Award

Dr. Hernán Serrano-León receives the Hansjürg Steinlin Award

): Dr. Hernán Serrano-León receives the Hansjürg Steinlin Award for her excellent dissertation “Tree diversity effects on drought responses: insights from young experimental mixed-species plantations”. The prize was awarded during the opening ceremony of the academic year of the University of Freiburg on 22 October 2025.

New publication

Multi-year drought strengthens positive and negative functional diversity effects on tree growth response.

Mixing tree species does not always make forests more drought-resilient and longer droughts change how tree diversity affects tree growth. These are novel findings from a new international study led by the University of Freiburg, which was published in Global Change Biology, using tree cores from the largest network of tree diversity experiments.

New publication

Forest Dieback in Drinking Water Protection Areas: A Hidden Threat to Drinking Water Quality

Forest dieback in German drinking water protection areas has led to deteriorating drinking water quality, with average nitrate concentrations doubling in affected areas, shows a study led by the University of Freiburg.

New publication

Tree diversity increases carbon sequestration

Forests with many tree species can store significantly more carbon than those with only one species: An international study led by the University of Freiburg, published in Global Change Biology, supports this finding using data from the world’s oldest tropical tree diversity experiment.

In the media

Dr. Hernán Serrano-León is interviewed by Baden TV Süd on the report “Der Wald von morgen: Hilft Artenvielfalt bei Dürreresistenz?“ 

Following the publication of our recent research on the influence of tree diversity on drought responses, Dr. Hernán Serrano-León speaks about how these findings are relevant for adapting our forests to climate change. “As droughts become longer and more frequent, just increasing the number of tree species is not enough: we need to carefully match species mixtures and management strategies to local environments”. 

In the media

Prof. Bauhus comments on the Federal Forest Inventory and the amendment to the Federal Forest Law

“The National Forest Inventory shows that the forest in Germany is suffering from global change. But it’s about more than just storing carbon in the ecosystem.” Prof. Bauhus speaks as an expert in various contributions about the results of the Federal Forest Inventory and the planned amendment to the Federal Forest Law.