Prof. Dr. Marianela Fader
Holder of the Chair of Physical Geography and Nexus Research

Holder of the Chair of Physical Geography and Nexus Research
Prof. Dr. Marianela Fader is a full professor at the Department of Geography. She has more than 15 years of experience leading research on large-scale modelling the interactions and interdependencies between water security, energy production, food security and nature conservation under future climate and societal change. She has received 14 awards for excellence in academic performance and co-developed 11 international scientific projects, leading 7 of them. She has served as a consultant for the World Bank, various federal German ministries and United Nations organizations (FAO, WMO, UNESCO, UNEP), among others. She currently chairs several international research groups working on different sustainability topics. Her research group at LMU includes experts on energy, food, terrestrial ecosystems and water.
We have the ambition to create an innovative, internationally renowned, scientifically top notch and extraordinarily well-connected core of activities on Nexus questions at the Department of Geography of LMU. This is what we call the “Nexus Hub”. “Nexus” stands for the relationships and interdependencies of four systems or components: water, food, energy and nature. “Hub” is used in this context as a focal point of research and educational activities and the centre of a network where food, energy, ecosystem and water issues are studied as interdependent systems.
The guiding research question of the Nexus Hub is:
Can we, as global community, cover future human needs and promote wellbeing for all while not destroying the ecosystems we rely on?
Or formulated in a similar way: Can every person have sufficient and comfortable access to energy, food and water without significantly damaging nature?
Thus, the main scientific mission of the Nexus Hub would be to produce, combine and synthetize the knowledge and tools needed to achieve sustainable wellbeing. In such manner, and co-working with policy makers, public offices and practitioners, our unit will provide policy advice and search for sustainability pathways. These will be designed and tested to create benefits and avoid damages in all Nexus components (water, food, energy and ecosystems). In this framework we assess the following topics:
The Nexus is a broad and complex research topic. The biophysical aspects of it, as simulated by LPJmL, are only a part of the Nexus. The Chair for Nexus Research has the ambition to establish a “system of systems” in order to bring together biophysical and socioeconomic aspects of the Nexus.
For this, collaboration with stakeholders, other modelling communities and data scientists is imperative.
Since 2023:
Member of the Faculty Council of the Faculty for Geo-sciences at LMU Munich
Since 2022:
Member of the Leading Council of the Department of Geography at LMU Munich
Since 2016:
Member of the Steering Committee of the MedECC (Mediterranean Experts on Climate and environmental Change) Initiative
Since 2017:
Co-chair of the Core Group “Sustainable Development Goals Assessment” in the Sustainable Water Future Programme
Since 2016:
Co-Chair of the Water Working Group at the MedECC Initiative
2018-2022:
Member of the working group “Institutional Strategy Development” of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology
2017-2019:
Member of the Steering Committee of the Sustainable Water Future Programme
2016-2018:
Member of the working group “Research Development” of the German Federal Institute of Hydrology
2014-2016:
Member of Editorial Board of Regional Environmental Change (Springer Publishing House)
Since 2008:
Reviews for international journals: Nature Climate Change; Nature Sustainability; Global Change Biology; PlosOne; Environmental Research Letters; Hydrology and Earth System Sciences; Water Resources Research; Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability; Agricultural Systems; Global Food Security; Regional Environmental Change; Environment, Development and Sustainability; Ecological Indicators; Environmental Science & Technology; Water
