Dr. Christopher Morhart – Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies

Dr. Christopher Morhart

University of Freiburg
Forestry science, Agroforestry

Member FRIAS Project Group
FRIAS Project Group “Agrivoltaics”

October 2025 – September 2026

Website

ORCID ID

E-Mail: christopher.morhart@wwd.uni-freiburg.de

Last Update: 20.10.2025

Curriculum Vitae

Christopher Morhart is a senior researcher at the Chair of Forest Growth and Dendroecology, where he pioneers transdisciplinary research at the nexus of forestry and agriculture to advance agroforestry systems as sustainable land-use systems . With a background in forestry (University of Freiburg and University of Helsinki) and a PhD specializing in agroforestry, he bridges fundamental science with applied solutions to address global challenges in climate resilience, biodiversity, and food security. His research focuses on the ecological interactions between trees and crops in agroforestry systems, a field he has helped elevate through scientific innovation and institutional leadership. As a founding member of the German (DeFAF), European (EURAF), and World (IUAF) Agroforestry Associations, he shapes the global discourse on integrating trees into agricultural landscapes, fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. Currently, he leads HUMAX (Link), a six-year flagship project exploring the synergies between agroforestry and agrivoltaics to optimize land use for renewable energy, carbon sequestration, and crop productivity. He also contributes to three additional agroforestry projects, all aimed at translating cutting-edge research into scalable, real-world applications.

Selected Publications

Schindler, Z., Larysch, E., Fornoff, F., Kröner, K., Obladen, N., Klein, A. M., … & Morhart, C. (2025). Flower power: Modeling floral resources of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) for bee pollinators based on 3D data. Ecology, 106(5), e70103.
Morhart, C., Schindler, Z., Frey, J., Sheppard, J. P., Calders, K., Disney, M., … & Seifert, T. (2024). Limitations of estimating branch volume from terrestrial laser scanning. European Journal of Forest Research, 143(2), 687-702.
Schindler, Z., Larysch, E., Frey, J., Sheppard, J. P., Obladen, N., Kröner, K., … & Morhart, C. (2024). From Dawn to Dusk: High-Resolution Tree Shading Model Based on Terrestrial LiDAR Data. Remote Sensing, 16(12), 2189.
Morhart, C., Sheppard, J. P., Schuler, J. K., & Spiecker, H. (2016). Above-ground woody biomass allocation and within tree carbon and nutrient distribution of wild cherry (Prunus avium L.)–a case study. Forest Ecosystems, 3(1), 4.
Morhart, C. D., Douglas, G. C., Dupraz, C., Graves, A. R., Nahm, M., Paris, P., … & Spiecker, H. (2014). Alley coppice—a new system with ancient roots. Annals of Forest Science, 71(5), 527-542.

FRIAS Project

Project Group “Agrivoltaics.”

The Agri-Photovoltaics Project Group at the University of Freiburg advances Agri-PV as a key technology for sustainable land use: solar generation and farming co-located on the same plots to boost land productivity and climate resilience. Our interdisciplinary approach links field insights, modeling, and techno-economic analysis with social-science work on adoption, governance, and value chains. In doing so, we contribute to core UN goals—climate-resilient agriculture (SDG 2), efficient water use (SDG 6), clean energy (SDG 7), climate action (SDG 13), and responsible consumption (SDG 12). We aim to strengthen collaboration across the university, build international visibility, and deepen research capacity—complementing the application-oriented activities of Fraunhofer ISE.