Dr. Michael Kyei Agyekum 


Contact/ Address

Postdoctoral Researcher

Department of Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management (ASAM)
Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
Brückstr. 3a, 39114 Magdeburg, Germany

ph. +49 (0) 341 6025 4537
michael.kyei-agyekum@ufz.de

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Michael Kyei Agyekum

Research Interests

  • Development of land use intensity indices and their ecological applications
  • Hydrologically-informed assessments of agricultural impacts on aquatic ecosystems
  • Spatial ecological modeling and synthesis of global ecosystem datasets
  • Interdisciplinary project coordination for sustainable environmental research
  • Mangrove forest dynamics and canopy gap analysis using remote sensing and GIS

Employment history

Since 2024 Postdoctoral Researcher, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ
Department of Aquatic Ecosystem Analysis and Management (ASAM)
2018 – 2024 Project Manager, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany
2011 – 2015 Senior Conservation Officer, Center for Environmental Impact Assessment (CEIA), Cape Coast, Ghana

Education

2019 – 2024 Ph.D. in Quantitative Ecology, University of Bremen, Germany
2015 – 2017 M.Sc. in International Studies in Aquatic Tropical Ecology, University of Bremen, Germany
2007 – 2011 B.Sc. in Environmental Science, University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Selected Publications

  • Agyekum, M.K., Pathak, D., Kindinger, A., Kumar, R., Borchardt, D., Weitere, M., Frank, K., Schmitt-Jansen, M., Büttner, O., Brauns, M., Fink, P., Scharfenberger, U. (2025): A hydrologically informed agricultural land use intensity index for assessing ecological impacts on streams and rivers. Commun. Earth Environ. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02933-7

  • Agyekum, M.K., Pathak, D., Büttner, O., & Scharfenberger, U. (2025). Land Use Intensity Index for Stream Ecosystems (LUIS). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15170942

  • Agyekum, M. K., Protazio, J. M. B., Staquet, A., Augusseau, P.-E., Gardel, A., Mury, A., Anthony, E. J., & Proisy, C. (2025). Growth and biomass dynamics of French Guiana mangrove stands. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17160603

  • Agyekum, M. K., Pathak, D., Büttner, O., & Scharfenberger, U. (2025). Land Use Intensity Index for Stream Ecosystems (LUIS) datasets for Germany, 2017 [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17204506
  • Agyekum, M. K., Zimmer M, Mackay F, Weerts S, Helfer V (2025). Spatial and temporal patterns of mangrove forest canopy gaps at the southern distribution limit. Bulletin of Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2023.0165

  • Agyekum, M. K. (2024). Canopy gap dynamics in mangrove forests: exploring global patterns and drivers. Doctoral dissertation, Universität Bremen. https://doi.org/10.26092/elib/2748

  • Agyekum, M. K., Zimmer M, Mackay F, Weerts S, Helfer V (2024). Canopy gaps distribution in South African mangrove forests from 1997 to 2020. PANGAEA – Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science. https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.965469