Martin's research is at the interface of observations (monitoring and experiments) and models, focussed on developing process-orientated understanding to predict plant responses to global environmental change  (e.g., increasing CO2, temperature, and changing water availability).

Martin is an Associate Editor of Biogeosciences and a member of the Editorial Advisory Board for Global Change Biology and New Phytologist. Martin is the former co-chair of the leadership committee for the CABLE land surface model (Australia's community land surface model). Martin is also a member of the Scientific Steering Committee for the AmazonFACE experiment.