf-river/predicting-impacts/)
  • Ecosystem Functional Diversity of the Circumpolar Arctic, National Science Foundation, EE.UU. (https://appliedsciences.nasa.gov/what-we-do/projects/ecosystem-functional-diversity-circumpolar-arctic)
  • MILES: “Managing Idaho´s Landscapes for Ecosystem Services (MILES)”. National Science Foundation, EE.UU. (https://www.idahoecosystems.org/)

Publicaciones

Nature’s Contributions to People Shape Sense of Place in the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia Water‐saving techniques for restoring desertified lands: Some lessons from the field Uncovering spatial patterns of ecosystem services and biodiversity through local communities’ preferences and perceptions Bioeconomy as a transforming driver of intensive greenhouse horticulture in SE Spain A framework for assessing coupling and de-coupling trajectories in river social-ecological systems Social indicators of ecosystem restoration for enhancing human wellbeing Participatory collective farming as a leverage point for fostering human-nature connectedness An interdisciplinary assessment of private conservation areas in the Western United States Telecoupling through tomato trade: what consumers do not know about the tomato on their plate Revisiting a Water Conflict in Southeastern Oklahoma 6 Years Later: A New Valuation of the Willingness to Pay for Ecosystem Services Integrated spatial analysis for human-wildlife coexistence in the American West Mercury consumption and human health: Linking pollution and social risk perception in the southeastern United States Local Perceptions of Ecosystem Services Across Multiple Ecosystem Types in Spain The American West as a social-ecological region: drivers, dynamics and implications for nested social-ecological systems Human-carnivore relations: A systematic review Examining concern about climate change and local environmental changes from an ecosystem service perspective in the Western U.S Implications of urban growth and farmland loss for ecosystem services in the western United States Integrating supply and demand in ecosystem service bundles characterization across Mediterranean transformed landscapes Exploring sense of place across cultivated lands through public participatory mapping Human-carnivore relations: conflicts, tolerance and coexistence in the American West Six collective challenges for sustainability of the Almería greenhouse horticulture Ecosystem services in dryland systems of the world Social-ecological systems influence ecosystem service perception: A programme on ecosystem change and society (PECS) analysis Applying Place-Based Social-Ecological Research to Address Water Scarcity: Insights for Future Research. What has ecosystem service science achieved in Spanish drylands? Evidences of need for transdisciplinary science When we cannot have it all: Ecosystem services trade-offs in the context of spatial planning Ecosystem services provided by biocrusts: From ecosystem functions to social values Modeling how land use legacy affects the provision of ecosystem services in Mediterranean southern Spain Interconnected place-based social–ecological research can inform global sustainability Delineating boundaries of social-ecological systems for landscape planning: A comprehensive spatial approach (Inter)facing the Anthropocene: Representing an Interdisciplinary Interaction Remote-sensing based approach to forecast habitat quality under climate change scenarios. Social Demand for Ecosystem Services and Implications for Watershed Management Impacts of land use change on ecosystem services and implications for human well-being in Spanish drylands Landscape influence on the feeding habits of European badger (Meles meles) in arid Spain The value of time in biological conservation and supplied ecosystem services: A willingness to give up time exercise Essential social-ecological functions to refine the conceptual framework of ecosystem services Hábitos alimenticios del tejón europeo en un paisaje árido mediterráneo de la provincia de Almería Biophysical and sociocultural factors underlying spatial trade-offs of ecosystem services in semiarid watersheds Science-policy interfaces for addressing environmental problems in arid Spain Do protected areas networks ensure the supply of ecosystem services? Spatial patterns of two nature reserve systems in semi-arid Spain Modeling spatial distribution of European badger in arid landscapes: an ecosystem functioning approach From supply to social demand: a landscape scale analysis of the water regulation service Ecosystem service trade-offs from supply to social demand: a landscape-scale spatial analysis Priority organic compounds in wastewater effluents from the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins of Andalusia (Spain) A choice experiment study for land-use scenarios in semi-arid watershed environments The role of vegetation and lithology in the spatial and inter-annual response of EVI to climate in drylands of Southeastern Spain Social preferences regarding the delivery of ecosystem services in a semiarid Mediterranean region
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