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Professor Guy Ziv

Professor Guy Ziv

Profile

I am a Professor in Socio-Environmental Systems at the School of Geography. My current research focuses on combining ecosystem modeling and social sciences to analyze impacts of policy and climate change on the water-food-energy system and the environment. This research lies in the interplay between policy, land management decisions and land use change impacts on ecosystem services.

I coordinate a Horizon 2020 project project BESTMAP. This 4 year programme covers 7 countries in the European Union and Serbia, and will develop new modelling tools to predict the impact of future agricultural policy (including post-2020 CAP and new ELMs in the UK). I am also leading WP6 'Ecosystem Modelling' in Horizon 2020 funded ECOPOTENTIAL - Ecosystem Benefits Through Earth Observations. This large (15m EUR) project aims to improve the utilization of existing and upocoming earth observation data for monitoring protected areas status, and ecosystem functions and services derived from these areas. I am Co-PI of ADVENT - ADdressing Valuation of Energy and Nature Together - which look at the ecological and societal contraints for developing low-carbon energy technologies at the UK, and Co-I of a follow up project ADVANCES which started July 2019. I am also the Leeds PI for a Global Food Security Project Resilient Dairy Landscapes, working with Nestle UK to improve the sustainability and resilience of their dairy farmers in Cumbia; and of Gas Future project looking at impact of sugarcane use in Brazil on their natural environment. 

Previous projects I led include Nexus-Brexit, where we developed scenarios and narratives on the impacts of UK exit from the EU on water-food-energy systems; FAWKES (Facilitated WorKshops on Ecosystem Services), joint PhDs research project with UFZ Helmholtz Research School for Ecosystem Services under Changing Landuse and Climate (ESCALATE); and US NSF funded Techno-Ecological Synergy project with Ohio State, where we explore innovative frameworks to improve deisgn on industrial systems by integrating ecosystem approach at multiple spatial scales. Before joining the University of Leeds, I was one the Lead Scientists of the Natural Capital Project in Stanford University, and contributed to the development of InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs) GIS toolbox. I also led projects for U.S. EPA (EP10COOO233 - Biofuel Expansion Impacts on Soil Loss in the US Midwest) and U.S. DOD (ESTCP RC-201113 - Enlisting Ecosystem Services: Quantification and Valuation of Ecosystem Services to Inform Base Management). Visit here for current and past projects I was involved in at Leeds.

Responsibilities

  • Director of Research and Innovation
<h4>Research projects</h4> <p>Some research projects I'm currently working on, or have worked on, will be listed below. Our list of all <a href="https://environment.leeds.ac.uk/dir/research-projects">research projects</a> allows you to view and search the full list of projects in the faculty.</p>

Research groups and institutes

  • Ecology and Global Change
  • water@leeds

Current postgraduate researchers

<h4>Postgraduate research opportunities</h4> <p>We welcome enquiries from motivated and qualified applicants from all around the world who are interested in PhD study. Our <a href="https://phd.leeds.ac.uk">research opportunities</a> allow you to search for projects and scholarships.</p>
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