Department

Forest Ecology

& Soil

Cycles of matter and energy fluxes have an enormous impact on the development of healthy forests. The pedosphere (soil cover) plays a crucial role in this process as it is the transition zone between atmosphere (climate), lithosphere (geology), hydrosphere (water) and biosphere (biology). Key task of forest ecology is to provide the ecological fundamentals for sustainable forestry.

But Forest ecology addresses also increasingly environment-relevant aspects. Studies focus on biochemistry and soil biology related to the carbon cycle and the fluxes of greenhouse gases from forest soils. We are able to contribute to topical issues such as nature conservation and biodiversity. Soil research becomes more and more a cross-cutting discipline thus following an international trend.