Anna Cord

Anna Cord is a Professor and Chair of Computational Landscape Ecology at the Technische Universität Dresden, Faculty of Environmental Sciences. She leads research at the intersection of remote sensing, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Previously, she headed the working group 'Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services' at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ from 2012 to 2020.

• Doctorate (Dr. rer. nat): University of Würzburg, 2012
• Studies: Biology and Geography, University of Würzburg and University of Umeå, Sweden
• Research Assistant: German Aerospace Center (DLR) and University of Würzburg, 2007–2012

Her research focuses on spatial analysis and modeling of land use impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services, using remote sensing and GIS. She investigates trade-offs and synergies in multifunctional landscapes and develops methods to monitor ecosystem services via Earth observation. Her work supports sustainable land management and policy design.

Her recent publications reveal strong trends in ecosystem multifunctionality, multi-objective land use optimization, and integration of socio-environmental data. She emphasizes scalable models, interdisciplinary frameworks, and policy-relevant tools, often using national and global datasets. Her work bridges computational ecology, environmental modeling, and conservation science.

Scientific Awards and Honors:

• Best PhD Student Paper Award, iEMSs Conference, Ottawa, 2010
• Scholarship, German Academic Scholarship Foundation, 2004–2007
• Member, Young Academy of BBAW and Leopoldina, since 2019

Anna Cord is actively involved in academic service and mentoring. She serves as Study Programme Coordinator for BSc and MSc Geography and teacher training programs at TU Dresden. She leads major research grants such as BESTMAP (EU Horizon 2020) and ECO²SCAPE (BMBF). She is also an editor for Regional Environmental Change and Remote Sensing in Ecology & Conservation.

She contributes to international scientific coordination as Task Leader for Remote Sensing of Ecosystem Services in GEO BON. She has previously served on the Main Committee of the Scientific and Technical Council at UFZ. Her leadership extends to curriculum development and examination boards in geosciences.