The RESIST project has made significant progress through active collaboration with IIASA's National Member Organizations (NMO). Key recent achievements include setting up collaborations with national researcher partners and consulting with local experts and stakeholders in respective case study regions (listed below).
For the Indian case study, we have identified specific research objectives focused on conservation and restoration of biodiversity. To this end, we have conducted local field campaigns in collaboration with local stakeholders and set up a network of data collection sites for which data on vegetation structure and forest dynamics have been elaborated in collaboration with local research partners.
For the Israel case study, despite of delays due to regional instability, an agreement on data sharing for PlantFATE model calibration has been established and will be finalized post-2024.
For the Brazil/UK case study, first measurement data available from the Amazon FACE site have been used for model calibration and preliminary results have been published in the Ecological Modelling journal.
For China, a call by the national natural science foundation of China (NSFC) has led to the elaboration of several research proposals, of which one led by IBF researcher Jinfeng Chang on ecosystem stability and resilience has been selected for funding.
These developments highlight recent advances in research on ecological modeling and conservation and further underscore the project's ongoing success in establishing collaborations with international research partners. For further details on specific research conducted in respective work package please also see the associated articles published on the IIASA NEXUS blog:
- Upcoming project fusing ground observations, remote sensing and modeling of vegetation dynamics in the Austrian rainforest, Costa Rica (https://iiasa.ac.at/blog/feb-2024/rainforest-gets-digital-twin)
- The Plant Functional Acclimation and Trait Evolution (PlantFATE) vegetation model (https://iiasa.ac.at/blog/nov-2022/how-do-droughts-affect-ability-of-trees-to-absorb-co2)
- Inaugurating RESIST at the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (https://iiasa.ac.at/blog/sep-2022/achieving-socio-ecological-resilience-in-anthropocene-opportunities-and-challenges)
News
22 November 2024
Systems analysis to tackle the monopolistic power in the era of AI
Digital sector incumbents have established themselves in the artificial intelligence (AI) space through new forms of commercial partnerships. Now, antitrust authorities are raising concerns about such arrangements and the impact this will have on the future direction of AI. To discuss the latest developments, Elena Rovenskaya delivered a presentation on the adoption of systems analysis approaches to identify complex interactions between players in the digital economy.
05 November 2024
How ecosystem restoration benefits national policies
IIASA scientists show that preserving ecosystems and fostering socioeconomic development is not a trade-off. On the contrary, an integrated approach is beneficial to national policies. We share examples from India, Brazil, and Indonesia.
04 November 2024
AmazonFACE inauguration video (launch of 2nd phase)
The Amazon forest stores large quantities of the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2). But deforestation, agriculture and rising temperatures bring this nature based solution to a limit. AmazonFACE brings together an international team of researchers aiming to address the question how the Amazon forest will respond to projected future CO2 concentrations. By using Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) technology we will generate process based understanding on the functioning of the world’s largest tropical rainforest, and therefore will be able to inform regional policies on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies.