Birgit Müller

Contact

Head of Junior Research Group POLISES

Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ

Department of Ecological Modelling

Permoserstr. 15
04318 Leipzig
Germany

Building 1, room 2.04

Tel.: +49 341 235-1708
Fax: +49 341 235-3500
birgit.mueller@ufz.de    

Research Interests

Use of process-based models for an enhanced understanding and governance of social-ecological systems under global change:

1. Exploring dynamics of social-ecological resource systems under uncertainty
   
2. Effects of policy instruments for global food security and for coping with climate risk (such as weather insurances) on social-ecological systems (SES)
   
3. Adequate representation of human decisions in agent-based models for natural resource use Journal Club
4. Potential of SES models as tool of thinking and tool for communication in inter- and transdisciplinary research    
   

Current Projects

• Junior Research Group POLISES - Global food security policies and their social-ecological side effects in regions prone to global change  Short description
  Project Website POLISES
• Collaborative SESYNC-UFZ-IDiv project: Synthesis of micro-scale human decision making to mitigate risks to ecosystem services
• DFG funded Project SEEMI - "Effects of microinsurance on informal safety nets and on strategies for natural resource use – a model-based analysis" (March 2017 - February 2020)
  

Finished Projects

• Sustainability of (Post-)Nomadic Resource Utilization Under Global Change - Conceptual Understanding Through Ecological-Economic Modelling (2008-2012)
• Ecological Economics: Modelling and conceptual foundation, with an example of grazing in semi-arid regions (2004-2007)

Publications

Latest Publications:

• Dressler, G., Groeneveld, J., Buchmann, C.M., Guo, C., Hase, N., Thober, J., Frank, K., Müller, B., (2019):
  Implications of behavioral change for the resilience of pastoral systems—Lessons from an agent-based model
  Ecol. Complex.
  full text (url)
• Dressler, G., Hoffmann, F., Breuer, I., Kreuer, D., Mahdi, M., Frank, K., Müller, B., (2019):
  Polarization in (post)nomadic resource use in Eastern Morocco: insights using a multi-agent simulation model
  Reg. Envir. Chang. 19 (2), 489 - 500
  full text (url)
• John, F., Toth, R., Frank, K., Groeneveld, J., Müller, B., (2019):
  Ecological vulnerability through insurance? Potential unintended consequences of livestock drought insurance
  Ecol. Econ. 157 , 357 - 368
  full text (url)
• Klein, J.A., Tucker, C.M., Steger, C.E., Nolin, A., Reid, R., Hopping, K.A., Yeh, E.T., Pradhan, M.S., Taber, A., Molden, D., Ghate, R., Choudhury, D., Alcántara-Ayala, I., Lavorel, S., Müller, B., Grêt-Regamey, A., Boone, R.B., Bourgeron, P., Castellanos, E., Chen, X., Dong, S., Keiler, M., Seidl, R., Thorn, J., Yager, K., (2019):
  An integrated community and ecosystem-based approach to disaster risk reduction in mountain systems
  Environ. Sci. Policy 94 , 143 - 152
  full text (url)
• Huber, R., Bakker, M., Balmann, A., Berger, T., Bithell, M., Brown, C., Grêt-Regamey, A., Xiong, H., Le, Q.B., Mack, G., Meyfroidt, P., Millington, J., Müller, B., Polhill, J.G., Sun, Z., Seidl, R., Troost, C., Finger, R., (2018):
  Representation of decision-making in European agricultural agentbased models
  Agric. Syst. 167 , 143 - 160
  full text (url)
• Groeneveld, J., Müller, B., Buchmann, C.M., Dressler, G., Guo, C., Hase, N., Hoffmann, F., John, F., Klassert, C., Lauf, T., Liebelt, V., Nolzen, H., Pannicke, N., Schulze, J., Weise, H., Schwarz, N., (2017):
  Theoretical foundations of human decision-making in agent-based land use models – A review
  Environ. Modell. Softw. 87 , 39 - 48
  full text (url)
• Müller, B., Johnson, L., Kreuer, D., (2017):
  Maladaptive outcomes of climate insurance in agriculture
  Glob. Environ. Change 46 , 23 - 33
  full text (url)
• Müller, B., Johnson, L., Kreuer, D., (2017):
  Risks of maladaptation: climate insurance in agriculture
  Briefing Paper 22/2017 , 1 - 4
  full text (url)
• Schlüter, M., Baeza, A., Dressler, G., Frank, K., Groeneveld, J., Jager, W., Janssen, M.A., McAllister, R.R.J., Müller, B., Orach, K., Schwarz, N., Wijermans, N., (2017):
  A framework for mapping and comparing behavioural theories in models of social-ecological systems
  Ecol. Econ. 131 , 21 - 35
  full text (url)
• Schulze, J., Müller, B., Groeneveld, J., Grimm, V., (2017):
  Agent-based modelling of social-ecological systems: achievements, challenges, and a way forward
  JASSS 20 (2), art. 8
  full text (url)
• Dressler, G., Müller, B., Frank, K., Kuhlicke, C., (2016):
  Towards thresholds of disaster management performance under demographic change: exploring functional relationships using agent-based modeling
  Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 16 (10), 2287 - 2301
  full text (url)
• Martin, R., Linstädter, A., Frank, K., Müller, B., (2016):
  Livelihood security in face of drought – Assessing the vulnerability of pastoral households
  Environ. Modell. Softw. 75 , 414 - 423
  full text (url)
• Müller, B., Kreuer, D., (2016):
  Ecologists should care about insurance, too
  Trends Ecol. Evol. 31 (1), 1 - 2
  full text (url)
• Schulze, J., Frank, K., Müller, B., (2016):
  Governmental response to climate risk: Model-based assessment of livestock supplementation in drylands
  Land Use Pol. 54 , 47 - 57
  full text (url)
• Sun, Z., Lorscheid, I., Millington, J.D., Lauf, S., Magliocca, N.R., Groeneveld, J., Balbi, S., Nolzen, H., Müller, B., Schulze, J., Buchmann, C.M., (2016):
  Simple or complicated agent-based models? A complicated issue
  Environ. Modell. Softw. 86 , 56 - 67
  full text (url)

Full list of publications: Publications

CV