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Year of election: | 2008 |
Section: | Earth Sciences |
City: | Göttingen |
Country: | Germany |
Gerhard Gerold has contributed significantly to tropical ecology, mainly as head of the Department of Landscape Ecology of the Geographical Institute at University of Göttingen which he is leading since more than 18 years now. In that time, the department developed into a particularly in Latin America and SE-Asia well known small institution . He made major contributions in analysing and evaluating consequences of human impacts in tropical forest ecosystems. Sustainable soil use and problems associated with soil degradation and water use in tropical developing countries are being investigated in the light of global change.
One highlight of his recent research is the adaption of a deterministic water balance model and use for tropical catchments to calculate the consequences of climate change and land use change. Interdisciplinary research approach is characteristic of Gerhard Gerold based on complex landscape ecology theory and solutions for up- and downscaling at the landscape scale. A global network of research on tropical ecosystems was developed including projects in West Africa, Vietnam, Indonesia and Latin America within the Centre of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Forestry (CeTSAF), for which the Dept. of Landscape Ecology is a main partner and Prof. Gerold a member of the steering committee.