David Mauch has already passed his exams and the aspiring forestry engineer will submit his master's thesis at the end of August. The topic: Changes in tree growth due to climate change in Baden-Württemberg. “Every ten years, the forestry takes inventory of operations across the entire state,” explains the 25-year-old. A precise record is kept of which tree species have grown where and how and which have died. “This data is the basis for my thesis,” says Mauch. The young man is studying at the University of Forestry in Rottenburg, which he says is the “smallest university of excellence in Germany”. David Mauch consciously chose Rottenburg because the UNESCO commission certified the school as having “probably the clearest forestry profile of all higher education institutions in Germany”.
It's no surprise that forestry studies at state universities are in demand. Around 100 young people are admitted to the bachelor's and master's degree programs each semester. The number of applicants is five to seven times higher, says course director Artur Petkau. Anyone interested in the subject must have good school grades in addition to a love of nature. The course has restricted admissions and the numerus clausus is always “in the low two-point range”.
The course itself is diverse. Zoology and ecology are on the curriculum, as are botany or soil science, ergonomics and path construction. The students also learn about machines and methods of wood harvesting. There are also legal and business management questions and modules on biological production. “The focus here is on the question of how silviculture must be managed so that the forest can fulfill its diverse functions,” explains Petkau. It is no coincidence that people today talk about multifunctional forestry. “Different social groups have different demands on the forest,” says Petkau. “On the one hand, it’s about the classic use of wood, and on the other hand, it’s about the forest as a source of shade, a source of drinking water, an air purifier or a place to relax.” Foresters would have to moderate these interests and keep an eye on biodiversity and species protection as well as local and global climate protection.
Brilliant perspectives
The career prospects for forestry engineers are excellent, says Petkau, whether as a ranger in the national park or as a specialist in the wood industry. Currently, however, most graduates are going back to the traditional forestry sector, in private and public forest administrations. “Forestry companies are looking for more young talent than they have for a long time. There are good prospects there.” David Mauch also decided on a career in forestry administration. As soon as he has his master's degree under his belt, he will take up a position as a forester on Lake Constance.
His fellow student Gina Janßen, who has completed her sixth semester, is also drawn to the police station. “I simply want to become a forester,” she explains, explaining why she wants to finish her studies after completing her bachelor’s degree. Before deciding to pursue a career in forestry, the 25-year-old completed a sports science degree and worked as a trainer. “Perhaps both areas can be combined,” she says, citing “forest and health” as the keyword. What is more important to her than top earnings is the meaningfulness of her actions. And forest management makes sense – especially against the background of climate change. “During their growth phase, the trees store carbon in the wood and the forest acts as a CO2 sink,” explains Gina Janßen. And: “If we didn’t manage the forests in Germany, they would develop towards pure beech stands. Then we would only have one tree species on the land again and that is very risky given climate change.”
The example of the spruce shows this. It was planted in large numbers after the war, after trees had been cut down on a gigantic scale as reparations payments. The fast-growing spruce promised quick yields. “But at the time it was also planted in locations that were actually too warm for it,” explains David Mauch. The result: drought stress and massive bark beetle infestations.
Keep an eye on the climate
The forestry carries a lot of responsibility and at the same time the job is challenging, said the student: “If I plant an oak tree today, it might be felled in 150 years. But what will the climate look like in 150 years? So I have to make decisions for periods of time that hardly anyone has an eye on today.” One of the decisive means of helping to shape forests is hunting, explains the Baden native. An overpopulation of native wild animals and the resulting browsing threatens the natural regeneration of the forest. Hunting is justified, especially in times of climate change. The university's large teaching hunting area was one of the arguments for Mauch to study in Rottenburg.
Although, according to Professor Petkau, there is still a long way to go until “Forest 4.0”, digitalization has found its way into forestry practice as well as into studies. David Mauch was able to practice hunting appropriately using a shooting cinema system in the university auditorium before he sat on a perch in the forest for the first time after taking the hunting test. “A video was playing and we shot at the screen with special laser cartridges,” explains the 25-year-old. There is a digital management system for the “real” hunting area to prevent “two hunters from stalking a perch in the dark in the same night.”
During forest excursions, Mauch works with a tablet and GPS coordinates. That's quite a relief, “because the trees don't have house numbers.” However, the mobile phone network is an obstacle; there is still not reception everywhere in forests. “The lines on the trees will not be able to be replaced for a long time,” estimates Gina Janßen. “But working with a tablet is a much more efficient method – both in studies and in practice.” The advantages of digitalization would also be evident in the photo-optical measurement of industrial wood. “This used to be done by hand, but today the amount of wood is recorded using a camera.”
Digital immersion in the forest
Virtual forest excursions have not only found their way into teaching at the forestry college since Corona. What began in October 2019 as a student project with small films gained considerable momentum due to the pandemic. The university commissioned a company to fly over the teaching forest behind the campus with a drone. Whether plentiful, oak or beech forest: “We have documented everything in 360-degree videos, some in 3D,” says Sebastian Hein, Professor of Silviculture. “This makes it possible to get a quasi-realistic impression of the forest images.”
The virtual excursions are now accompanied by 40 short films by the students, in which they shed light on topics such as tree growth, structure and use, rejuvenation, age and risks. “We also incorporated learning controls into about half of the short films,” says Hein. The aim is to embed digital immersion in the forest into an overall didactic concept. Hein emphasizes that the new technology cannot replace on-site visits to the forest and training on the property, but “but can complement it”.
For example, dendrometric information could be imported into selected trees via the digital forest platform with a mouse click. For him, the introduction of digital technology was associated with a “total change of perspective,” says Hein. “When it comes to gaming technology, I am the learner myself.” But he already sees other areas of application. He would like to tackle the topic of internationalization and have forests from the Mediterranean region digitally photographed in order to draw conclusions for the planting of climate-resistant trees in this country. “Excursions with students to southern Europe are practically impossible – and would also not be justifiable for climate protection reasons,” says Hein. “So the forests have to come to the foresters.”