15 Mar 2024 | ©LMU
Lucca E., Kofinas D., Avellán T., Kleemann J., Mooren C.E., Blicharska M., Teutschbein C., Sperotto A., Sušnik J., Milliken S., Fader M., Đorđević D., Dašić T., Vasilić V., Taiwo B., Baubekova A., Pineda-Martos R., Spyropoulou A., Baganz G.F.M., el Jeitany J., Oral H.V., Merheb M., Castelli G., Pagano A., Sambo B., Suškevičs M., Arnold M., Rađenović T., Psomas A., Masia S., La Jeunesse I., Amorocho-Daza H., Das S.S., Bresci E., Munaretto S., Brouwer F., Laspidou C. (2025): Integrating “nature” in the water-energy-food Nexus: Current perspectives and future directions. Science of The Total Environment, 966, 178600. Download
Abu Hatab A., López-i-Gelats F., Cellura M., El Bilali H., Fader M. (2024): Contributions of the WEFE nexus to sustainability.In: Interlinking climate change with the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems (WEFE) nexus in the Mediterranean Basin. [Drobinski, P., Rivera Ferre, M.G., Abdel Monem, M., Driouech, F., Cramer, W., Guiot, J., Gattacceca, J.C., Marini, K. (eds.)]. MedECC Reports. MedECC Secretariat, Marseille, France, pp. 179-201, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.13378650. Download
Probst E., Fader M., Mauser W. (2024): The Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus in the Danube River Basin: Exploring Scenarios and Implications of Maize Irrigation. Science of the Total Environment Volume 914, 1 March 2024, 169405. Download
Cramer W., Guiot J., Marini K., Azzopardi B., Balzan M.V., Cherif S., Doblas-Miranda E., dos Santos M., Drobinski P., Fader M., El Rahman Hassoun A., Giupponi C., Koubi V., Lange M., Lionello L., Llasat M.C., Moncada S., Mrabet R., Shlomit S., Savé R., Snoussi M., Toreti A., Vafeidis A.T., Xoplaki E. (2020): Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future. Summary for Policy-makers. First Mediterranean Assessment Report (MAR1). Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu, UNEP/MAP, Marseille, France, 34pp, in press. Download
Fader M., Giupponi C., Burak S., Dakhlaoui H., Koutroulis A., Lange M.A., Llasat M.C., Pulido-Velazquez D., Sanz-Cobeña A. (2020): Water. In: Climate and Environmental Change in the Mediterranean Basin – Current Situation and Risks for the Future.First Mediterranean Assessment Report [Cramer W, Guiot J, Marini K (eds.)] Union for the Mediterranean, Plan Bleu, UNEP/MAP, Marseille, France, 57pp, in press. Download
Flach R., Fader M., Folberth C., Skalský R., Jantke K. (2020): The effects of cropping intensity and cropland expansion of Brazilian soybean production on green water flows. Environmental Research Communications 2 (7): e071001. DOI:10.1088/2515-7620/ab9d04. Download
Albert C.H., Hervé M., Fader M., Bondeau A., Leriche A., Monnet A.C., Cramer W. (2020) What ecologists should know before using land-use/cover change projections for biodiversity and ecosystem service assessments, Regional Environmental Change 20, 106 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-020-01675-w. Download
Cramer W., Guiot J., Fader M., Garrabou J., Gattuso J.-P., Iglesias A., Lange M.A., Lionello P., Llasat M.C., Paz S., Peñuelas J., Snoussi M., Toreti A., Tsimplis M.N., Xoplaki E. (2018) Climate change and interconnected risks to sustainable development in the Mediterranean. Nature Climate Change 8:972-980, doi: 10.1038/s41558-018-0299-2. Download
Grassi, G., House, J., Kurz, W. A., Cescatti, A., Houghton, R. A., Peters, G. P., Sanz, M. J., Viñas, R. A., Alkama, R., Arneth, A., Bondeau, A., Frank Dentener, F., Fader, M., Federici, S., Friedlingstein, P., Jain, A. K., Kato, E., Koven, C. D., Lee, D., Nabel, J. E. M. S., Nassikas, A. A., Perugini, L., Rossi, S., Sitch, S., Viovy, N., Wiltshire, A. & Zaehle, S. (2018): Reconciling global-model estimates and country reporting of anthropogenic forest CO2 sinks, Nature Climate Changevolume 8, pages 914–920. Download
