ZiaÌýMehrabi, PhD

  • Faculty Fellow
  • ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Dr. MehrabiÌýbuilds data products and services using a mix of public and private sector data, and combines this with cutting edge statistics and data science to solve problems in development for a better and fairer planet.. He has experience in academia and as a consultant in the private and non-profit sectors in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and N. America. Dr. Mehrabi has also worked with organizations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CGIAR, United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, and The World Bank. He holds a BA in Biological Sciences and a PhDÌýfrom the University of Oxford.Ìý

Education

  • PhD, University of Oxford
  • BA in Biological Sciences, University of Oxford

Recent Publications

  • Zulueta, N. O.; Mehrabi, Z. Reductions in the Future Agricultural Workday Due to Climate Change. February 12, 2025.
  • Bajaj, K.; Mehrabi, Z.; Kastner, T.; Jägermeyr, J.; Müller, C.; Schwarzmüller, F.; Hertel, T. W.; Ramankutty, N. Current Food Trade Helps Mitigate Future Climate Change Impacts in Lower-Income Nations. PLoS ONE 2025, 20 (1), e0314722.
  • Tigchelaar, M.; Selig, E. R.; Sarhadi, A.; Bruce, J.; Allison, E. H.; Battista, W.; Fanzo, J.; Kleisner, K. M.; Mehrabi, Z.; Naylor, R. L.; Schmidhuber, J.; Thilsted, S. H. Nutrition-Sensitive Climate Risk across Food Production Systems. Environ. Res. Lett. 2025, 20 (1), 014046.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Braich, G. Incorporate Climate Injustice into Carbon Labels. Nat Hum Behav 2024.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Tong, K.; Fortin, J.; Stanimirova, R.; Friedl, M.; Ramankutty, N. Geospatial Database of Global Agricultural Lands in the Year 2015. 2024.
  • Rasmussen, L. V.; Grass, I.; Mehrabi, Z.; Smith, O. M.; Bezner-Kerr, R.; Blesh, J.; Garibaldi, L. A.; Isaac, M. E.; Kennedy, C. M.; Wittman, H.; Batáry, P.; Buchori, D.; Cerda, R.; Chará, J.; Crowder, D. W.; Darras, K.; DeMaster, K.; Garcia, K.; Gómez, M.; Gonthier, D.; Hidayat, P.; Hipólito, J.; Hirons, M.; Hoey, L.; James, D.; John, I.; Jones, A. D.; Karp, D. S.; Kebede, Y.; Kerr, C. B.; Klassen, S.; Kotowska, M.; Kreft, H.; Llanque, R.; Levers, C.; Lizcano, D. J.; Lu, A.; Madsen, S.; Marques, R. N.; Martins, P. B.; Melo, A.; Nyantakyi-Frimpong, H.; Olimpi, E. M.; Owen, J. P.; Pantevez, H.; Qaim, M.; Redlich, S.; Scherber, C.; Sciligo, A. R.; Snapp, S.; Snyder, W. E.; Steffan-Dewenter, I.; Stratton, A. E.; Taylor, J. M.; Tscharntke, T.; Valencia, V.; Vogel, C.; Kremen, C. Joint Environmental and Social Benefits from Diversified Agriculture. Science 2024, 384 (6691), 87–93.
  • Ormaza-Zulueta, N.; Miller, S.; Mehrabi, Z. Geographic Distribution of the Global Agricultural Workforce Every Decade for the Years 2000-2100. arXiv 2024.
  • James, D.; Blesh, J.; Liebert, J.; Magnanti, N.; Mehrabi, Z.; Motter, C.; Wittman, H. Exploring the Role of a Social Carrier in Advancing Agroecology and Territorial Autonomy. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 2024, 1–26.
  • Pierson, M.; Mehrabi, Z. Mapping Waterways Worldwide with Deep Learning. arXiv November 24, 2024.
