Hans Leibundgut

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Hans Leibundgut (born June 28, 1909 in Neuravensburg ; † March 26, 1993 in Uitikon ) was a Swiss forest scientist and professor at the ETH Zurich . He is regarded as a decided representative of near-natural silviculture and was one of the pioneers of jungle research .

Life

The son of a cheese maker studied forest sciences at the ETH Zurich from 1928 to 1932. He then completed a year and a half practice in Couvet and in Leuk im Lötschental . As he later remarked, he would have liked to become a forester in the Valais , but he did not get a job because he was a Reformed faith , i.e. he would have belonged to the wrong denomination in Valais.

From 1934 to 1937 he was a research assistant at the ETH Forest School under Professors Walter Schädelin , Hermann Knuchel and Henry Badoux . With a dissertation on the forest and economic conditions in the Lötschental he received his doctorate in 1938 at the ETH under Hermann Knuchel.

In 1937 he moved to Büren an der Aare as head forester , where he got to know the forestry practice. In 1940 Leibundgut succeeded Walter Schädelin as professor for silviculture at the ETH Zurich, where he retired in 1979 .

Services

Leibundgut represented scientifically based, near-natural silviculture and gave it significant impetus in Switzerland and beyond. For him the forest was a community. Therefore, he took the view that all silvicultural measures should be derived from ecological conditions, whereby the natural development phases should be taken into account when maintaining the stand . Based on his holistic approach, Leibundgut called for the further development of stand maintenance for forest maintenance . During his time, ecological , plant-sociological and stand dynamics basics have become a matter of course in silvicultural issues. For Leibundgut, near-natural silviculture was also economically justified. Due to the long forest production times, unnecessary investments should be avoided, the natural and thus free processes in the forest should be exploited as far as possible.

In developing his forest science ideas, he worked closely with related disciplines and their representatives in Zurich, for example with the mycologist and phytopathologist Ernst Gäumann , the entomologist Otto Schneider-Orelli , the vegetation ecologists Walo Koch and Heinz Ellenberg, and the soil scientist Hans Pallmann .

A particular concern of Leibundgut was jungle research, of which he was one of the pioneers. In Switzerland and in other countries, for example, he has worked towards designating unmanaged forest reserves in which natural processes can be researched, largely without human influence. He saw primeval forests as signposts for near-natural forest management. He also had nature conservation in mind: Forest reserves are of particular interest because they provide a habitat for rare and endangered species.

At the end of the Second World War , Leibundgut was an advisor to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Yugoslav government, from 1965 to 1969 rector of the ETH Zurich and from 1946 to 1979 editor of the Swiss Forestry Journal .

During his time at ETH Zurich, Leibundgut supervised a total of 47 doctoral students, 18 of whom were either professors or in leading positions in leading positions in research and practice, such as the canton forester of Basel-Landschaft , Reinhard Eichrodt, who later became professor in Mérida and Göttingen , Hans Lamprecht , or Dušan Mlinšek , professor in Ljubljana , who was also temporarily IUFRO president.

Honors

Fonts

  • Forest and economic studies in the Lötschental. Dissertation. Bern 1938. In print as a supplement to the journals of the Swiss Forestry Association. No. 18.
  • Structure and silvicultural significance of the most important natural forest communities in Switzerland. Bern 1948. 2nd edition: Bern 1951.
  • The forest, a community. Zurich 1951. 3rd edition: Frauenfeld and Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-7193-0879-0 .
  • with Karl Kreutzer: Investigations into root competition. In: Communications from the Swiss Institute for Forest Research. Volume 34, Issue 5. Zurich and Birmensdorf 1958.
  • Forest maintenance. With a reworking of the selection thinning as an educational establishment of the highest value by Walter Schädelin . Bern 1966.
  • (Ed.): Protection of our living space. Symposium at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich from November 10th to 12th, 1970. Speeches and lectures. Munich, Bern and Vienna 1971, ISBN 3-405-11124-2 .
  • (Ed.): Landscape protection and environmental care. Advanced training course of the forestry department at the ETH Zurich from November 5 to 9, 1973. Frauenfeld and Stuttgart 1974, ISBN 3-7193-0467-1 .
  • Effects of the forest on the human environment. Number We and the environment. Erlenbach and Stuttgart 1975, ISBN 3-7249-0461-4 .
  • Co-author: Basics of young forest maintenance. Results of 20 years of studies on the processes of excretion, implementation and quality development in young oak stands. In: Communications from the Federal Institute for Forest Research. Volume 52, Issue 4. Birmensdorf and Zurich 1976.
  • The natural forest regeneration. Bern and Stuttgart 1981. 2nd edition: Bern and Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-258-03415-X .
  • European primeval forests of the mountain range. Shown for foresters, scientists and friends of the forest. Bern and Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-258-03166-5 .
  • The afforestation. Bern and Stuttgart 1982, ISBN 3-258-03179-7 .
  • European primeval forests of the mountain level presented for foresters, scientists and friends of the forest. 1982.
  • Our deciduous forests. Nature - condition - management. Bern and Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-258-03885-6 .
  • Silviculture in private forests. Suggestions and tips for successful forest maintenance for forest owners. Bern and Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-258-04082-6 .
  • Silviculture as nature protection. Bern and Stuttgart 1990, ISBN 3-258-04161-X .
  • The forest as an inheritance and an obligation. Bern and Stuttgart 1991, ISBN 3-258-04281-0 .
  • Our forest trees. Properties and life. 2nd Edition. 1991.
  • Our forest. A structure of relationships and effects, 1991,
  • Forest community. Experience of a forest farmer for foresters, forest owners and forest friends, Bern, Stuttgart and Vienna 1992, ISBN 3-258-04584-4 .
  • European primeval forests. Guide to near-natural forest management. Bern, Stuttgart and Vienna 1993, ISBN 3-258-04713-8 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Leibundgut, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss forest scientist
DATE OF BIRTH June 28, 1909
PLACE OF BIRTH Neuravensburg
DATE OF DEATH March 26, 1993
Place of death Uitikon