In interaction with nature, humans shape the conditions for their own survival, quality of life and future options. Humans are also endowed with refl exivity, that is, with the capacity to deliberate on the consequences of their actions and to decide to alter behaviour in order to produce more desirable outcomes. This gives humans exceptional power, compared to all other species, to transform their environment. Human refl exivity is inextricably linked to analysis. The analysis of human-nature relations in our contemporary age of the Anthropocene (Crutzen 2002), a new geological epoch, where human activity is the main driver of planetary evolution (3rd Nobel Laureate Symposium on Global Sustainability 2011), is the theme of this book. Specifi cally, the book explores the potential of transdisciplinary approaches for the analysis of human-nature dynamics. We argue that a reorganisation of scientifi c endeavour along these lines is urgently needed in order to address threats to the sustainability of global ecosystems, and thus to human life on earth.