His research focuses on the economics and governance of sustainable land use and nature conservation, within and between agriculture, forestry, builtup land, natural areas, as well as wetlands and inland water bodies. He is the leader of many national and international research projects. He has published extensively in leading journals in the field, such as Land Use Policy, Ecological Economics, Ecology and Society, International Journal of the Commons, Sustainability, and Water, among others. He serves as an Editorial Board Member of MDPI journals, Resources and Land, and chairs the Sustainability Commission of the University of Greifswald.