The Team

Tabea Wörner (she/her)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: tabea.woerner@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{Tabea Wörner completed both her BSc and MSc in Environmental Sciences at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, specialising in Climate Change Ecology. She wrote her Master’s thesis on the topic of CO2 fluxes under beech and Douglas fir. She recently started a PhD at Future Forests, focusing on analysing and modelling forest microclimates.}

Lee Deutsch (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: lee.deutsch@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{Lee earned his B.Sc. in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark College and his M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences from the University of Freiburg. At the Chair of Pathology of Trees, he wrote his Master’s thesis on the spread of fungal pathogens in non-native urban pine trees. Now, as part of Future Forests, Lee will investigate how different Douglas fir varieties and their mycobiomes respond to the combined stresses of drought, heat, and fungal pathogen co-infections.}

Danilo Lüdke (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: danilo.luedke@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{My research explores biotic interactions, mostly between plants and insects, with a particular focus on how newly arrived species become integrated into existing ecosystems. Trained as a general biologist, I combine field ecology, biodiversity monitoring, bioinformatics and molecular methods to address ecological questions across scales. I am also a passionate entomologist with a longstanding interest in the ecology and taxonomy of true bugs (Insecta: Heteroptera). In Future Forests, I study the recently introduced invasive oak lace bug (Corythucha arcuata) and the responses of young oaks to combined drought and herbivory stress, helping to evaluate the role of oaks in future forest ecosystems.}

Isabel Karst (she/her)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: Isabel.Karst@forst.bwl.de

_{Isabel is a geospatial environmental engineer specialized in remote sensing, spatial modelling and environmental data analysis. Passionate about forests and their future under climate change, she is particularly interested in developing transparent and reproducible methods to improve sustainable forest adaptation. Her doctoral research at the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA), in collaboration with the Excellence Cluster Future Forests, investigates how different climate-related disturbances shape forest vulnerability to support evidence-based forest management.}

David Andermahr (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: david.andermahr@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{David studied forest sciences at the University of Freiburg and subsequently completed his state examination at the forest administration of North Rhine-Westphalia. His previous research has focused on the drought resilience of European beech and oak species. Within his current project in Future Forests, he builds on this work to investigate the connections among the physiological resilience of forest trees, mortality dynamics, and socio-ecological contexts. By examining how stand density management affects tree mortality during drought periods, he aims to bridge the gap between basic ecology and practical forestry and to develop concrete guidelines for tree species selection and adaptive forest management.}

Paulina Weber-Steinhilber (she/her)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: paulina.weber-steinhilber@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{Having completed my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the University of Freiburg with a focus on Forest Ecology, I have long been fascinated by the interplay between microorganisms, insects, and their environment. I am now pursuing my PhD, where I use a One Health perspective to analyze the relationship between ticks and forest ecosystems. My research focuses on future forest scenarios and the impact of increasing environmental stressors – such as species composition shifts and forest disturbances – to understand how these changes influence tick abundance and pathogen prevalence, and ultimately, the associated risks to human health.}

Mattis Pfenning (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: mattis.pfenning@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{Mattis completed both his BSc and MSc in Environmental Sciences at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, specialising in Environmental Modelling and Data Science. Alongside his Master’s studies, he worked as a Hiwi at the Chair of Sensor-based Geoinformatics, where he also wrote his thesis on forecasting tree mortality using deep learning. He has recently started a PhD at Future Forests, focusing on the attribution of large-scale tree mortality. In his spare time, he sews outdoor gear like, backpacks and hammocks.}

Robin Schweikert (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: robin.schweikert@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{I am a trained molecular biologist with a focus on plant sciences. Within the Future Forests Cluster, I will investigate how different forest management strategies affect the diversity of epiphytic lichens and mosses. Additionally, I will explore the fascinating communities of microorganisms associated with these epiphytic species.}

Moritz Schuck (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: moritz.schuck@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{What do you remember most about a visit to the forest? The fresh air, the lush greenery, the rustling of leaves in the wind, or the buzzing of insects? As a researcher with a background in acoustics and perception, I’m interested in how people experience forest environments, which sensory impressions they recall, and how these perceptions relate to health and well-being.}

Simon Lotz (he/him)

Data Scientist funded by Future Forests

Email: simon.lotz@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{Driven by a background in Geography, I have always been fascinated by spatial data and the diverse ways people perceive and discuss their environments. My previous research with VR (virtual reality) forests sparked my interest in how controlled virtual worlds can capture human perception and influence decision-making. By merging these scientific insights with a deep appreciation for audio-visual perception gained through filmmaking and music, I am excited to work with Moritz Schuck on our current project on ‘Audiovisual Forest Change, Environmental Perception and Well-Being’.}

Malte Lehmann (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: malte.lehmann@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{The diversity of life in all its facets has fascinated me for as long as I can remember. After studying evolutionary biology and ecology, my research now focuses on biodiversity in our changing forests. I pay particular attention to diversity in the herb layer and the functional consequences arising from its change. In doing so, I work primarily with vegetation surveys, the analysis of historical data, and large-scale decomposition experiments.}

Felix Radtke (he/him)

Doctoral researcher funded by Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt

Phone: +49 (0)761 – 203 97833
Email: felix.radtke@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de

_{Hydrologist with an interest in large-scale catchment hydrology at the interface between hydrology and silviculture in the context of global change. The research examines the interactions between climatic stress, forest condition and catchment characteristics on hydrological processes. The focus is on drought-induced forest dieback and its effects on nitrate levels in groundwater.}

Johanna von Drachenfels

Doctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: johanna.drachenfels@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

Ina Aufderheide

Doctoral researcher funded by the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA)

Dr. Joschka Geissler (he/him)

Postdoctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: joschka.geissler@futureforests.uni-freiburg.de

_{Joschka Geissler combines remote sensing, environmental monitoring, and data-driven methods—such as deep learning and physical models—to better understand the interactions between forests, water, and climate. A particular focus of his research is the identification of spatial patterns and processes that shape the microclimate and ecohydrology of forest ecosystems. Within the ‘Future Forests’ project, he is responsible for site selection and the design of the large-scale microclimate measurement network, as well as the development of spatially explicit models of microclimatic conditions.}

Dr. Ronny Rotbarth (he/him)

Postdoctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: ronny.rotbarth@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de
Phone: +49 (0) 761 203-3675

_{My main research interest lies in the exploration of resilience of various (eco)systems, especially forests, to global change and its impacts (i.e. drought, wildfire, insect outbreaks). This means that I study if and how systems can recover from these impacts. Within Future Forests I work on the development of an early warning system which signals when forests are loosing their ability to recover, so that we may have a window of opportunity to apply measure to revert such trends. I will use tree tring samples, satellite images and information on ecosystem productivity from flux towers to feed into this early warning system. Besides research, I am a keen hiker, runner and enthusiast of many other sports.}

Dr. Kenton Stutz (he/him)

Postdoctoral researcher funded by Future Forests

Email: kenton.stutz@boden.uni-freiburg.de