Dr. Florian Schnabel – Chair of Silviculture

Curriculum Vitae

Current Akademischer Rat (eq. to Assistant Professor), Chair of Silviculture, University of Freiburg, Germany.
2023 Visiting Scientist, Neotropical Ecology Lab, McGill University, Canada
2023 PostDoc, Systematic Botany and Functional Biodiversity, Leipzig University, Germany
2022 PostDoc, Sino-German International Research Training Group TreeDì, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Germany and Leipzig University
2018-2022 Doctoral researcher, International Research Training Group TreeDì, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Leipzig University
2015-2018 M.Sc. in Forest Sciences, specialisation International Forestry, University of Freiburg
2017 Research internship, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Bogor, Indonesia
2016-2017 Exchange semester, Wageningen University and Research (WUR), Netherlands
2011-2015 B.Sc. in Environmental Sciences and B.Sc. in International Forestry, University of Freiburg
2014 Research internship on coffee agroforestry, Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Edu-cation Centre (CATIE), Turrialba,
Costa Rica
2013-2014 Exchange year, University Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile

Research

I am fascinated by understanding the impact of climate extremes on forests and by developing appropriate adaptation strategies. My research focuses on two key questions:

(1) How do climate extremes and the diversity of tree species, structures and functional traits influence ecosystem functions in
temperate, subtropical and tropical forests?

(2) How can silvicultural adaptation strategies be developed based on these findings that use and influence the diversity, structure and composition of forests to provide a broad spectrum of ecosystem services?

To answer these questions, I work in different forest ecosystems, from temperate forests in Europe and Chile to (sub-)tropical forests in Panama and China. My work focuses on the planted tree diversity experiments of the Tree Diversity Network – TreeDivNet and the forests of the Black Forest and the Upper Rhine Valley as part of the Future Forests Cluster of Excellence. I use approaches from various disciplines, including silviculture| forest ecology | dendroecology | functional ecology | microclimate ecology | remote sensing.

Research projects:

DFG project TreeStability – Tree diversity effects on the temporal stability of forest productivity (Principle Investigator (PI); 2026–2029)
Excellence Cluster Future Forests – Adapting complex social-ecological forest systems to global change (Associate Investigator, 2026–2031)
Sardinilla experiment (Panama) – TreeDivNet (PI; since 2024)
CESAB synthesis working group Div4Drought – Tree diversity effects on forest drought resilience: a mechanistic approach to reconcile divergent observations (member; 2025–2028)
sDiv synthesis working group sTrend – synthesis on tree Traits Response to Neighboring Diversity (member; 2025–2027)
Horizon Europe Project TRANSFORMIT – Transforming forest management for multiple ecosystem services and nature conservation via the integrative approach (Lead of Work Package 3; 2024–2027)
Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation funded project BIOTREE– Effectiveness of mixed stands and thinning for adaptation to climate extremes (Co-PI; 2024–2028)
DFG start-up grant – The role of tree species richness for temperature buffering below forest canopies (own PostDoc position; 2022)

Teaching

University teaching in forestry sciences faces major challenges due to changing societal conditions and demands, as well as global change. It is a central concern of mine to equip students with the necessary skills to independently develop management approaches for our dynamic and complex socio-ecological forest systems of today and in the future.
I am currently the coordinator for the modules Waldbau (Silviculture) und Restauration von Waldökosystemen und Waldumbau (Restoration of Forest Ecosystems and Forest Adaptation) in the Bachelor Waldwissenschaften (Forest Sciences) und give lectures and practical courses in the modules Plantation Forestry und Close to Nature Forest Managementin the Master Forest Sciences (taught in English). In the past, I was also able to gain valuable teaching experience at the University of Leipzig as a doctoral and postdoctoral researcher, for example by teaching in the master’s modules Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity Research und Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning in Terrestrial Ecosystems.

