Department Physical Geography

PD Dr. Stefan Hohnwald


Research Interests:

  • Landscape Ecology: Tropical Ecology, Latin America (Brazil, Honduras, Bolivia)
  • Physical Geography: Biogeography, Mountain Ecology (Andes, Alps), Vegetation Geography
  • Tropical Animal Produktion: Pasture Ecology, Multi-functional Woody Legumes
  • Forest Ecology: Rainforests (FSC-Certification), Capoeira, Microclimate, Polylepis-Forests
  • Ornithology: Neotropical Avifauna, Mapping of Breeding Birds in Germany, Gallery Forests



Venia Legendi in Physical Geography/ Landscape Ecology (June 2017)

Project-Coordinator "Carbiocial"

Pasture Degradation Project
Woody enrichment of degraded smallholder pastures–
options to avoid, to renovate, and to quantify degraded pastures in the north-eastern Amazon, Brazil

Cooperation partner: Embrapa Amazônia Oriental, Belém

Subprojects


  • Soil improvement and forage production of Cratylia argentea and Flemingia macrophylla under smallholder management, large-scale holder and intensive pasture management.
  • Soil improving grass-capoeira-legume pasture with more frequent and intensive slashing and sheep as partially browsing grazers.
  • Low-Input geoecological services of domesticated animals (cattle, pigs) for cheap recuperation of biologically degraded pastures.
  • Soil fertility enrichment and forage grass production of burning, mulching or ploughing of an agronomically degraded pasture.
  • Quantification of different degradation stages through capoeira encroachment on pastures by using Quickbird and Landsat-TM satellite images (thesis of Timo Krummel)
  • Cafeteria-trail with ten woody species for soil improvement and as forage supplements for grazing cattle.



Frequently Participated Conferences
Deutscher Tropentag, Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie, Arbeitskreis Biogeographie, Arbeitskreis Hochgebirgsökologie


Co-coordinator of the GTÖ-conference 2016 in Göttingen


Co-editor of the "Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (JARTS)"
www.jarts.info

Teaching (Assistent)

Certificate of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education of the Georg-August University Göttingen (6 competences, 140 hours, since July 2014)



  • Seminar and Excursion "Mountain Ecology of the Swiss Alps (10 days)"
  • Seminar and Excursion "Mountain Ecology of the Wallis, Switzerland (10 days)"
    (evaluated by students as the best seminar and 4th best faculty's course in the summer semester 2015)
  • Seminar and Lecture "Introduction into the Geosystem Earth" (Physcial Geography)
  • Excursion "Duisburg- Natural and Cultural History of a Special Location" (3 days)
  • Excursion "Geo-Ecological and Cultural Geographical Aspects of Duisburg" (3 days)

  • Seminar “Problems of Resource Uses”

  • Lecture "Ecosystems of the World"

  • Seminar "Pasture Ecology and Degradation” at the Institute of Soil Sciences, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil

  • Seminar “Investigations of C- and N-inputs and litter quality of forest ecosystems”

  • Field Experiences in Geo-Ecology in the Bragantina region, Amazon, Brazil (2 weeks)

  • Seminar "Multidisciplinary Research and Communication Skills in Tropical Production Systems"

  • Seminar "Animal Production in the Tropics and Subtropics"

  • Botanical Excursion to the Ötztaler Alps and Seiser Alm, Department of Systematic Botany, Prof. Dr. R. Gradstein, Göttingen



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Fordis- International Expert Group on Forest Disturbances