Fader M., Cranmer C., Lawford R., Engel-Cox J. (2018). Toward an Understanding of Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Water, Energy, and Food SDG Targets. Front. Environ. Sci., 12 November 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2018.00112. Download Download
Contreras, D.A., Bondeau, A., Guiot, J., Kirman, A., Hiriart, W., Bernard, L., Suarez, R., Fader, M. (2018): From paleoclimate variables to prehistoric agriculture: Using a process-based agro-ecosystem model to simulate the impacts of Holocene climate change on potential agricultural productivity in Provence, France. Quaternary International, in press. Available online Download
Kummu, M., Fader, M., Gerten, D., Guillaume, JHA, Jalava, M., Jägermeyr, J., Pfister, S., Porkka, M., Siebert, S., Varis, O. (2017): Bringing it all together: linking measures to secure nations’ food supply. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 29: 98-117. Download
Waha, K., Krummenauer, L., Adams, S., Aich, V., Baarsch, F., Coumou, D., Fader, M., Hoff, H., Jobbins, G., Marcus, R., Mengel, M., Otto, I.M., Perrette, M., Rocha, M., Robinson, A., Schleussner, C.-F. (2017): Climate change impacts in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region and their implications for vulnerable population groups. Regional Environmental Change (published online) doi:10.1007/s10113-017-1144-2. Download
Arneth, A.; Sitch, S.; Pongratz, J.; Stocker, B.D.; Ciais, P.; Poulter, B.; Bayer, A. D.; Bondeau, A.; Calle, L.; Chini, L. P.; Gasser, T.; Fader, M.; Friedlingstein, P.; Kato, E.; Li, W.; Lindeskog, M.; Nabel, J.E.M.S.; Pugh, T. A. M.; Robertson, E.; Viovy, N.; Yue, C. & S. Zaehle (2017): Historical carbon dioxide emissions caused by land-use changes are possibly larger than assumed. Nature Geoscience, doi:10.1038/ngeo2882, Download
Seekell, D.; Carr, J.; Dell’Angelo, J.; D’Odorico, P.; Fader, M.; Gephart, J.; Kummu, K.; Magliocca, N. (2017): Resilience in the global food system, Environmental Research Letters 12(2017) 025010, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/aa5730, Download
J.-M. Barbier, C. Baury, P. Bertuzzi, A. Bondeau, V. Couderc, F. Courbet, T. Curt, L. Dalstein-Richier, H. Davi, S. Delmotte, L. Dobremez, J.-L. Dupuy, M. Fader, A.-M. Farnet Da Silva et al. (2016): Les effets du changement climatique sur l’agriculture et la forêt en Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Les cahiers du GREC-PACA, Association pour l’innovation et la recherche au service du climat (AIR), décembre 2016, 40 pages, ISBN : 978-2-9560060-2-2. Download
Johansson, E.; Fader, M., Seaquist, J.W.; Nicholas, K.A. (2016): Green and blue water demand from large-scale land acquisitions in Africa. PNAS, doi : 10.1073/pnas.1524741113. Download
Marchand, P.; Carr, J.; Dell’Angelo, J.; Fader, M. et al. (2016): Reserves and trade jointly determine exposure to food supply shocks. Environ. Res. Lett., Volume 11, Number 9, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/9/095009, Download
Fader, M.; Rulli, MC.; Carr, J.; Dell’Angelo, J.; D’Odorico, P.; Gephart, J.; Kummu, M.; Magliocca, N. et al. (2016): Past and present biophysical redundancy of countries as a buffer to changes in food supply. Environ. Res.Lett.11 (2016)055008. Download
Fader, M., Shi, S., von Bloh, W., Bondeau, A., Cramer, W. (2016): Mediterranean irrigation under climate change: More efficient irrigation needed to compensate for increases in irrigation water requirements. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 953-973 Download
Le Quéré, C., Moriarty, R., Andrew, R. M., Canadell, J. G., Sitch, S., Korsbakken, J. I., Friedlingstein, P., Peters, G. P., Andres, R. J., Boden, T. A., Houghton, R. A., House, J. I., Keeling, R. F., Tans, P., Arneth, A., Bakker, D. C. E., Barbero, L., Bopp, L., Chang, J., Chevallier, F., Chini, L. P., Ciais, P., Fader, M., Feely, R. A., et al. (2015): Global Carbon Budget 2015, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 7, 349-396, doi:10.5194/essd-7-349-2015. Download
