World Forestry
Welcome!
We contribute to the conservation of forests, especially in the tropics. In this context we consider the various demands of forest-dependent people.
We analyse area of conflict ranging between production of raw materials and preservation of the ecological functions of forests.
Our objective is the elaboration of concepts and strategies for the sustainable management of forests. Our research is inspired by the principles of sustainability which we implement in a holistic approach.
Silvicultural principles, forest management, and assessment of forests are positioned in the context of political, social, economic, and cultural framework conditions and build the thematic priority of our research and teaching.
Key activities of the research unit are:
- Tropical forest ecosystems: structure, function, and dynamics of tropical forest ecosystems especially in South East Asia, Western Africa, and South America.
- Forests and regional development: dynamic system-modelling of forest ecosystems and managed forests in the tropical and temperate zones.
- Forest inventory: assessment of condition and development of forest ecosystems by means of remote sensing data and terrestrial inventories.
- Forests and climate: accompanying scientific research in the area of MRV-systems for REDD+, adaptation of forests to climate change and carbon budgets of forests.
- Sustainable Forest Management: investigations of forest growth, silvicultural treatments to conserve the biological diversity and to increase forest growth – especially in tropical forests, sustainable forest use planning, Reduced Impact Logging.
- Land use: sustainable forestry within the context of landscape, rehabilitation of degraded forest sites.
- Plantations: development of growth models for plantations, investment calculation.
