Research

Research at the Chair of Silviculture focuses on the effects of the composition and structure of forest stands on the functioning of ecosystems. Research focuses on the interactions in mixed and uneven-aged stands, innovative forest regeneration methods, the adaptation of forests to global change and the dynamics and functions of structural retention elements (habitat trees, deadwood).

A further research area at the chair deals with the topic of “Forest management and rural development”. The focus here is on the question of whether and how natural resources in tropical and subtropical regions can be used effectively for sustainable development for the benefit of the local population. The research examines actor-specific strategies for the management of natural resources in different development contexts in order to understand the associated decision-making processes. A particular focus is on the development of theoretical models to strengthen and promote endogenous development potentials.

Research projects

TRANSFORMIT

TRANSFORMIT: “Transformation of forest management for multiple ecosystem services and nature conservation through the integrative approach” is an EU-funded project from the “Horizon” research and innovation program. In the sub-project of the Chair of Silviculture, the current situation of “Integrated Forest Mangagement” in Europe is analyzed and approaches are developed to promote the future development, performance and impact of forests (Work package 3).

^{Contact: Dr. Andreea Spinu
andreea.spinu@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

WaldLabOR

The WaldlabOR project is working on adaptation strategies for maintaining the ecosystem services of forests in climate change hotspots using the Upper Rhine region as an example. The Chair of Silviculture is part of the tandem project coordination. The professorship is also working on the sub-projects “Innovative silvicultural methods” and “Dialogue-oriented risk management”.

^{Contact: Dr. Regina Rhodius, Ellen Schäffel:
regina.rhodius@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}
^{ellen.schaeffel@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

SUPERB

The EU-project SUPERB (Systemic solutions for upscaling of urgent ecosystem restoration for forest-related biodiversity and ecosystem services) was launched in 2021 to restore Europe’s forests in the face of climate change and other threats such as pests, storms and deer pressure. The sub-project at the Chair of Silviculture (work package 6) aims to provide an evidence base and best practice guidelines for effective and successful implementation of forest restoration.

^{Contact: Dr. Klaus Kremer
klaus.kremer@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Forest Floor

Climate change will greatly impact tree species composition and hence biodiversity and ecosystem functioning of forests. So far indirect effects such as changes in regeneration success as a result of altered substrate conditions for seed germination, modifications in nutrient availability or seed predation and subsequent shifts in the competition among tree species have received very little attention, although they may be crucial for future forest resilience and adaptive capacity.

^{Contact: Trung Doan, Dr. Martin Kohler}
^{trung.hieu.doan@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}
^{martin.kohler@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

MixForChange

This project is part of the BIODIVERSA project MixForChange which aims to promote mixed-species forest plantations as nature-based solutions to face climate change by providing science-based guidelines endorsed by forest owners, managers and policy-makers. It will provide a mechanistic understanding of how tree diversity can enhance the overall resilience to drought stress (eg., tree survival and growth) of mixed forest plantations.

^{Contact: Hernán Serrano-León hernan.leon@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

URBORTEUM

In the joined project URBORETUM, we want to uncover the ecological processes associated with the deterioration of tree health in urban forests and the provision of ecosystem services.
At the Chair of Silviculture, dendroecological studies are being carried out for this purpose, including analysis of the isotopic composition of dendrochronological cores.

^{Contact: Yasha Magarik yasha.magarik@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Effect of structural elements on the success of reforestation

Following the extremely dry and hot years of 2018, 2019 and 2020, large areas of spruce forests have died in many parts of Europe. The aim of the project is to analyze options for the further management of dead spruce stands. For this purpose, a landscape-based trial is being set up in the southern Black Forest model region to investigate the influence of various harvesting and structural retention methods on the regeneration success of alternative tree species.

^{Contact: Mareike Mohr}
^{mareike.mohr@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Effectiveness of mixed stands and thinning for adaptation to climate extremes

Due to the increasing mortality of trees and entire forests worldwide as a result of climate extremes, silvicultural adaptation strategies are necessary. These include the establishment of mixed stands and the control of stand density. Therefore, we investigate the influence of tree species diversity on (i) tree growth, (ii) resistance to insect pests, and (iii) the role of thinning on canopy response. For this purpose, we use the oldest tree species bioversity experiment in Europe, BIO-TREE in Thuringia.