Publications

View profile on FreiDok plus

The 30 most recent publication(s) are displayed

Martin, T. G., Schnabel, F., Klein, A.-M., & Hughes, L. A. (2026). With Knowledge Comes Responsibility: Increasing Conservation Scientists’ Impact in a Time of Global Crises. Conservation Letters, 19(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/con4.70076
Spînu, A. P., Konczal, A., Krumm, F., Rigling, A., Vitali, V., Bauhus, J., & Schnabel, F. (2026). From concept to curriculum and competencies: results of a survey on teaching of integrative forest management at higher education institutions across europe. Current Forestry Reports, 12(1), 28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-026-00287-7
Schimetka, L. R., Hoogstra-Klein, M. A., Konczal, A., Schnabel, F., Sellare, J., & Winkel, G. (2026). Valuing diversity : a systematic review of the financial impacts of biodiversity conservation in forests managed primarily for wood production. Current Forestry Reports, 12(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-026-00288-6
Serrano-León, H., Blondeel, H., Bonal, D., Guillemot, J., Martin‐StPaul, N., Grossiord, C., Schnabel, F., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Skiadaresis, G., Van den Bulcke, J., Verheyen, K., Baeten, L., Bauhus, J., & team, T.-M. (2026). Drought characteristics alters neighbourhood diversity effects on tree growth responses during extreme events. Copernicus GmbH. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-17693
Ray, T., Fichtner, A., Kunz, M., Hildebrand, M., Bruelheide, H., Potvin, C., Schnabel, F., & Oheimb, G. von. (2026). Canopy definitions shape canopy space filling–productivity relationships: evidence from terrestrial laser scanning. Ecology and Evolution, 16(5), e73610. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.73610
Sasaki, T., Bauhus, J., Beyer, F., Gebauer, T., Hajek, P., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schnabel, F., & Eisenhauer, N. (2026). Biodiversity effects under climate extremes intensify with aridity in grasslands but not forests. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 10, 1464–1474. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-026-03130-1
Vitali, V., Krumm, F., Spînu, A. P., Schnabel, F., Bauhus, J., Konczal, A., Schimetka, L., Schwegmann, S., Winkel, G., & Rigling, A. (2026). Managing European forests for biodiversity conservation and global change adaptation: an assessment of current management concepts. Forest Ecology and Management, 611, 123698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2026.123698
Arnillas, C. A., Stotz, G., Klein, A.-M., Schnabel, F., & Santos Domínguez, N. (2026). Strengthening responsibilities to face global crises: A call to ecologists, environmental scientists and their societies. People and Nature, 8(4), 800–807. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.70253
Winter, C., Kattenborn, T., Stahl, K., Szillat, K., Weiler, M., & Schnabel, F. (2026). Wie Waldverlust zu einem Problem für unser Trinkwasser werden kann. In Umweltimpulse – 19 Wege in eine lebenswerte Zukunft : vernetztes Wissen – konkrete Lösungen – Handlungsoptionen (pp. 115–119). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-72198-8_11
Sanaei, A., Andraczek, K., Kretz, L., Schnabel, F., Richter, R., Kahl, A., Nabel, N., Sivers, L. von, Künne, T., Braak, J. L. van, Hofmann, R. F., Hensel, C. S., Mora, K., Feilhauer, H., Wirth, C., & Weigelt, A. (2026). Above- and below-ground trait coordination across 90 angiosperm and gymnosperm tree species in a common garden experiment. Journal of Ecology, 114(1), e70220. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.70220
Kretz, L., Schnabel, F., Richter, R., Raabgrund, A., Kattge, J., Andraczek, K., Kahl, A., Künne, T., & Wirth, C. (2026). Functional traits explain growth response to successive hotter droughts across a wide set of common and future tree species in Europe. Plant Biology, 28(3), 827–845. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.70024