  • Pierson, M.; Mehrabi, Z. Deep Learning Waterways for Rural Infrastructure Development. arXiv November 18, 2024.
  • Fankhauser, K.; Thomas, E.; Mehrabi, Z. Satellite Monitoring Uncovers Progress but Large Disparities in Doubling Crop Yields. arXiv October 21, 2024.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Ricciardi, V. Global Farm Size, Version 1, 2000, 2024.
  • Zulueta, N. O.; Mehrabi, Z. Global Inequality in Environmental Conditions Underpinning Human Rights. September 26, 2024.
  • Laura Vang Rasmussen, Ingo Grass, Zia Mehrabi et al. Joint environmental and social benefits from diversified agriculture. Science, Volume 384, 2024, 87-93. .
  • Meng, B.; Yang, Q.; Mehrabi, Z.; Wang, S. Larger Nations Benefit More than Smaller Nations from the Stabilizing Effects of Crop Diversity. Nat Food 2024, 5 (6), 491–498.
  • Martinez, J. D.; Ramankutty, N.; Mehrabi, Z.; Hertel, T. W. A Modelled Estimate of Food Access within Countries Shows That Inequality within Countries Has Increased despite Rising Equality between Countries. Global Food Security 2024, 41, 100774.
  • Burian, A.; Kremen, C.; Wu, J. S.-T.; Beckmann, M.; Bulling, M.; Garibaldi, L. A.; Krisztin, T.; Mehrabi, Z.; Ramankutty, N.; Seppelt, R. Biodiversity–Production Feedback Effects Lead to Intensification Traps in Agricultural Landscapes. Nat Ecol Evol 2024, 8 (4), 752–760.
  • Morel, A. C.; Demissie, S.; Gonfa, T.; Mehrabi, Z.; Rifai, S.; Hirons, M. A.; Gole, T. W.; Mason, J.; McDermott, C. L.; Boyd, E.; Robinson, E. J. Z.; Malhi, Y.; Norris, K. Landscape and Management Influences on Smallholder Agroforestry Yields Show Shifts during a Climate Shock. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 2024, 366, 108930.
  • Gogoi, J.; Newlands, N.; Mehrabi, Z.; Coops, N.; Ramankutty, N. Assessing the Performance of Satellite-Based Models for Crop Yield Estimation in the Canadian Prairies. Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing 2023, 49(1): 2252926. . Ìý
  • Mehrabi, Z.ÌýLikely Decline in the Number of Farms Globally by the Middle of the Century. Nature SustainabilityÌý2023.Ìý
  • Blesh, J.;ÌýMehrabi, Z.; Wittmann, H.; Kerr, R.; James, D.; Madsen, S.; Smith, O.; Snapp, S.; Stratton, A.; Bakarr, M.; Bicksler, A.; Galt, R.; Garibaldi, L.; Gemmill-Herren, B.; Grass, I.; Issac, M.; Johnm I.; Jones, S.; Kennedy, C.; Klassen, S.; Levers, C.; Rasmussen, L.; Kremen, C. Against the Odds: Network and Institutional Pathways Enabling Agricultural Diversification. One EarthÌý2023,Ìý6, 1-13.Ìý.
  • Singh Sidhu, B.;ÌýMehrabi, Z.;ÌýRamankutty, N.;ÌýKandlikar, M. How Can Machine Learning Help in Understanding the Impact of Climate Change on Crop Yields?ÌýEnvironmental Research LettersÌý2023, 18, 024008.Ìý.
  • Mehrabi, Z. Sims-Style ‘Digital Twin’ Models Can Tell Us If Food Systems Will Weather Crises. Nature 2023, 615 (7951), 189–189.
  • Mahaut, L.; Pironon, S.; Barnagaud, J.-Y.; Bretagnolle, F.; Khoury, C. K.; Mehrabi, Z.; Milla, R.; Phillips, C.; Rieseberg, L. H.; Violle, C.; Renard, D. Matches and Mismatches between the Global Distribution of Major Food Crops and Climate Suitability. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2022, 289 (1983), 20221542.
