About Santiago Lopez
My research centers on human–environment interactions, with a longstanding focus on land change science, geographic information science (GISc), and remote sensing as tools for advancing understanding of biogeophysical and socio-environmental dynamics. I investigate questions about land use and land cover change, the spatial and temporal dynamics of natural and anthropogenic landscapes, and the implications of these changes for ecosystem functioning, biogeochemical cycling, and human welfare. My work bridges the human and physical dimensions of global change, emphasizing the theoretical and empirical potential of GIS not merely as a tool, but as a scientific framework for generating transformative geospatial knowledge. Key areas of interest include socio-environmental geography, spatial theory, climate and land-use change, with regional emphases in Latin America and the Pacific Northwest.