Competence Centre for Landscape Resilience Officially Inaugurated – Focus on Interdisciplinary Research and International Networking

Göttingen, 22 May 2025 – The new “Competence Centre for Landscape Resilience”, affiliated with the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology at the University of Göttingen, was officially inaugurated on 22 May 2025 during a ceremonial opening event. The aim of the Centre is to significantly advance understanding of the resilience of landscapes to ecological, climatic, and societal change.

The Centre is funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation and is initially established for the period from January 2025 to December 2030. The spokesperson of the Competence Centre is Prof Dr Alexander Knohl. The Centre comprises a junior research group and an Innovation Pool.

Knohl outlined the implementation: “Over the coming years, the junior research group led by Dr Birgitta Putzenlechner will investigate landscape resilience using remote sensing and field observations. The Innovation Pool aims to promote interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research in this field. Through three current calls, researchers and students can apply for funding for Short-Term Scientific Missions, student projects, outreach projects, as well as inter- and transdisciplinary projects. The goal is to strengthen the development of innovative approaches and collaboration across disciplinary boundaries.” In her welcoming address, Dr Birgitta Putzenlechner emphasised: “With the Competence Centre for Landscape Resilience, we are creating a platform that combines excellent early-career support with innovative, interdisciplinary research.”

Complementing the junior research group and the Innovation Pool is the “Visiting Scientist Programme”, which invites international scientists working in the field of landscape resilience to undertake research stays at the University of Göttingen. Knohl added: “The aim of the Visiting Scientist Programme is to intensify scientific exchange. We expect it to provide new impulses for research at the Göttingen location.”

The opening event offered numerous guests from academia, public administration, and practice insights into the planned research priorities and the working structure of the Competence Centre. Susann Pfeiffer from the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation expressed her enthusiasm about the successful inauguration: “The Competence Centre offers an exciting thematic focus and promising structural elements and will hopefully contribute to the further development of the Faculty of Forest Sciences at the University of Göttingen.” The event concluded with opportunities for in-depth discussions and networking.

Knohl closed the event with the words: “We look forward to collaborating with partners from academia and practice and invite all interested parties to actively engage.”



They are pleased about the successful launch of the Competence Centre and future collaboration. From left to right: Prof Dr Christian Ammer (Dean of the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology), Dr Birgitta Putzenlechner (Head of the Junior Research Group Landscape Resilience), Susann Pfeiffer (Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation), Prof Dr Alexander Knohl (Spokesperson of the Competence Centre for Landscape Resilience).