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
Tara Ippolito
Guest Research Scholar (AFE)
Lei Wang
Guest Research Scholar (AFE)
Eunbeen Park
Korea Research Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow (AFE, CDAT)
Hyun-Woo Jo
Postdoctoral Researcher (AFE, CDAT)
News
26 February 2025
China Scholarship Council awardees hosted at AFE
AFE is committed to support IIASA's mission of fostering cross-border scientific cooperation and mutual understanding to tackle global challenges internationally. Over the years, AFE has hosted students and postdoctoral researchers, strengthening scientific ties and enabling connections in their early career stages, leading to long-term collaborations.
We are pleased to introduce our new Guest Researchers from China – recipients of China Scholarship Council (CSC) awards – who have joined the EPIC team for a one-year training program.
24 January 2025
Delegation from Greece visits IIASA to explore further collaborations
On 23 January 2025, IIASA was honored to receive a high-level delegation from Greece, visiting to learn about the institute’s research on wildfires, urban planning, wind and solar energy, as well as to explore opportunities for future collaboration.
12 December 2024
Moose Browsing Damage in Swedish Forests
A new report, “Browsing Damage - What is Happening in the Forest and What Happens in the Statistics?”, published by the Swedish Forest Agency, provides new insights on the ongoing debate surrounding moose management and its impact on Sweden's forests.
Co-authored by Agriculture, Forestry, and Ecosystem Services (AFE) researcher Oskar Franklin and scientists from Sweden, the report highlights the complex relationship between moose populations, pine tree densities, and browsing damage from both statistical and biological perspectives.
Events
Austrian Academy of Sciences, Dr. Ignaz-Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna
IIASA-OeAW lecture: research and prevention of forest fires
Rotorua, New Zealand
AFE at ForestSAT 2024
Focus
09 April 2024
Forest science and education in Ukraine: Priorities for action
Ukraine’s forest sector is suffering unprecedented challenges. War has impacted both forests and forestry – devastating forest areas, infrastructure and industry, as well as causing ‘brain drain’ and capacity loss due to the disruption of research institutions and the displacement of students and scientists. These impacts are compounded by factors including climate change, unstable forest health dynamics, landscape fires, and an overall decrease in forest productivity.
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?”
Publications
Pohanková, E., Hlavinka, P., Kersebaum, K.C., Nendel, C., Rodríguez, A., Balek, J., Balkovič, J. , Dubrovský, M., Hoogenboom, G., Moriondo, M., Olesen, J.E., Pullens, J.W.M., Rötter, R.P., Ruiz-Ramos, M., Shelia, V., Skalský, R. , Hoffmann, M.P., Takáč, J., Thaler, S., Eitzinger, J., Dibari, C., Ferrise, R., Leolini, L., Bohuslav, J., Bláhová, M., Fischer, M., & Trnka, M. (2025). Climate change impacts on two European crop rotations via an ensemble of models. European Journal of Agronomy 164 e127456. 10.1016/j.eja.2024.127456. Fransson, P., Lim, H., Zhao, P., Tor-Ngern, P., Peichl, M., Laudon, H., Henriksson, N., Näsholm, T., & Franklin, O. (2025). An eco-physiological model of forest photosynthesis and transpiration under combined nitrogen and water limitation. Tree Physiology 45 (2) tpae168. 10.1093/treephys/tpae168. See, L. , Chen, Q., Crooks, A., Laso Bayas, J.C. , Fraisl, D. , Fritz, S. , Georgieva, I. , Hager, G. , Hofer, M. , Lesiv, M. , Malek, Z. , Milenkovic, M., Moorthy, I., Orduña-Cabrera, F. , Pérez Guzmán, K. , Shchepashchenko, D. , Shchepashchenko, M., Steinhauser, J. , & McCallum, I. (2025). New Directions in Mapping the Earth’s Surface with Citizen Science and Generative AI. iScience e111919. 10.1016/j.isci.2025.111919. (Submitted) Valverde‐Barrantes, O.J., Lugli, L.F., Fuchslueger, L., Hofhansl, F. , Martins, N., Cordeiro, A.L., Schapp, K., Anderson, K., Garcia, S., Grandis, A., Miron, C.A., Fleisher, K., Hoosbeek, M.R., Hartley, I.P., Oblitas Mendoza, E., Lapola, D., & Quesada, C.A. (2025). Rainfall seasonality shapes belowground root trait dynamics in an Amazonian tropical rainforest: A test of the stress‐dominance hypothesis. Functional Ecology 10.1111/1365-2435.14744. (In Press) Boonman, A., Fukuda, S., Tiwari, S., & Kraxner, F. (2025). Two-Phase Approach for Designing Sustainable Biomass Supply Chains for Community-Scale Biomass Power Plants in Thailand. Energies 18 (3) e520. 10.3390/en18030520. Yuwono, B., Kranzl, L., Haas, R., Dewi, R.G., Siagian, U.W.R., Kraxner, F., & Yowargana, P. (2025). Incorporating grid development in capacity expansion optimisation - a case study for Indonesia. Applied Energy 378 e124837. 10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.124837.