Rocío Melina Garcia studied Forest Engineering (2018) and earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural and Forest Sciences (2025) from the National University of La Plata, Argentina. 

In her doctoral dissertation, she analyzed land-use dynamics in a protected area in Patagonia, applying a sustainability assessment to identify leverage points for forest governance. Her research combines social-ecological systems, sustainable land use, and forest governance, with a focus on how actors, institutions, and policies affect landscapes. 

Before joining the group, she worked as a research fellow at CONICET in Argentina and as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Göttingen. She has been active in international networks such as IUFRO and the Mountain Youth Hub of the FAO Mountain Partnership, and she is an associate editor of the journal *Forest Policy and Economics*. She joined the group in 2026 to work on the project “A Social-Ecological Analysis of the Co-Production of Mediterranean Terrace Landscapes,” focusing on cultural landscapes in Spain.

Publications