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.
The Young Scientists Summer Program (YSSP) at IIASA offers an exceptional opportunity for PhD students to engage in collaborative research with IIASA's interdisciplinary teams.
Models, tools, datasets
Wildfire climate impacts and adaptation model (FLAM)
The Environmental Policy Integrated Climate-based global gridded crop model (EPIC-IIASA)
Global Forest Model (G4M)
BeWhere Model: A Spatially Explicit System Optimization Tool
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)
Evolving Participatory Information System for Nature-based Climate Solutions (Epistem)
Staff
Johanna San Pedro
Researcher (AFE)
Thomas Oberleitner
Research Scholar (AFE)
Fabian Schipfer
Research Scholar (AFE)
Artem Baklanov
Research Scholar (AFE, EM)
News
01 July 2026
“SITCA” Alliance for the global transition to timber construction
Under the leadership of IIASA Director General Hans Joachim (John) Schellnhuber, the Science and Timber Construction Alliance (SITCA) was officially launched today. The initiative aims to transform the construction sector into a driver of climate protection through sustainable forest management and modern timber construction.
11 March 2026
Centuries of net-negative emissions required to secure a safe climate future
Two new studies published in leading scientific journals conclude that stabilizing long-term climate risks will require sustained net-negative carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions for centuries. Approaching the problem from distinct perspectives – legal and technological feasibility on the one hand, and economic optimization under uncertainty on the other – the research converges on a consistent message: reaching net zero is not enough.
05 March 2026
Building more inclusive pathways to sustainable landscapes
IIASA recently welcomed Distinguished Visiting Fellow Éliane Ubalijoro, CEO of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), for a lecture on the importance of gender and social inclusion in forest and landscape governance and an interdisciplinary discussion on equity and sustainability.
Events
Seminar Room 1, Bäckerstraße 13, 1010 Vienna
ANFOS contribution to workshop on the possible effects of nuclear war
Majapahit Room, A. A. Maramis Building, Jakarta, Indonesia
Data Democratization for Sustainable Landscapes: Epistem Launches Luma for Collaborative Land Mapping
Focus
Annual Report 2025
Annual Report 2025: Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program Highlights
Balancing the needs of people and nature is one of the defining challenges of our time. Throughout 2025, the Biodiversity and Natural Resources Program advanced research on how societies can pursue climate, biodiversity, and development goals while managing growing pressures on land, water, energy, and ecosystems.
16 May 2025
The looming shadow of nuclear winter
A team of scientists led by IIASA researcher Christian Folberth is contributing to international nuclear winter research through the ANFOS project, which aims to provide a comprehensive picture of how a nuclear conflict could alter crop growth, cause supply chain disruptions, and consequently affect global food security.
Publications
Milenkovic, M., Hofhansl, F. , Weinacker, R., Sturn, T., Karanam, S., Wild, B., Hollaus, M., Neumayr, C., Iglseder, A., Pfeifer, N., Zappa, L., Bruckman, V.J., Breitfuss-Schiffer, R., Schumacher, B., Gresse, H., Joly, A., Bonnet, P., Shchepashchenko, D. , See, L. , McCallum, I. , & Fritz, S. (2026). Tree-quest: A citizen science app for collecting single-tree information. Ecological Informatics 97 e103897. 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2026.103897.
Melnikova, I., Yokohata, T., Shchepashchenko, D. , Sitch, S., & Maksyutov, S. (2026). Land Carbon Sink Distribution in Northern Eurasia Is Driven by Climate Change. Global Biogeochemical Cycles 40 (7) e2025GB008971. 10.1029/2025GB008971.
Duncanson, L., Montesano, P.M., Neuenschwander, A., Zarringhalam, A., Thomas, N., Minor, D.M., Wulder, M.A., White, J.C., Guenther, E., Feng, T., Leitold, V., Hancock, S., Armston, J., Puliti, S., Mandel, A.I., Shah, S., Silva, C., Purslow, M., Bruening, J., Breidenbach, J., Næsset, E., Saarela, S., Hunka, N., Kellner, J.R., Healey, S.P., Shchepashchenko, D. , Wallerman, J., Neigh, C.S.R., Carvalhais, N., & Dubayah, R. (2026). Global and boreal estimates of woody aboveground biomass for 2020: Filling GEDI'S northern data gap with ICESat-2 and harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2. Remote Sensing of Environment 340 e115406. 10.1016/j.rse.2026.115406.
Prütz, R., Fuss, S., Price, J., Warren, R., Forstenhäusler, N., Wu, Y., Derci Augustynczik, A.L., Wögerer, M., Krisztin, T. , Havlik, P. , Kraxner, F., Frank, S. , Hasegawa, T., Doelman, J.C., Daioglou, V., Humpenöder, F., Popp, A., & Rogelj, J. (2026). Climate refugia implications of warming and land-intensive mitigation under overshoot. Environmental Research Letters 21 (12) e124024. 10.1088/1748-9326/ae7b65.
Khabarov, N. , Folberth, C. , Lindner, S., Skalský, R. , Gonzalez Abraham, C., & Javalera Rincón, V. (2026). Modeling Climate Impacts on Agroforestry-Based Coffee Production of Smallholder Farmers in Mexico. Sustainability 18 (13) e6544. 10.3390/su18136544.
Mehrara, M., Zetterholm, J., Toffolo, A., & Wetterlund, E. (2026). Risk, flexibility, and investment in Fischer–Tropsch fuels: Insights from real options analysis. Cleaner Energy Systems 13 e100232. 10.1016/j.cles.2026.100232.