Gerhard Kneitz

Gerhard Georg Christian Kneitz (born June 22, 1934 in Aschaffenburg ; † March 2, 2020 ) was a German biologist , conservationist and university professor .

Live and act

Gerhard Kneitz was born in 1934 as the son of the railway engineer Alfons Kneitz and his wife Anna, nee. Schuck, born in Aschaffenburg . As the son of a railway family with many moves, he experienced the western Spessart from Wörth am Main , the original Rhön from Bad Neustadt an der Saale and, from 1942, the undestroyed Würzburg am Main with its distinctive ring parks. The wandering parents introduced him to the landscapes and their creatures.

In 1953 Kneitz passed his Abitur at the Oberrealschule Würzburg and received the scholarship for particularly gifted students. This was followed by studies at the University of Würzburg in the subjects of biology , chemistry and geography . In 1960 he passed the state examination for higher education in schools. This was followed by a semester of study in Munich for orientation in biology and further studies with Professor Karl Gößwald at the Institute for Applied Zoology in Würzburg. In 1964 he received his doctorate on the heat balance in wood ants . This was followed by a position as a research assistant , academic advisor and curator at the institute. Kneitz completed his habilitation at the Biological Faculty in Würzburg. In 1974 he was appointed to the Institute for Applied Zoology at the University of Bonn . He represented the field of environment and ecology as a professor until his retirement in 1999. His research focuses on the ecology of cultural landscapes (agricultural landscapes, viticulture, urban ecosystems, alluvial forests) and the development of recording methods for bioindicators . He dedicated a large part of his work to the conservation of native biodiversity and applied nature conservation .

Gerhard Kneitz was married and the father of five children. From 1954 he was a member of the Catholic student association KDStV Markomannia Würzburg .

voluntary work

Kneitz was a co-founder of the Federal Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) in 1975 in Marktheidenfeld and successfully worked in various functions in nature conservation. From 1985 he led the Rhön sheep project with conservation of the Rhön sheep breed to success and led various research projects on amphibian protection in the agricultural landscape, on vineyard ecology and on species protection in road traffic. He also built up the Würzburg district group of the BN , headed it for almost 20 years (1973–1991) and was honorary chairman of the district group from 1991. As a representative of BUND, he took part in the 1992 environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro . From 1966 he was chairman of the Würzburg Natural Science Association. He was also a member of the nature conservation advisory board for the government of Lower Franconia as well as other clubs and associations.

honors and awards

His extensive activities attracted public attention and led to various awards, from the Bavarian Environmental Medal , the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon (1983) and 1st Class (2002) to the Bavarian Order of Merit (2010) and the German Culture Prize of the Foundation for Cultural Promotion (2010). In 1992 he was awarded the rarely awarded Jens Person Lindahl Medal by the city of Würzburg. In 2013 Kneitz was awarded the Bavarian Nature Conservation Prize.

“We owe him fundamental scientific knowledge about the ecosystems of vineyards and alluvial forests, about the Wadden Sea, but also about amphibians in the agricultural landscape and the unique biological diversity of the Hafenlohr valley in the Lower Franconian Spessart, which was recently threatened by a reservoir. Today, many of his students sit at the control points of official nature conservation, in administration, politics and science and pass on his holistic teaching there. Gerhard Kneitz is a pioneer of applied nature conservation research in Germany. "

- Hubert Weiger : Laudation German Culture Prize 2009

Fonts (selection)

• Investigations on the structure and maintenance of the nest heat balance in Formica polyctena Foerst. Würzburg, natural sciences. F., Diss. V. June 8, 1964
• Maps showing the distribution of plant and animal species in the Lower Franconia habitat. - Würzburg; Multi-part work. 1978-1979.
• Environmental protection in lessons, models for environmental education. / Pedag. Inst. D. City of Nuremberg; multi-part work
• with Kerstin Oerter: On the effectiveness of replacement spawning waters for amphibians in federal trunk road construction. Published by the Federal Ministry of Transport, Road Construction Department, Bonn - Bad Godesberg 1994

Web links

• Biography for the 80th birthday
• Laudation from Hubert Weiger
• Bavarian Nature Conservation Award 2013
• Gerhard Kneitz , biography and interview in: NaturschutzGeschichte (n) - Volume I , published by the Bavarian Academy for Nature Conservation and Landscape Management (ANL), 2010, pp. 34–37.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ... and there are always traces of your life. Retrieved March 5, 2020 .