Fader, M., von Bloh, W., Shi, S., Bondeau, A., Cramer, W. (2015): Modelling Mediterranean agro-ecosystems by including agricultural trees in the LPJmL model. Geosci. Model Dev., 8, 3545-3561, 2015 Download
Djamali, M., Jones, M. D., Migliore, J., Balatti, S., Fader, M., et al. (2015): Olive cultivation in the heart of the Persian Achaemenid Empire: new insights to agricultural practices and environmental changes reflected in a late Holocene pollen record from Lake Parishan, SW Iran. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany. DOI 10.1007/s00334-015-0545-8. Download
Schellnhuber, H.J., [ ], Fader, M., et al. (2014): Turn Down The Heat III – LAC, MENA, and ECA: Confronting the New Climate Normal. World Bank Development Report 2014. Download
Hoff, H., Döll, P., Fader, M., Gerten, D., Hauser, S., Siebert, S. (2014): Water footprints of cities ? indicators for sustainable consumption and production. Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 213-226. Download
Fader, M., Gerten, D., Krause, M., Lucht, W., Cramer, W. (2013): Spatial decoupling of agricultural production and consumption: quantifying dependence of countries on food imports due to domestic land and water constraints. Env Res Lett 8 014046, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/8/1/014046. One of the 25 « Highlights of 2013 of ERL » Download
Fader, M., Böhner, J., Gerold, G. (2012): Precipitation variability and landscape degradation in Río Negro (Argentina). GEOÖKO XXXIII: 05-33. Download abstract
Dietrich, J.P., Schmitz, C., Müller, C., Fader, M., Lotze-Campen, H., Popp, A. (2012): Measuring agricultural land-use intensity – A global analysis using a model-assisted approach, Ecological Modelling, Volume 232, 10 May 2012, Pages 109-118, ISSN 0304-3800, 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2012.03.002.
Gerten, D., Heinke, J., Hoff, H., Biemans, H., Fader, M., Waha, K. (2011): Global water availability and requirements for future food production. Journal of Hydrometeorology 12: 885-899. Download
Fader, M., Gerten, D., Thammer, M., Heinke, J., Lotze-Campen, H., Lucht, W., and Cramer, W. (2011): Internal and external green-blue agricultural water footprints of nations, and related water and land savings through trade, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 1641-1660. Download
Kummu, M., Fader, M., Gerten, D., Guillaume, JHA, Jalava, M., Jägermeyr, J., Pfister, S., Porkka, M., Siebert, S., Varis, O. (2017): Bringing it all together: linking measures to secure nations’ food supply. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability 29: 98-117. Download
Fader, M., Rost, S., Müller, C., Bondeau, A., Gerten, D. (2010): Virtual water content of temperate cereals and maize: Present and potential future patterns. Journal of Hydrology 384 (3-4): 218-231.
Müller, C., Bondeau, A., Popp, A., Waha, K., Fader, M. (2009): Climate Change Impacts on Agricultural Yields. Background note for the WDR 2010. Download
Meyer-Arnek, J., Valks, P., Fader, M., Erbertseder, T. (2006): Estimation of NO2 amounts emitted from the Portuguese wildfires in 2005: A synergistic use of observations by imaging and atmospheric instruments and chemistry-transport models. Proceedings of the Atmospheric Science Conference held 8-12 May, 2006 at ESRIN, Frascati Italy. Download
© Linda Sendlinger
This is a short selection of presentations and engagements:
June 2024
Organization of the LMU Career Day for Environmental Management in Munich, Germany. Presentations from Allianz, Magna, München Flughafen und München Klinik show our students how environmental management works in their companies. See the Program (PDF, 184 KB). See the Fotos (PDF, 5,921 KB).
