Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources

Responsibility for Natural Life Foundations

The Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources (UNR) is an internationally top‑ranked institution for research and teaching on human‑environment systems. We see ourselves as responsible for the natural life‑supporting bases of humans, plants and animals on all spatial and temporal scales: local, regional, international, global, and also historic, to understand the future.

Research focuses

Natural resources: use, protection, security
Global change: climate change, ecosystems, land use, globalization
Livelihoods: forest, water, soil, air, biodiversity
Transformation toward sustainability: socio‑ecological‑technical systems
Natural hazards and environmental risks: resilience, adaptation

News

Forest and Forestry History

Forest Exploitation in Antiquity

An international study led by the University of Freiburg, based on the analysis of 20,000 wooden finds from antiquity, demonstrates that the forests of Northern and Western Europe were intensively used during the Roman period and that older stands were felled.

Research Funding

Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation funds FutureForests

Starting in 2026, the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation intends to provide a total of 10.4 million euros in funding to the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests, which investigates the adaptation of forests to global change. The projects to be funded include a tenure track endowed professorship for silviculture and climate change adaptation, an international research laboratory on forest adaptation, and an incubator fund.

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Eine Frau mit Kletterausrüstung in einer Baumkrone

Doctorate at UNR

30 Meters Above the Forest Floor: Research in Ecuador’s Rainforest

With ropes, harnesses, and cameras, two doctoral researchers from Freiburg climb up to 30 meters into the tree canopies of Ecuador. There, where hummingbirds battle for nectar, night monkeys plunder blossoms, and golden trumpet trees illuminate the landscape, Alessandro Mainardi and Claudia Viganò explore the hidden life of tropical forests — uncovering insights that could be crucial for conservation.

Professorships

Information and links to the 40 professorships at the faculty

Master Earth Sciences

New study programme for the winter semester 2025/26

Faculty Administration

Information and Contact

Future Forests

The newly approved Excellence Cluster
“Future Forests – Adapting Complex Social‑Ecological Forest Systems to Global Change” is largely driven by chairs of the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources. Future Forests aims to analyse and develop adaptation and transformation pathways for forest‑based socio‑ecological systems of the future. The social‑science component concentrates on decision‑making under uncertainty and societal ambiguity concerning the protection and management of future forests.

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Bei der Eröffnung der FowiTa: Dr. Heike Puhlmann, Prof. Dr. Friederike Lang, Prof. Dr. Thomas Seifert und Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schraml schneiden symbolisch ein Band durch.

Review FowiTa 2025

From 29 September to 2 October 2025, the University of Freiburg hosted the Forestry Science Conference (FowiTa) under the motto ‘Forest – New – Thinking’. Around 600 experts in forestry and environmental sciences as well as forestry practitioners from all over Germany gathered in Freiburg to discuss the future of the forest. In this interview, the organisers Prof. Dr. Friederike Lang and Prof. Dr. Thomas Seifert explain the ideas that emerged from the conference.

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