FiF Project „ForestHealth“

An interdisciplinary project on the state of the forest ecosystem in southern Hesse

2025/07/23

As in many other regions of Germany, the condition of forests in southern Hesse has deteriorated noticeably in recent years. When assessing the condition of forests, attention is often focused exclusively on the tree population, without taking into account the forest floor as the foundation of the forest ecosystem.

Picture: FG Bodenmineralogie und Bodenchemie
Picture: FG Bodenmineralogie und Bodenchemie
Picture: FG Bodenmineralogie und Bodenchemie
Picture: FG Bodenmineralogie und Bodenchemie
Picture: FG Bodenmineralogie und Bodenchemie

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Since February 2025, scientists from division of Remote Sensing and Image Analysis (FB 13), Animal Evolutionary Ecology (FB 10), and Soil Mineralogy and Soil Chemistry (FB 11) have been collaborating in the FiF project “ForestHealth” funded by the Forum for Interdisciplinary Research, to investigate the relationship between canopy cover and biotic and abiotic soil conditions in the Ostwald forest near Darmstadt. This interdisciplinary project integrates qualitative aspects of canopy cover with chemical, microclimatic, and faunistic parameters of the forest floor for the first time.

Since February 2025, the Soil Mineralogy and Soil Chemistry division has been sampling soil water and precipitation and measuring the major ions and dissolved organic carbon in order to calculate nutrient inputs and track changes in the soil nutrient balance. Additionally, soil moisture and soil temperature are small-scale monitored via a sensor network. We also sample branches and soils to determine from which soil horizons the trees obtain their water using stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes.