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Dr Linda Luvuno

CSIR Researcher

Dr Luvuno’s research interests lie in the field of social-ecological systems (SES), particularly understanding human-nature interactions (system dynamics and processes), regime shifts and their impact on ecosystem services, human well-being, and how to build SES resilience.

Full Profile

She recently joined the CSIR after having spent time in academia doing postdoctoral research and teaching SES concepts to undergraduate and postgraduate students. To date, her research has focused on regime shifts: large, persistent changes in the structure and function of social-ecological systems, particularly the invasion or encroachment of woody plants into historically herbaceous ecosystems. She is focusing on understanding how the drivers and the feedbacks in a system interact to influence regime shifts, identifying leverage points in the systems to build resilience, and how regime shifts impact ecosystem services and human wellbeing. During her PhD, she used the process of bush encroachment to assess the resilience of Savanna systems to regime shifts. Most of her work incorporates system dynamics modelling, field ecological data, social data, Geographic Information System, and remote sensing.

Expertise: Social-ecological regime shifts

Academic qualifications: 
  • PhD (Conservation Ecology), Stellenbosch University, 2016.
  • MSc (Ecological Science), University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2014.
  • BSc (Hons) (Environmental Science), University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2011.
  • BSc (Environmental Science), University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2010.
Dr Linda Luvuno, CSIR Biodiversity and Ecosystems services

Contact Person

Dr Linda Luvuno

lluvuno@csir.co.za