Henriette Zoe Figueroa Agosto

Regime shifts and human behavior in agricultural systems

Project affiliation:   B1

Undesirable regime shifts in agricultural systems can pose significant threats to ecosystem services, with direct impacts on human livelihoods. Human behavior, in particular the land-use decisions of farmers, is a key component in avoiding those shifts. However, it remains largely unknown how farmers might adjust their behavior in response to potential regime shifts or early warning signals. Therefore, understanding farmer behavior in the face of these shifts is an essential step for preventing undesirable and potentially irreversible outcomes.
In my research I will be investigating how farmers perceive regime shifts and how their behavior may be affected by undesirable ones. As a PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Economics, I am also part of the interdisciplinary DFG-funded Research Training Group "ECORISK" and a member of the Institute of Environmental Systems Research (IUSF). Prior to my doctoral studies, amongst others, I worked as a research assistant at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy. I completed my Master’s degree in Resource and Environmental Economics (M.Sc.) at Kiel University and a Bachelor’s degree in Energy Economics (B.Sc.) at the University of Applied Sciences in Darmstadt.