Winter, C., Kattenborn, T., Stahl, K., Szillat, K., Weiler, M., & Schnabel, F. (2025). Forest dieback poses a hidden threat to drinking water quality. https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-3475
Sachsenmaier, L., Schnabel, F., Tezeh, F. R., Castro Sánchez‐Bermejo, P., Eisenhauer, N., Ferlian, O., Haider, S., Richter, R., Paligi, S. S., Schuldt, B., & Wirth, C. (2025). Hydro‐functional traits and their dissimilarity to the neighbourhood buffer tree growth against the 2018–2020 Central European drought. Global Change Biology, 31(11), e70588. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70588
Yannelli, F., Visakorpi, K., Arponen, A., Arnillas, C., Chinga Chamorro, J., Chiuffo, M., Collinge, S., Cousens, R., Devarajan, K., Ehrlich, K., Grell-Brisk, M., Kariuki, R., Kharouba, H., Ortiz, A. M., Prado-Valladares, A., Regan, H., Schnabel, F., Soares, B., Stotz, G., … Cadotte, M. W. (2025). Ecology for a social revolution : re-defining the role of ecological and environmental science professionals and their responsibilities towards society. Research Ideas and Outcomes : RIO, 11, e152859. https://doi.org/10.3897/rio.11.e152859
Jensen, J., Schnabel, F., Serrano-León, H., Bauhus, J., Beyer, F., Gebauer, T., Hajek, P., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., & Weih, M. (2025). Diversity in resource use strategies promotes productivity in young planted tree species mixtures. Global Change Biology, 31(9), e70493. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70493
Serrano-León, H., Glenz, P., Steurer, J., Schnabel, F., Skiadaresis, G., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Gong, J., Hajek, P., & Bauhus, J. (2025). Multiyear drought strengthens positive and negative functional diversity effects on tree growth response. Global Change Biology, 31(9), e70394. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70394
Zheng, L., Serrano-León, H., Schnabel, F., Bauhus, J., Hajek, P., Nock, C. A., & Reich, P. B. (2025). Neighbourhood diversity increases tree growth in experimental forests more in wetter climates but not in wetter years. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 9(10), 1812–1824. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-025-02805-5
Skiadaresis, G., Leban, J.-M., Schnabel, F., Schwarz, J. A., Guillemot, J., Potvin, C., & Bauhus, J. (2025). Interacting and dynamic effects of species and structural diversity promote annual woody biomass production in a tropical tree diversity experiment. Forest Ecology and Management, 593, 122844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2025.122844
Winter, C., Mueller, S. K., Kattenborn, T., Stahl, K., Szillat, K., Weiler, M., & Schnabel, F. (2025). Forest dieback in drinking water protection areas – a hidden threat to water quality. Earth’s Future, 13(4), e2025EF006078. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025ef006078
Schnabel, F., Beugnon, R., Yang, B., Richter, R., Eisenhauer, N., Huang, Y., Liu, X., Wirth, C., Cesarz, S., Fichtner, A., Perles‐Garcia, M. D., Hähn, G. J. A., Härdtle, W., Kunz, M., Castro Izaguirre, N. C., Niklaus, P. A., Oheimb, G. von, Schmid, B., Trogisch, S., … Bruelheide, H. (2025). Tree diversity increases forest temperature buffering via enhancing canopy density and structural diversity. Ecology Letters, 28(3), e70096. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.70096
Schnabel, F., Guillemot, J., Barry, K. E., Brunn, M., Cesarz, S., Eisenhauer, N., Gebauer, T., Guerrero-Ramírez, N., Handa, I. T., Madsen, C. D., Mancilla, L., Monteza, J., Moore, T., Oelmann, Y., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schwendenmann, L., Wagner, A., Wirth, C., & Potvin, C. (2025). Tree diversity increases carbon stocks and fluxes above—but not belowground in a tropical forest experiment. Global Change Biology, 31(2), e70089. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70089
