Starting in 2026, the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests at the University of Freiburg will investigate how forests and their use can be adapted to global change and retain their important ecological and social functions. The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation has now announced its intention to provide extensive support for the work of Future Forests through a new funding initiative. The foundation will fund a new tenure track endowed professorship for silviculture and climate change adaptation, an international research laboratory on forest adaptation, and an incubator fund. In addition, the foundation plans to enable two additional endowed professorships in the coming years, which will further strengthen the research at the Cluster of Excellence. In total, the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation’s initiative amounts to 10.4 million euros in funding until 2032.
‘The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation has been funding research on forests, climate change, and sustainability at the University of Freiburg for many years. It strengthens the conditions for scientific excellence through its support for professorships, research infrastructure, and graduate training groups – providing a foundation for the University’s successful proposal for the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests’, emphasizes Rector Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein. ‘With its current initiative, the foundation reaffirms this course and again underlines the central role of science in the protection of natural resources.’
Cluster of Excellence Future Forests to investigate the adaptation of forests as social-ecological systems starting in 2026
The Cluster of Excellence Future Forests at the University of Freiburg will take up its work at the beginning of 2026. Its research will focus on identifying strategies with which forests and their use can be adapted successfully to global change. The aim is to secure their central ecological and social functions in the long term. For example, forests store CO₂, provide drinking water, offer a habitat for numerous plant and animal species, serve as a place for recreation, and supply wood as a renewable raw material.
Future Forests is the first Cluster of Excellence to dedicate its research exclusively to the future of forests and their sustainable use. Its members include researchers from the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources (UNR) as well as the Faculties of Biology, Medicine, and Humanities.
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bauhus, head of the Chair of Silviculture and spokesperson of Future Forests, says of the new funding initiative: ‘The Cluster of Excellence Future Forests has been given a considerable boost by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation. The international research laboratory on forest adaptation will enable us to network with researchers worldwide and establish common standards for the study of social-ecological forest systems. The incubator fund will create scope for responding quickly and flexibly to new developments. And the endowed professorship for silviculture and climate change adaptation will contribute crucial expertise to the cluster’s work.’
Robert Mayr, founder and chairman of the board of the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation, is convinced that the cooperation will be a success: ‘We’ve accompanied the development of forest research since the 1990s – to a greater extent in the past years due to the substantial increase in the assets available to the foundation through my wife’s inheritance. It is certainly not by chance that it was possible to establish the first Cluster of Excellence in the forest sciences at the University of Freiburg. We will continue to support this important work in the coming years.’
New endowed professorship to study silvicultural strategies for adapting to climate change
The new Eva Mayr-Stihl Tenure Track Endowed Professorship for Silviculture and Climate Change Adaptation will study the development of silvicultural strategies for promoting stable and resilient forests that provide important ecosystem services to forest owners and society. It draws thematically on the existing Professorship for Silviculture at the UNR but complements its profile specifically through the inclusion of strategies for adapting forests to rapid climate change and changes in the disturbance regime – such as storms, drought, or infestation.
The research will focus on the consequences of global changes, such as rising temperatures, drought, extreme events, pest pressure, and new forest diseases. This will provide a basis for the development of silvicultural adaptation strategies – for example the selection of climate-resilient tree species, new combinations of tree species and forest structures, and adapted processes of rejuvenation, maintenance, and harvesting of tree populations. The regional emphasis of the endowed professorship lies on Central Europe, but international developments will also be considered. Great importance will be attached to interdisciplinary collaboration with disciplines such as soil science, tree physiology, forest protection, forest economy, and nature conservation.
The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation is providing 1.7 million euros for the endowed professorship. It will be converted into a regular professorship at the UNR in accordance with the tenure track procedure after six years and a successful evaluation.
‘The Eva Mayr-Stihl endowed professorship allows us to anchor essential forest science competencies on climate change adaptation of forests at our faculty on a long-term basis. In addition to conducting research, the professorship will also strengthen teaching at the faculty, especially in the planned ‘Future Forests’ specialization in the Forest Sciences master’s degree programme starting in the 2026/27 winter semester’, explains Prof. Dr. Heiner Schanz, Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources.
International research laboratory on forest adaptation strengthens global networking
With the international research laboratory on forest adaptation, the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests will establish a globally renowned knowledge centre for the study of social-ecological forest systems. The aim is to build up an international network that develops comparable protocols, standards, and methods for the study of social-ecological forest systems to enable comparisons between case studies conducted in temperate, boreal, and Mediterranean regions. In addition, the laboratory will coordinate specialized working groups, organize regular workshops and summer schools, support the international exchange of researchers, and award scholarships. The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation will support the laboratory with a total of 2.5 million euros in funding.
Incubator fund enables flexible research funding
A new incubator fund will enable the Cluster of Excellence Future Forests to respond flexibly to scientific challenges at short notice and address urgent research questions that are not covered by ongoing projects. The fund will also support researchers at early career stages working on follow-up proposals, publications, outreach projects, or spin-offs. The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation has pledged to provide a total of 2.8 million euros in funding for the incubator fund.
About the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation
The Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation was founded in 1986 by Eva Mayr-Stihl and her husband Robert Mayr. One of the foci of the foundation’s work is support for science and research. At the University of Freiburg, the foundation has greatly strengthened forest sciences and the Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources since the 1990s by providing funding for research projects, grants, and endowed professorships. This development contributed to the University’s successful proposal in the Clusters of Excellence competition. The University of Freiburg conferred the title of Honorary Senator on Eva Mayr-Stihl and Robert Mayr for their special contribution to the University’s positive development.
Further Information:
https://eva-mayr-stihl-stiftung.de/
https://uni-freiburg.de/futureforests/
Contact:
University and Science Communications
University of Freiburg
Tel.: 0761/203-4302
Email: kommunikation@zv.uni-freiburg.de