Science & Research
German Forest Science Prize
The German Forest Science Award, funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, is the most highly endowed forest science award in the German-speaking world, worth 15,000 Euros. Every two years since the year 2000 the four forestry faculties in Germany, together with the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, hadn over the award as part of the bi-annual Forest Science Conference. The prize recognizes younger scientists who have shown outstanding research in the field of forest sciences. In addition to the prize money, the award winner also receives a bronze sculpture 40 centimeter high - the forestry science trophy in the form of a stylized tree.



The current laureate is Dr. Dominik Seidel. His research at the Department of Silviculture and Forest Ecology of the temperate zones of the University of Göttingen deals with the three-dimensional structure of the forest. How does the complex forest structure develop and which ecosystem functions depend on it in which way? Because productivity, biodiversity, but also aesthetics and other functions of the ecosystem depend on the structure. Together with colleagues from other disciplines, Seidel explores the form, architecture and structural complexity of individual trees and attempts to decipher how the structure of many trees generates the structure of an entire forest. An essential part of his work is the development of the required methodology. The data are collected by terrestrial laser scanning in cooperation with other researchers on all wooded continents, but mainly in primeval forests. There, natural processes of forest development are best observed.
Overview of Award Winners
2000 Prof. Dr. Jörg Ewald TU Munich
2002 Prof. Dr. Annette Menzel TU Munich
2004 Dr. Martina Mund Göttingen University
2006 Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schraml Freiburg University
2008 Dr. Susanne Iost TU Dresden
2010 Dr. Stefanie Gärtner Freiburg University
2012 Prof. Dr. Dirk Schindler Freiburg University
2014 Prof. Dr. Susanne Jochner-Oette TU Munich
2016 Dr. Doreen Schmiedel TU Dresden
2018 Prof. Dr. Dominik Seidel Göttingen University
2021 PD Dr. Sebastian Seibold TU Munich