Schiefer, F., Schmidtlein, S., Hartmann, H., Schnabel, F., & Kattenborn, T. (2025). Large-scale remote sensing reveals that tree mortality in Germany appears to be greater than previously expected. Forestry, 98(4), 535–549. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpae062
Wang, M., Albert, G., Chesters, D., Bruelheide, H., Li, Y., Chen, J.-T., Haider, S., Li, S., Oheimb, G. von, Proß, T., Schnabel, F., Yang, B., Zhou, Q., Ma, K., Liu, X., Zhu, C.-D., Luo, A., & Schuldt, A. (2025). Tree diversity, tree growth, and microclimate independently structure Lepidoptera herbivore community stability. Ecological Monographs, 95(3), e70026. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.70026
Schiefer, F., Schmidtlein, S., Hartmann, H., Schnabel, F., & Kattenborn, T. (2024). Large-scale remote sensing reveals that tree mortality in Germany appears to be greater than previously expected. openRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.10.622853
Winter, C., Mueller, S. K., Kattenborn, T., Stahl, K., Szillat, K., Weiler, M., & Schnabel, F. (2024). Forest dieback in drinking water protection areas – a hidden threat to water quality. In bioRxiv beta. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.07.606951
Ray, T., Fichtner, A., Kunz, M., Proß, T., Bradler, P. M., Bruelheide, H., Georgi, L., Haider, S., Hildebrand, M., Potvin, C., Schnabel, F., Trogisch, S., & Oheimb, G. von. (2024). Diversity-enhanced canopy space occupation and leaf functional diversity jointly promote overyielding in tropical tree communities. The Science of the Total Environment, 951, 175438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175438
Sachsenmaier, L., Schnabel, F., Dietrich, P., Eisenhauer, N., Ferlian, O., Quosh, J., Richter, R., & Wirth, C. (2024). Forest growth resistance and resilience to the 2018–2020 drought depend on tree diversity and mycorrhizal type. Journal of Ecology, 112(8), 1787–1803. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14360
Dietrich, V., Skiadaresis, G., Schnabel, F., Leban, J.-M., Potvin, C., Bauhus, J., & Schwarz, J. A. (2024). Identifying the impact of climate extremes on radial growth in young tropical trees: a comparison of inventory and tree-ring based estimates. Dendrochronologia, 86, 126237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2024.126237
Depauw, L., De Lombaerde, E., Hajek, P., Scherer-Lorenzen, M., Schnabel, F., Bauhus, J., Sousa-Silva, R., & Baeten, L. (2024). Enhancing tree performance through species mixing: review of a quarter-century of TreeDivNet experiments reveals research gaps and practical insights. Current Forestry Reports, 10(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40725-023-00208-y
Schnabel, F., Barry, K. E., Eckhardt, S., Guillemot, J., Geilmann, H., Kahl, A., Moossen, H., Bauhus, J., & Wirth, C. (2024). Neighbourhood species richness and drought‐tolerance traits modulate tree growth and δ13C responses to drought. Plant Biology, 26(2), 330–345. https://doi.org/10.1111/plb.13611

Honours and awards

2024 PhD prize for excellent dissertation and outstanding commitment in student supervision, outreach and science policy, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
2024 Best Poster Award, XXVI World Congress of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), Division 4, Stockholm, Sweden
2022 Best Poster Award, iDiv conference 2022
2019 Hansjürg-Steinlin-Prize of the University of Freiburg for an outstanding Master’s thesis.
2018 Best Scientific Talk Award, iDiv conference 2018
2015 Runner-up in the Think Forests video competition for the movie One single tree

In the Media

Media coverage and interviews in national and international media (selection)

Press releases on the studies

Schnabel et al. 2019, Global Change Biology
Schnabel et al. 2021, Science Advances
Schnabel et al. 2022, Global Change Biology
Schnabel et al. 2025, Ecology Letters
Schnabel et al. 2025, Global Change Biology
Winter et al. 2025, Earth’s Future