© GCMC
December 2023
Contribution to the 8th Meeting of the UNECE Task Force on the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystem Nexus in Geneva, Switzerland. The contribution was focused on identifying the future development strategy for the task force within the Water Convention
July 2023
Contribution to the Workshop “Translating the Climate-Security Nexus” at the George C Marchall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Patenkirchen, Germany. As part of the working group “Mediterranean and West Africa” the contribution was focused on identifying security challenges for NATO.
March 2023
Contribution to the UN Water Conference in New York. The contribution was focused on identifying the opportunities and challenges for establishing an intergovernmental process around water challenges.
December 2022
Contribution to the 7th Meeting of the UNECE Task Force on the Water-Food-Energy-Ecosystem Nexus in Geneva, Switzerland. The contribution was focused on identifying links between the nexus and the Water Convention.
July 2022
Lecture at Montan Universität Leoben, Austria on “Do we have a water crisis? And if yes, how do we solve it?” The focused lied on integrative methods for sustainability.
May 2022
The water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus and the future of global food security. Ringvorlesung WasserWissen, Münster, Germany.
March 2022
Water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus: Buzzword or Policy Relevant Science? Keynote presentation at the German Hydrology Day 2022, Munich, Germany
January 2022
Monitoring, Assessing and Simulating SDG Indicators. Oral presentation at the Seminar “Corruption in the water sector: how integrity management contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”, Bonn, Germany
June 2021
Assessing water challenges in the Mediterranean Basin. Oral presentation at the Sustainability Research and Innovation Congress, Brisbane, Australia
2017 – 2020
Contribution to Runder Tisch der Bundesregierung Internationalisierung von Bildung, Wissenschaft und Forschung‘. The contribution was centred around designing a scheme to fund synergetic projects with a focus on water security in Subsaharan Africa.
April 2019
Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Water, Energy and Food SDG Targets. Oral presentation at the European Geoscience Union, Vienna, Austria.
October 2018
Global, high-resolution modelling of Sustainable Development Goals indicators. Oral presentation at National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center, Annapolis, USA.
April 2018
Solar energy for irrigation: mitigation and adaptation option for the Mediterranean? Oral presentation at the International Forum on Solar Technologies for Small-scale Agriculture and Water Management. FAO Rome, Italy.
March 2018
The global water quality database GEMStat: data availability and applications. Oral presentation at World Water Forum 2018, Brasilia, Brazil.
November 2017
Climate and environmental degradation in the Mediterranean Area. Oral presentation at the COP23, Bonn, Germany.
April 2017
Simulating potential water grabbing from large-scale land acquisitions in Africa. Oral presentation at European Geoscience Union 2017, Vienna, Austria.
December 2014
Climate change impacts in the cities of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. Oral presentation at Climate Meeting of Local and Regional Elected Officials of the Mediterranean, Marseille, France.
06.10.2023 – 05.10.2027
FutureMed COST Action: a group of scientists from various countries is working on bridging climate science and impact on society in a transdisciplinary framework. Prof. M Fader is a member of the Management Committee. FutureMed COST Action
01.01.2022 – 31.12.2024
MedECC Nexus Special Report on Nexus: a group of around 30 scientists from various countries is compiling the last scientific evidence on the water-food-energy-ecosystem-climate nexus in the Mediterranean area. Prof. Dr. M Fader and Dr. Andrea Reimuth from the Nexus Hub contribute to this effort. MedECC Nexus Special Report on Nexus
01.11.2022 – 31.10.2023
Nexusnet COST Action: a working group of around 15 scientists are compiling the last scientific advances in including terrestrial ecosystems in the water-food-energy nexus. Another group of around 10 scientists are compiling the challenges on modelling the water-food-energy-ecosystem nexus. Prof. Dr. M Fader contributes to both efforts. Nexusnet COST Action
01.10.2022 – 31.12.2024
AgMIP Bavaria: a group of around 20 scientists based in Bavaria, Germany, are designing a collaboration scheme for the next 8 years to advance research on sustainable food systems and their interactions with water and nature. Prof. Dr. M Fader and PD Dr. Tobias Hank from the Nexus Hub contribute to this effort. AgMIP Bavaria
01.01.2017 – 31.12.2024
SWFP: a group of 30 scientists are compiling the potentials for modelling indicators of the Sustainable Development Goals. Prof. Dr. M Fader contributes to this effort. SWFP
01/2018 – 01/2022
SESYNC: a group of around 20 scientists from all over the world advance research on nature-based solutions for water security in Sub-Saharan at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center in Annapolis, USA, Africa. The project was coordinated by The City University of New York and the Nature Conservancy. Prof. Dr. M Fader contributed to this effort. SESYNC
Since 07/2022:
Full professor at the Department of Geography of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich.
