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Type of site | Information and Communication Platform |
|---|---|
| Available in | German, English, French, Italian |
| Owner | FVA, LWF, BFW, WSL |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | 2005 |
Waldwissen is an international, multilingual information and communication Website for a wide range of forestry topics. [1] [2]
The Website www.waldwissen.net is published by the Forest Research Institute of Baden-Württemberg, Freiburg, Germany (FVA), the Bavarian Forest Institute, Freising, Germany (LWF), the Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape, Vienna, Austria (BFW) and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Birmensdorf, Switzerland (WSL).
The network comprises forest research institutes, forest administrations, forest owner associations and other non-governmental organisations offering access to expert knowledge. The interactive platform has established itself in Central Europe as the leading online-information source for a wide range of forestry and forest-related topics. In July 2023, over 2700 German-language and approx. 950 foreign-language articles were available.. [3]
In addition to the four publishing research institutes from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, a number of other partner institutions have contributed to www.waldwissen.net. [4] All partners involved use their own resources for financing their editorial staff. As of August 2023 [update] each of the ten editorial offices compiles and edits expert information and then presents it on the web-portal. They cooperate with organisations such as the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund, the Federal Office for the Environment, the Swiss Ornithological Station Sempach, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna, the Bavarian Forest Genetics Office (AWG) and the Rottenburg University of Applied Forest Sciences.
The Federal Research Institute (WSL) had the idea of making relevant practical knowledge from forestry and environmental science available for everyone in an easily accessible forum. In the summer of 2003, the prototype www.waldwissen.ch went online.
The experience gained from www.waldwissen.ch was very positive. At the same time, the four research institutes involved in forest research FVA, LWF, BFW, WSL intensified their efforts to develop a joint forest information system with contents from international sources. This project was part of the KnowForAlp Initiative comprising in total 19 research institutes from seven countries. From this initiative emerged www.waldwissen.net which went online on 16 February 2005. [5] [6] [7]
Since then, the number of contributions to www.waldwissen.net and the supply of forestry expertise has continued to grow. In 2007, www.waldwissen.net was awarded the Schweighofer Innovation Award for Forestry with a total of 50.000 euros in prize money. [8] The internationality, multilingualism and the professionalism of the contributions to www.waldwissen.net made an especially favourable impression on the jury. [9] [10] The prize money was used for the further development and the redesign of the website. Since mid-2015 www.waldwissen.net is also available as a Mobile app for Android and Apple iOS. [11] [12]
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. The science of forestry has elements that belong to the biological, physical, social, political and managerial sciences. Forest management plays an essential role in the creation and modification of habitats and affects ecosystem services provisioning.
ETH Zurich is a public research university in Zürich, Switzerland. Founded by the Swiss federal government in 1854, it was modeled on the École polytechnique in Paris, with the stated mission to educate engineers and scientists; the school focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, although its 16 departments span a variety of disciplines and subjects.
RWTH Aachen University, in German Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen, is a German public research university located in Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With more than 47,000 students enrolled in 144 study programs, it is the largest technical university in Germany.
The University of Basel is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universities. The university is traditionally counted among the leading institutions of higher learning in the country.
Beijing Forestry University, located in the Haidian District of Beijing, China, is one of the National Key Universities. Identified by the Ministry of Education of China, it is one of the initial universities included in both the Double First Class University Plan and Project 211.
The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) is a non-profit scientific research organization that conducts research on the use and management of forests with a focus on tropical forests in developing countries. CIFOR, which merged with World Agroforestry on Jan. 1, 2019, is the forestry and agroforestry research center of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a network of 15 research centers around the world that focus on agricultural research for sustainable development, working closely with governments and other partners to help develop evidence-based solutions to problems related to sustainable agriculture and natural resource management.
The International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) is a non-profit, non-governmental international network of forest scientists, headquartered in Austria. The aim of the organization is to promote worldwide cooperation in scientific studies embracing the whole field of research related to forests and their use and sustainable development. In 2019, IUFRO counted 630 Member Organizations worldwide.
Science and technology in Switzerland play an important role in the Swiss economy, which has very few natural resources that are available in the country. The Swiss National Science Foundation, mandated by the Federal government, is the most important institute for promoting scientific research.
The European Forest Institute (EFI) is an international organization established by the European states. It has 30 Member Countries, and c. 130 member organizations from 40 countries working in diverse research fields. EFI provides forest-related knowledge around three interconnected and interdisciplinary themes: bioeconomy, resilience and governance.
HS Timber Group is an Austrian private company operating in the wood processing industry, lumber trading and bioenergy production.
The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) is an organisation based in Peechi, in Thrissur, India. It was established in 1975 by the Government of Kerala as part of its Science and Technology Department, and in 2003 became part of the KSCSTE.
The Domain of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology is a union of Swiss governmental universities and research institutions. It primarily consists of the following institutions:
The Steinwald is a mountain range up to 946 m above sea level (NN) in southern Germany and, at the same time, a nature park founded in 1970 with an area of 246 square kilometres (95 sq mi) in the province of Upper Palatinate, in North Bavaria.
Forest informatics is the combined science of forestry and informatics, with a special emphasis on collection, management, and processing of data, information and knowledge, and the incorporation of informatic concepts and theories specific to enrich forest management and forest science; it has a similar relationship to library science and information science.
The University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland is one of the Universities of Applied Sciences of the Swiss Confederation. SUPSI offers more than 30 bachelor and master courses, complementing theoretical scientific knowledge and practical technological advances applied to real projects. Various departments of SUPSI are mainly based in Southern Switzerland. Instruction is mainly in Swiss Italian, with some courses delivered in English and German.
The Global Forest Information Service (GFIS) was an initiative of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF) and was a collaborative effort of 14 major forest-related international organizations, institutions and convention secretariat, aiming to maximize the value of all forest information resources and providers worldwide through the sharing of forest-related information through a single gateway. The effort was discontinued in 2021.
The protected forest area, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh, is located in the Trancarpathian region of Ukraine and belongs to the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve. It is the largest primeval beech forest worldwide with an area of 8800 ha. Since 1920, some parts of this forest have been protected. In 1992, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh primeval beech forest was designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later, several other primeval and old-growth beech forests in Europe were included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe as well.
As a primeval beech forest, Uholka-Shyrokyi Luh is an important research hotspot. In 2001, a 10 ha research sample plot was installed in Mala Uholka as part of a Swiss-Ukrainian research project, and in 2010 a full statistical inventory of the primeval forest was carried out. The next inventory is planned in 2019 to detect any changes.
The Biodiversity Monitoring Switzerland (BDM) is a Swiss Confederation programme for the long-term monitoring of species diversity in Switzerland.
Michael Lehning is a German and Swiss environmental and atmospheric scientist. He is a professor of environmental engineering at EPFL, the head of EPFL's Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, and head of the group Snow Processes at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).
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