Kurt Illner

Kurt Illner (born January 25, 1917 in Malkwitz near Breslau ; † November 2, 1990 in Berlin ) was a German cultural technician . He taught at the Humboldt University in Berlin . His research focus was the field of peatland cultivation .

Life

Kurt Illner, son of a farmer, passed his matriculation examination in 1936 and then completed a two-year apprenticeship on a farm. In 1938 he was drafted into the labor service and in 1939 into the armed forces. In 1947 he began studying agriculture at the Agricultural and Horticultural Faculty of the Humboldt University in Berlin , where he received his doctorate in 1954 with the dissertation " On the influence of windbreaks on weed growth ". He remained active as a scientist at this university for thirty years, after completing his doctorate initially as an assistant at the Institute for Garden and Regional Culture.

In 1963 Illner completed his habilitation with the thesis " A contribution to the site investigation of the fens ". In 1964 he was appointed professor and director of a newly founded institute for landscape conservation at Humboldt University . From 1970 until his retirement in 1982 he was a full professor in charge of the field of melioration in the plant production section of this university.

Research and Teaching

Illner was a creative, versatile scientist. His research focus was in the field of peatland cultivation . Among other things, he developed new methods for regulating the groundwater on fens . He also researched the reclamation of areas from open- cast lignite mining . His list of publications includes over 90 original scientific articles. He published numerous results of his research work in the journal "Archive for Arable and Plant Cultivation and Soil Science". He was also interested in the history of peatland research . In several contributions he paid tribute to the scientific achievements of important cultural technicians.

As a committed university lecturer, Illner took part in the publication of textbooks on melioration. He himself wrote two study booklets on fens and two letters on landscape design for distance learning in agriculture in the GDR.

Publications (selection)

• About the influence of windbreaks on weed growth . Agricultural gardener. Fac. Humboldt University of Berlin 1954. Typescript.
• Windbreaks. System, maintenance, use (with Klaus-Dietrich Gandert). Deutscher Bauernverlag Berlin 1956.
• A contribution to the location investigation of the fens . Habil.-Schr. Agricultural gardener. Faculty of Humboldt University of Berlin 1964. Typescript.
• Landscaping . Published by the Central Department of Distance Learning in Agricultural Sciences of the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education. 2 parts, Berlin 1969.
• Sanding fens . Published by the Karl Marx University ... working group for teaching and learning materials. Markkleeberg 1980. Printed as a manuscript.
• The soil forms of agriculturally used fens in the GDR and their location characteristics . Published by the Karl Marx University ... working group for teaching and learning materials. Markkleeberg 1980. Printed as a manuscript.
• Historical development and results of moor research in Berlin (with Wolfgang-Dieter Lorenz). In: Scientific journal of the Humboldt University of Berlin, Mathematical-Natural Science Series, vol. 35, 1986, pp. 561–564.

literature

• NN: Professor Dr. agr. habil. Kurt Illner on his 65th birthday . In: Archiv für Acker- und Pflanzenbau und Bodenkunde , Vol. 26 (1982), pp. 123-124 (with picture), ISSN  0365-0340 .