^{Contact: Tomma Feltgen}
^{tomma.feltgen@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}
^{Dr. Florian Schnabel}
^{florian.schnabel@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Agroforestry for ecosystem restoration in the Bolivian Andes

The integrated cultivation of trees and crops in agroforestry systems (AFS) promotes the recovery of degraded landscapes and at the same time helps landowners to overcome the financial barriers associated with restoration. However, there is a lack of systematically collected basic knowledge on the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function (BEF) for tropical AFS. Therefore, we developed an experimental concept for the first BEF experiment for tropical agroforestry systems.

^{Contact: Dr. Julia Schwarz}
^{julia.schwarz@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

RESONATE

RESONATE – Resilient forest value chains – enhancing resilience through natural and socio-economic responses.

In the RESONATE project, we are trying to increase the resilience of forests and the entire value chain in the forestry sector in order to be able to respond better to risks and disturbances. In the sub-project of the Chair of Silviculture, silvicultural measures that could increase the resilience of forests are being investigated.

^{Contact: Julius Willig}
^{julius.willig@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Carbon Dioxide Removal: Policy and Ethics

The project focuses on researching possible policy instruments for carbon dioxide removal (CDR) and their fairness implications. Specifically, the project examines the economic, socio-cultural and institutional feasibility of CDR in five work packages. We are particularly interested in concepts based on agroforestry. These studies serve as a basis for policy recommendations at local and (inter-) national level.

^{Contact: Esteban Montero}
^{esteban.montero@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Ecosystem services of autochthonous silvipastoral systems in Brazil

Biodiversity hotspots such as the Brazilian Cerrado are crucial to human survival due to the ecosystem services they provide. The management of the Cerrado should therefore enable sustainable agricultural use and at the same time preserve the Cerrado’s ability to provide the diverse ecosystem services. The sub-project, which is based at the Chair of Silviculture, deals with the quantification and valorization of these ecosystem services.

^{Contact: Prof. Dr. Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt}
^{dietrich.schmidt-vogt@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

DroughtRoot

Wurzeluntersuchungen auf der Dauerbeobachtungsfläche Lennebergwald.

Fine roots are crucial for the resistance of trees to drought. Their functional properties, such as root length density and specific root length (SRL), significantly influence water and nutrient uptake. Drought triggers complex responses in root systems, including changes in biomass, turnover and morphological characteristics.

^{Kontakt: Dr. Friderike Beyer}
^{friderike.beyer@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Oriental beech

The European beech and the Oriental beech are very similar in terms of ecology, wood properties and silvicultural treatment options. Against this background, the Oriental beech is proposed as a tree species for “assisted migration”, the human-assisted migration of the species into climatic zones that will be favorable for it in the future. However, it has not yet been conclusively clarified whether and to what extent its drought tolerance is actually superior to that of the European beech and what the effects of possible hybridization of the two beech species are.

^{Contact: Dr. Martin Kohler}
^{martin.kohler@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Conservation of structural elements in selectively used forests

So far, little is known about how habitat trees of different species and dimensions affect the regeneration and regrowth of their surroundings. This also includes information on the mortality of habitat trees in order to answer the question of how long different retention elements can provide benefits for biodiversity (sub-project A2 in the ConFoBi research training group).

^{Contact: Rose-Marie Oksanen}
^{rose-marie.oksanen@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de}

Research infrastructure

The Chair of Silviculture has a modern laboratory infrastructure and fields instruments that enable analyses such as:

Nutrient analyses in plants and soils
Image analysis (root morphology and architecture, dendrological studies)
Tree ring analysis
Gas exchange measurements (e.g. photosynthesis, soil respiration)
Leaf area and light measurements (TSF, ISF, DSF)

Contact lab management: Renate Nitschke

Publications

Publications of the Chair of Silviculture

All projects since 2001

FreiDoc “Freiburger Research-Documentation”

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