  • Mehrabi, Z. Food Security: Embed Equity in New Targets. Nature 2022, 608 (7923), 472–472.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Delzeit, R.; Ignaciuk, A.; Levers, C.; Braich, G.; Bajaj, K.; Amo-Aidoo, A.; Anderson, W.; Balgah, R. A.; Benton, T. G.; Chari, M. M.; Ellis, E. C.; Gahi, N. Z.; Gaupp, F.; Garibaldi, L. A.; Gerber, J. S.; Godde, C. M.; Grass, I.; Heimann, T.; Hirons, M.; Hoogenboom, G.; Jain, M.; James, D.; Makowski, D.; Masamha, B.; Meng, S.; Monprapussorn, S.; Müller, D.; Nelson, A.; Newlands, N. K.; Noack, F.; Oronje, M.; Raymond, C.; Reichstein, M.; Rieseberg, L. H.; Rodriguez-Llanes, J. M.; Rosenstock, T.; Rowhani, P.; Sarhadi, A.; Seppelt, R.; Sidhu, B. S.; Snapp, S.; Soma, T.; Sparks, A. H.; Teh, L.; Tigchelaar, M.; Vogel, M. M.; West, P. C.; Wittman, H.; You, L. Research Priorities for Global Food Security under Extreme Events. One Earth 2022, 5 (7), 756–766.
  • Sidhu, B. S.; Mehrabi, Z.; Kandlikar, M.; Ramankutty, N. On the Relative Importance of Climatic and Non-Climatic Factors in Crop Yield Models. Climatic Change 2022, 173 (1–2), 8.
  • Brennan, A.; Naidoo, R.; Greenstreet, L.; Mehrabi, Z.; Ramankutty, N.; Kremen, C. Functional Connectivity of the World’s Protected Areas. Science 2022, 376 (6597), 1101–1104.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Naidoo, R. Shifting Baselines and Biodiversity Success Stories. Nature 2022, 601 (7894), E17–E18.
  • Ricciardi, V.; Mehrabi, Z.; Wittman, H.; James, D.; Ramankutty, N. Higher Yields and More Biodiversity on Smaller Farms. Nat Sustain2021, 4 (7), 651–657. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00699-2.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; McDowell, M. J.; Ricciardi, V.; Levers, C.; Martinez, J. D.; Mehrabi, N.; Wittman, H.; Ramankutty, N.; Jarvis, A. The Global Divide in Data-Driven Farming. Nat Sustain2021, 4 (2), 154–160. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00631-0.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Gill, M.; Wijk, M. van; Herrero, M.; Ramankutty, N. Livestock Policy for Sustainable Development. Nat Food2020, 1 (3), 160–165. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-0042-9.
  • Ricciardi, V.; Wane, A.; Sidhu, B. S.; Godde, C.; Solomon, D.; McCullough, E.; Diekmann, F.; Porciello, J.; Jain, M.; Randall, N.; Mehrabi, Z. A Scoping Review of Research Funding for Small-Scale Farmers in Water Scarce Regions. Nat Sustain2020, 3 (10), 836–844. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-00623-0.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Ramankutty, N. Synchronized Failure of Global Crop Production. Nat Ecol Evol2019, 3 (5), 780–786. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-019-0862-x.
  • Ricciardi, V.; Ramankutty, N.; Mehrabi, Z.; Jarvis, L.; Chookolingo, B. How Much of the World’s Food Do Smallholders Produce? Global Food Security2018, 17, 64–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2018.05.002.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Ellis, E. C.; Ramankutty, N. The Challenge of Feeding the World While Conserving Half the Planet. Nat Sustain2018, 1 (8), 409–412. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-018-0119-8.
  • Mehrabi, Z.; Lashermes, P. Protecting the Origins of Coffee to Safeguard Its Future. Nature Plants2017, 3 (1), 16209. https://doi.org/10.1038/nplants.2016.209.

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