Andrea Kaim

Dr. Andrea Kaim is a leading researcher at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), serving as Deputy Head of Department in the Department of Landscape Ecology since 2025 and Head of Junior Research Group AgriScape since 2022. She works at the intersection of mathematical optimization, landscape ecology, and environmental economics, focusing on resolving ecosystem service trade-offs in agricultural landscapes.

• PhD in Environmental Sciences (2015-2022, UFZ/uni-leipzig)
• Current habilitation project at Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg
• Initiator of the AgriScape and SUSALPS projects

Her research integrates agent-based modeling with spatial conservation planning to achieve multifunctional agricultural landscapes. She has pioneered methods for combining stakeholder preferences with biophysical optimization through projects like TALE and AgriScape. Andrea actively contributes to environmental policy briefs and public science communication through platforms like Knowledge Before 8 TV segments.

Recent publications show a strong focus on grassland management in Germany and the Alps, with particular attention to nitrogen application modeling and recreation-ecosystem service synergies. She develops open-source CoMSES model libraries for transparent ecological modeling and participates in international sustainability networks.