06/2016 – 06/2022:
Deputy director of the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change, Koblenz. Topics: Global change impacts for surface hydrology and agriculture.
06/2015 – 05/2016:
CNRS scientist at Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix-en-Provence, France. Agro-ecosystem and hydrology modelling.
07/2013 – 06/2015:
OT-Med post-doctoral scientist at Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d’Ecologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Aix-en-Provence, France. Agro-ecosystem and hydrology modelling.
2013 – 2014:
Consultant, World Bank Group. Analysis of climate-change impacts on agricultural yields in the Middle East and North African region.
07/2011 – 02/2013:
Scientist at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany. Agro-ecosystem and hydrology modelling.
2008 – 2009:
Consultant, World Bank Group. Analysis of climate-change impacts on agricultural yields at the global scale.
10/2007 – 07/2011:
PhD researcher at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany. Agro-ecosystem and hydrology modelling.
06 – 08/2007:
Scientific assistant at University of Göttingen, Centre for Tropics and Subtropics.
03 – 04/2006:
Practical training at German Aerospace Center (Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany). Remote sensing of NOx.
05 – 06/2006:
Practical training at Max Planck Institute of Meteorology (Hamburg, Germany). Validation of remote-sensed oceanic and climatic variables.
Oct 2007 – Dec 2011:
PhD candidate at Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and International Max Planck Research School on Earth System Modelling. Topic: “Flows of virtual land and water through global trade of agricultural products”.
Aug 2006 – Jan 2007:
Master thesis: Precipitation variability and landscape degradation in Río Negro (Argentina).
Juli 2005:
Scholarship of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes for academic excellence.
2002 – 2007:
Master studies at the University of Göttingen.
Main subject: Geography, Secondary subjects: Economics of Natural Resources, Politics, Bioclimatology.
2001:
Geography studies at the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina).
2020:
North-South Prize of the Council of Europe for giving a leading example of the potential collaboration between states and societies and supporting the implementation of the Paris Agreement in the Mediterranean area through the network “Mediterranean Experts on Climate and Environmental Change”.
2019:
Annual bonus award (1000 €) for extraordinary performance in strategic development at Federal Institute of Hydrology, Koblenz.
2019:
The journal “Scientific American” highlights the article “Toward an Understanding of Synergies and Trade-Offs Between Water, Energy, and Food SDG Targets” by Fader et al.
2018:
Annual bonus award (1000 €) for extraordinary performance in research development at Federal Institute of Hydrology, Koblenz.
2018:
Distinction from the Argentine Embassy in Berlin for fostering the German-Argentine collaboration in science.
2017:
Annual bonus award (1000 €) for extraordinary performance in research and third-party funding acquisition at Federal Institute of Hydrology, Koblenz.
2015:
Article highlight award, Geoscientific Model Development (M. Fader et al., Modelling Mediterranean agro-ecosystems by including agricultural trees [...]).
2013:
Article highlight award of 2013, Environmental Research Letters (M. Fader et al., Spatial decoupling of agricultural production and consumption [...]).
2005 – 2007:
3-year paid scholarship of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes for academic excellence and social engagement.
1999 – 2000:
1-year paid scholarship of Youth for Understanding for high school exchange.
In the summer semester:
In the winter semester: