Dr Shuang Liu is communicating risks in environmental decision making.

Dr Shuang Liu: investigating the interface between ecological and economic systems

Dr Shuang Liu is researching the roles of conflicting values and uncertainty in environmental decision making.

• 17 June 2010 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Shuang Liu's research activities include:

• investigating the non-market impact of invasive species
• constructing an ecological-economic model to estimate the impact of biological invasion
• using the model as a communication tool for uncertainty in a deliberative multi-criteria decision-making environment
• conducting deliberative multi-criteria evaluation to facilitate group decision-making in managing public goods.

Dr Liu is also interested in the linkage between biodiversity and ecosystem function, ecosystem services valuation, and application of the valuation results in establishing payment systems for ecosystem services.

Background

Dr Liu currently works on the Communicating Uncertainties in Biosecurity for Agriculture project within the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for National Plant Biosecurity's Preparedness program.

Between October 2007-March 2010, Dr Liu worked on the Enhanced Risk Analysis Tools project funded by the CRC for National Plant Biosecurity.

Between 2001-07, as a graduate research assistant in the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, University of Vermont, Dr Liu worked on four projects with the common theme of ecosystem service valuation.

Her research included:

• exploring the possibility of dynamic valuation by integrating ecosystem modelling and valuation at multiple spatial scales
• conducting a meta-analysis of empirical valuation studies in coastal and marine systems
• constructing a valuation database to develop a benefit transfer scheme for ecosystem services
• reviewing the economic impacts of invasive plant species in North America.

To address these research questions, Dr Liu used qualitative methods as well as other tools including:

• value transfer
• meta-analysis
• ecosystem modelling
• geographic information systems (GIS).

Academic qualifications

Dr Liu has been awarded the following qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Biology, Nankai University, Peoples Republic of China, 1998
• Master of Science in Ecology also from Nankai University, 2001
• Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Resource Management, University of Vermont, United States of America, 2007.

Achievements

Dr Liu was the conference organiser for Ecosystem Services in China and the USA: Research, Application and Opportunity for Collaboration in Beijing, 2008. She also co-edited a special issue on Ecosystem services valuation in China in Ecological Economics, 2010, 69 (7).

Dr Liu is a member of the following professional organisations:

• Joint US-China Research Centre on Ecosystem Services
• Earth Inc. a Non-Governmental-Organization formed to enhance human well-being by promoting sustainable, fair, and efficient stewardship of Earth's natural, social, human and built capital
• The Australia and New Zealand Chapter for the Society for Risk Analysis.

Learn more about Biosecurity and invasive species.