The Chair for Silviculture accepts applications from external participants for its integrated land use course.
Integrated Land Use Systems (Summer School, 26 June -14 July 2023, hybrid course):
The rapidly growing world population and changing consumption patterns are placing increasing pressure on agricultural and forestry production systems. However, the classic intensification approach to increase yield of food and biomass by genetic standardization, mechanization and application of pesticides and fertilizer, has led to ambivalent results. In many places, negative environmental and social consequences have been observed such as soil degradation, eutrophication, decline in fresh water resources, loss of biodiversity, as well as land-use conflicts, loss of employment, and rural-urban migration.
Integrated Land Use Systems (ILUS), which combine different types of land uses and integrate several management goals, are gaining attention. It is assumed that ILUS compared to classic production systems provide a higher level of ecosystem goods and services, are less vulnerable to the risks of global change and market volatilities, and are better suited to the livelihood strategies of rural populations. However, despite these promises, in practice, ILUS still play an only minor role in most agricultural landscapes. Against this backdrop, this module intends to carefully reflect about the economic, social and environmental features of important ILUS and possibilities for broader diffusion.
Course aim:
One goal is to familiarize participants with important ILUS (e.g., agroforestry systems) by gaining up to date expert knowledge. The second major goal is to train competencies in the analysis of ecological, social and economic foundations and effects of ILUS. The participants will be organized into small working groups to conduct in-depth analyses on selected ILUS issues, taking into account different geographical regions, socioeconomic settings and production objectives.
To prepare the groups for this task, experts introduce into key aspects of ILUS from technical, environmental and economic perspectives, and present relevant insights from South-America, Africa, Asia and Europe. Furthermore, excursions to the surroundings of Freiburg will provide practical insights about the relevance, potentials and challenges related to the application of ILUS. Based on this input, the participants will gradually develop their group work, which will be presented and discussed at the end of of the module.
After completing the course students are able to
- describe and classify different types of ILUS,
- explain the history of ILUS and particularly their recent emergence as possible and more sustainable alternatives to commercial tree and crop monocultures,
- analyse the performance and potential of ILUS with respect to environmental, economic and sociocultural considerations,
- relate ILUS to specific issues and processes including contribution to food security, economic growth, watershed protection and biodiversity conservation, and
- critically reflect about the implications of ILUS in sustainable land use and rural livelihoods.
Target Group:
The module is designed for international graduate students,consultants and land use professionals, as well as for young scientists working in the field of forest, agricultural, and environmental sciences, geography, rural development, land use planning, landscape ecology and other related fields of natural resource management. The programme is open for applications from all countries.
Further information:
| Scientific Coordinators | Prof. Dr. Dietrich Schmidt-Vogt, Dr. Sabine Reinecke |
| Type | Continuing Education Course |
| Organizer | Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources, Chair of Silviculture in cooperation with external experts |
| This course will be useful for | Graduates of forestry and land use programmes, researchers and PhD students, consultants and land use professionals |
| Prerequisites for participation | University degree related to agriculture or forestry (minimum 30 ECTS in specific modules), a minimum of two years working experience in a related sector, excellent English language skills |
| Format | Three week full time seminar (Monday to Friday 9am-5pm), hybrid (i.e. presence in Freiburg expected from 03-11 July, with excursions) |
| Dates | 26 June – 14 July 2023 |
| Certificate | Participants of the course will receive a Qualified Participation Certificate |
| Credit points | 5 CP according to the ECTS (if the voluntary oral exam is passed) |
| Location | Tennenbacher Straße 4
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany |
| Application Deadline | 25 May 2023 (first come first served if eligible) |
| Course Fee | 450 Euro for hybrid option with excursions and lunch (an invoice will be sent after acceptance of the application), excluding costs for accommodation, food and travel |
| Scholarships | There are no scholarships available for the course and no logistical support for travel or accommodation. Interested participants are requested to look for their own sources of funding. |
Freiburg:
- Freiburg, “the green city” is a traditional but at the same time also a very young and dynamic university city. It is located close to the black forest, France and Switzerland and is considered to be one of the most attractive cities in Germany – especially in summer.
- Many sustainability initiatives originated in Freiburg, and it is one of the European centres of renewable energy development and sustainability research.
- The Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg was founded in 1457 and is one of the oldest universities in Germany. Students can choose from over 150 programmes at 11 faculties. At present, 25,000 students are enrolled.
More information and application:
Download the application form here.
Download our flyer here.
The class of 2019 has compiled a joint report on the lessons learned in the course on Integrated Land Use Systems that can be downloaded here (PDF).
Contact:
Universität Freiburg
Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources
Chair of Silviculture
Dr. Sabine Reinecke
Tennenbacherstr. 4, 79106 Freiburg
ilus@waldbau.uni-freiburg.de