Dr. Ulrike Hiltner
Dr. Ulrike Hiltner
Lecturer at the Department of Environmental Systems Science
Additional information
Research area
My expertise is in forest ecology, ecosystem modelling, dendroecology, and forest management.
My research focuses on tropical and temperate forest ecosystems. I develop and apply individual-based simulation models to study mechanisms in forests that influence their structure, dynamics, and functions in the long term.
Important topics of my research include:
- Analysing the effects of different environmental factors on tree establishment, growth and mortality, and forest succession.
- Assessing the long-term effects of forest management and disturbances such as climate change on forest carbon pools and timber.
- Linking individual-based forest models with statistical modelling and remote sensing to improve estimates of forest properties.
- Deriving a sustainable basal area distribution across tree size classes for Swiss rockfall protection forests.
| Since 2020 |
Postdoc at ETH Zurich (Professorship of Forest Ecology), Switzerland. |
| 2016-2020 |
PhD student at and Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ Leipzig and Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. |
| 2014-2016 |
Research Assistant at Department Ecological Modelling of UFZ Leipzig, Germany. |
| 2011-2013 |
Master Student of Physical Geography at Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. |
| 2007-2011 |
Bachelor Student of Physical Geography at Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. |
| 2009-2013 |
Student assistant in the Dendro-lab (Research Group Bräuning) at Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany. |
Membership
| Since | Membership |
|---|---|
| 2015 | Fränkische Geographische Gesellschaft Erlangen - FGG |
Honours
| Year | Distinction |
|---|---|
| 2019 | Doctoral scholarship of the program 'Realization of Equal Opportunities for Women in Research and Teaching’ – FFL of Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg to finalize the PdD |
| 2015 | Doctoral scholarship of the German Environmental Foundation - DBU |
| 2015 | Award of the Franconian Geographical Society - FGG Erlangen. Prize for an outstanding Master's thesis in Physical Geography. |
Additional information
Selected Publications
- Cuni-Sanchez, A., Sullivan, M.J.P., Platts, P.J., Lewis, S.L., Marchant, R., Imani, G., Hubau, W., Abiem, I., Adhikari, H., Albrecht, T., Altman, J., Amani, C., Aneseyee, A.B., Avitabile, V., Banin, L., Batumike, R., Bauters, M., Beeckman, H., Begne, S.K., Bennett, A.C., Bitariho, R., Boeckx, P., Bogaert, J., Bräuning, A., Bulonvu, F., Burgess, N.D., Calders, K., Chapman, C., Chapman, H., Comiskey, J., de Haulleville, T., Decuyper, M., DeVries, B., Dolezal, J., Droissart, V., Ewango, C., Feyera, S., Gebrekirstos, A., Gereau, R., Gilpin, M., Hakizimana, D., Hall, J., Hamilton, A., Hardy, O., Hart, T., Heiskanen, J., Hemp, A., Herold, M., Hiltner, U., Horak, D., Kamdem, M.-N., Kayijamahe, C., Kenfack, D., Kinyanjui, M.J., Klein, J., Lisingo, J., Lovett, J., Lung, M., Makana, J.-R., Malhi, Y., Marshall, A., Martin, E.H., Mitchard, E.T.A., Morel, A., Mukendi, J.T., Muller, T., Nchu, F., Nyirambangutse, B., Okello, J., Peh, K.S.-H., Pellikka, P., Phillips, O.L., Plumptre, A., Qie, L., Rovero, F., Sainge, M.N., Schmitt, C.B., Sedlacek, O., Ngute, A.S.K., Sheil, D., Sheleme, D., Simegn, T.Y., Simo-Droissart, M., Sonké, B., Soromessa, T., Sunderland, T., Svoboda, M., Taedoumg, H., Taplin, J., Taylor, D., Thomas, S.C., Timberlake, J., Tuagben, D., Umunay, P., Uzabaho, E., Verbeeck, H., Vleminckx, J., Wallin, G., Wheeler, C., Willcock, S., Woods, J.T., Zibera, E., 2021. High aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests. Nature 596, 536–542.
- Hiltner, U., Huth, A., Hérault, B., Holtmann, A., Bräuning, A., Fischer, R., 2021. Climate change alters the ability of neotropical forests to provide timber and sequester carbon. For. Ecol. Manage. 492, 119166.
- Hiltner, U., 2020. Analysing the consequences of forest management and climate change on tropical forest dynamics using empirical data and model simulations. PhD Thesis, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg.
- Hiltner, U., Huth, A., Bräuning, A., Hérault, B., Fischer, R., 2018. Simulation of succession in a neotropical forest: High selective logging intensities prolong the recovery times of ecosystem functions. For. Ecol. Manage. 430, 517 – 525.
- Hiltner, U., Bräuning, A., Gebrekirstos, A., Huth, A., Fischer, R., 2016. Impacts of precipitation variability on the dynamics of a dry tropical montane forest. Ecol. Model. 320, 92 – 101.
Research Projects
- Rockfall profiles in Swiss protection forests: Identification of sustainable basal area distributions across tree size classes (link)
- Analysis of structural uncertainty in soil water balance formulations to assess effects of drought on temperate forest dynamics: a forest modeling perspective (link)
- Evaluation der Effekte waldbaulicher Maßnahmen und des Klimawandels auf die Wachstumsvariabilität: Simulation des Waldwachstums von ausgewählten Tropenwäldern (link)
Links