The focus of the AFE Group is to generate knowledge and develop state-of-the-art modeling tools to advance the scientific community and support policies that enable better understanding and management of global and regional agriculture, forestry, and natural land ecosystems.
The basis for improved assessment and management of natural resources is a deep understanding of complex and interacting biophysical processes within terrestrial ecosystems. The AFE Group aims to achieve a leading position in addressing research questions requiring integrated analyses of agriculture, forestry, and natural land ecosystems at global and regional levels.
The group’s strategic ambition of biophysical tool integration for, among others, the assessment of nature-based/climate solutions, landscape restoration options, agro-forestry, or future cropland management, is at the core of the IIASA research domain on biodiversity and ecosystem services. With sustainability and biodiversity aspects as cross-cutting environmental safeguards, the group is closely aligned with the strategic direction of its host program on Biodiversity and Natural Resources. This structural and strategic setup will ensure that AFE becomes a valuable research pillar and contributor to the overarching IIASA strategy.
Models, tools, datasets
Russian Forests and Forestry Database
Wildfire climate impacts and adaptation model (FLAM)
Global Forest Model (G4M)
The Environmental Policy Integrated Climate-based global gridded crop model (EPIC-IIASA)
Projects
Land Management for Sustainability (LAMASUS)
Integrated Future Wildfire Hot Spot Mapping for Austria (Austria Fire Futures )
The Human-Tech Nexus - Building a Safe Haven to Cope with Climate Extremes (HuT)
RESTORE+: Addressing Landscape Restoration on Degraded Land in Indonesia and Brazil
Staff
Edmar Teixeira
Guest Research Scholar (AFE)
Bintang Yuwono
Researcher (AFE)
Kentaro Aoki
Guest Research Scholar (AFE)
Anders Lunnan
Guest Senior Research Scholar (AFE)
News
22 March 2023
Petr Havlík appointed as Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program Director
Petr Havlík has been appointed to lead the IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources (BNR) Program.
18 January 2023
A new approach to sharing the burden of carbon dioxide removal
Carbon dioxide removal is key to meeting the climate goals outlined in the Paris Agreement. A new study analyzes what fair and equitable burden-sharing means for nature-based carbon dioxide removal in developing countries.
13 October 2022
Dealing with higher fire frequencies in the alpine region
Dealing with increasing fire frequencies in domestic mountain-dominated forest systems requires assessment and anticipation of fire risks at local scales, as well as a better understanding of its effects on the ecosystem and recreational activities. The Austria Fire Futures Project aims to address this critical situation.
Focus
24 February 2022
The number of tree species on Earth
Since humans have walked this planet, we have loved categorizing things and ecology is no exception. One of the most basic ecological questions has always been the simple question of “how many?”
29 November 2021
An analysis of forest management in the Republic of Korea
Options Winter 2021: While urbanization is a common cause of biodiversity decline, the Republic of Korea has managed to maintain its biodiversity during its rapid economic development. IIASA researcher Florian Kraxner and colleagues analyzed the persistence of plants in the country and constructed future scenarios to better prepare for the pressures of climate change.
29 November 2021
Improving fertilizer and water management practices in South Africa
Options Winter 2021: Water scarcity and rising fertilizer prices are causing complications for sustainable agriculture in South Africa. IIASA researchers have validated and calibrated models to help address the issue.
Publications
Gvein, M.H., Hu, X., Næss, J.S., Watanabe, M.D.B., Cavalett, O., Malbranque, M., Kindermann, G. , & Cherubini, F. (2023). Potential of land-based climate change mitigation strategies on abandoned cropland. Communications Earth & Environment 4 (1) e39. 10.1038/s43247-023-00696-7.
Yuwono, B., Yowargana, P., Fuss, S., Griscom, B.W., Smith, P., & Kraxner, F. (2023). Doing burden-sharing right to deliver natural climate solutions for carbon dioxide removal. Nature-Based Solutions 3 e100048. 10.1016/j.nbsj.2022.100048.
Rius, B.F., Filho, J.P.D., Fleischer, K., Hofhansl, F. , Blanco Casagrande, C., Rammig, A., Domingues Ferreira, T., & Lapola Montenegro, D. (2023). Higher functional diversity improves modeling of Amazon forest carbon storage. Ecological Modelling 481 e110323. 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2023.110323.
Jo, H.-W., Krasovskiy, A. , Hong, M., Corning, S., Kim, W., Kraxner, F., & Lee, W.-K. (2023). Modeling Historical and Future Forest Fires in South Korea: The FLAM Optimization Approach. Remote Sensing 15 (5) e1446. 10.3390/rs15051446.
Gauthier, S., Kuuluvainen, T., Macdonald, S.E., Shorohova, E., Shvidenko, A., Bélisle, A.-C., Vaillancourt, M.-A., Leduc, A., Grosbois, G., Bergeron, Y., Morin, H., & Girona, M.M. (2023). Ecosystem Management of the Boreal Forest in the Era of Global Change. In: Boreal Forests in the Face of Climate Change. Eds. Girona, M.M., Morin, H., Gauthier, S., & Bergeron, Y., pp. 3-49 Springer. ISBN 978-3-031-15990-9 10.1007/978-3-031-15988-6_1.
Labrière, N., Davies, S.J., Disney, M.I., Duncanson, L.I., Herold, M., Lewis, S.L., Phillips, O.L., Quegan, S., Saatchi, S.S., Shchepashchenko, D. , Scipal, K., Sist, P., & Chave, J. (2023). Toward a forest biomass reference measurement system for remote sensing applications. Global Change Biology 29 (3) 827-840. 10.1111/gcb.16497.