Prof. Dr. Andreas Bürkert is head of the Section of Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics at the University of Kassel. His research focuses on carbon and plant nutrient cycling in agroecosystems to analyze management effects on system sustainability, the role of organic amendments and mineral fertilizers on plant nutrient availability and product quality, and on nutrient acquisition by plants in marginal and intensive environments. Over the past decades he has increasingly initiated, coordinated, and engaged in interdisciplinary and international research collaborations, analyzing interactions in complex social-ecological systems, drivers and effects of land use change at different scales, and urbanization-induced transformation processes both in metropolitan regions as well as in remote oasis systems.
Dr. Ellen Hoffmann is a member of the Section of Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics at the University of Kassel. A biologist by training, she later engaged in the field of agricultural sciences, both as a researcher and a science manager. In her current position she coordinates collaborative research projects on rural-urban transformations and contributes to the interdisciplinary discussion on system approaches, land use changes, and social-ecological dynamics in the context of urbanization.
Prof. Dr. Eva Schlecht heads the joint Section “Animal Husbandry in the Tropics and Subtropics” at the University of Kassel and the University of Göttingen, Germany. Her research centers on livestock nutrition, livestock-mediated nutrient cycling, and livestock-based livelihoods across rural, peri-urban, and urban settings in sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. For over thirty years, she has been engaged numerous interdisciplinary and international research projects exploring livestock–environment interactions at farm, pasture, and landscape scales. Her work aims at optimizing these relationships to ensure adequate animal nutrition, resource efficiency, enhanced livelihoods, and reduced environmental externalities.
PD Dr. Martin Wiehle is a researcher and lecturer in the Section of Organic Plant Production and Agroecosystems Research in the Tropics and Subtropics at the University of Kassel, Germany. With a background in biology, particularly in landscape ecology and botany, his academic focus has shifted toward agroecology, plant population genetics, and sustainable land use systems. He is actively involved in supervising students at all levels, including Ph.D. candidates, and has conducted field research in semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia. Dr. Wiehle also serves as the Managing Director of the Centre for International Rural Development (Tropenzentrum), where he contributes to academic capacity development in good scientific practice at faculty and project level. He further coordinates international academic cooperation, manages global mobility programs, and supports research collaborations, particularly in the Middle East, West Africa, and Southern Africa.