Mario Torralba Viorreta

Dr. Mario Torralba Viorreta is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Geography at the Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) within the Faculty of Science at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He holds dual appointments in the Amsterdam Sustainability Institute. His research focuses on sustainable transitions in food systems, integrating natural and social sciences to address complex relationships between agriculture, forestry, nature conservation, and natural resource management. He emphasizes landscape-scale approaches to evaluate impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and human well-being.

Education:

• PhD in Landscape Architecture and Planning (2018), University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• MSc in Ecology (2013), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain
• BSc in Biology (2011), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain

Research Interests:

Dr. Torralba specializes in landscape multifunctionality, social-ecological systems, and participatory research methods. His work explores how human-nature interactions influence sustainability outcomes, particularly in agroforestry, urban green infrastructure, and equitable resource management. He advocates for transdisciplinary methodologies to bridge knowledge gaps between stakeholders.

Teaching:

He co-teaches courses such as Food Systems & Sustainability and contributes to Value of Ecosystem Services, emphasizing practical applications of sustainability principles in real-world contexts.

Collaborations:

He collaborates internationally on projects addressing ecosystem service valuation, gender equity in conservation, and policy frameworks for sustainable agriculture. His recent work highlights challenges in phosphorus recycling in organic farming and income disparities in forest management.