Cooperation with the Technical University of Munich

In an agreement concluded in December 2019 between the Bavarian State Ministry for the Environment and Consumer Protection and the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the two institutions agreed to cooperate in national park research. The newly established professorship for ecosystem dynamics and forest management in mountain landscapes at TUM will lead research and monitoring in the national park. This cooperation enables a bridge between excellent science and its application in practice in the context of nature conservation management.

Research is a key domain of universities and the TUM is a globally recognized university of excellence which bundles the topics of sustainability and land use, among others, at the Weihenstephan site. At the same time, the national park offers the opportunity for long-term research into ecosystems and their natural development without human intervention. The combination of university and national park therefore offers unique opportunities for gaining knowledge about ecosystems and their changes. Furthermore, the cooperation provides the scientific basis for evidence-based protected area management. In addition, the national park is an important place of learning where TUM students can experience ecological processes and concepts of nature conservation at first hand. The cooperation thus also enables new approaches in university teaching, supported by the Friedrich N. Schwarz research station newly established by TUM in Berchtesgaden.

The partnership between the National Park and the TUM is brought to life by Prof. Dr. Rupert Seidl and PD Dr. Sebastian Seibold, who jointly head the Research and Monitoring Department in the National Park. In addition to heading the department, they both work at the Chair of Ecosystem Dynamics and Forest Management in Mountain Landscapes at TUM, which Seidl heads as a full professor.

National Park Director Dr. Baier, Prof. Rupert Seidl, Environment Minister Thorsten Glauber, TUM President Prof. Thomas Hofmann and Dr. Sebastian Seibold (from left) at the presentation of the Cooperation 2020 at Königssee.

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Rupert Seidl

Ecosystem dynamics, forest management, disturbance ecology, ecosystem modeling, landscape ecology, climate impact research, resilience, silviculture.

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