Robert Ganssen

Robert Ganssen (born March 22, 1903 in Berlin , † February 20, 1983 in Lüneburg ) was a German soil scientist . From 1950 to 1971 he taught at the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg . His research focus was soil geography .

Life

Robert Ganssen studied natural sciences (chemistry, physics, geology, botany) at the Technical University and the University of Berlin since 1921 . In 1926 he received his doctorate in chemistry with the dissertation " On the effect of copper oxide-ammonia on disaccharides and polyamylose " at the University of Berlin. From then on he was interested in soil science . After two years as an assistant at the Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and Soil Science at the Agricultural University in Berlin, he worked from 1928 to 1939 as a soil science clerk at the Eberswalde Forestry University. There he completed his habilitation in 1935 with a thesis on soil changes on beech sites. In 1939 he was called up for military service.

After 1945 teaching activities at the Federal Institute for Forestry and Wood Management in Reinbek , at the University of Hamburg , and at the forestry faculty of the University of Göttingen in Hann. Münden. In 1950 Ganssen followed a call to the chair for soil science in the forestry department of the University of Freiburg im Breisgau . He worked here until his retirement in 1971.

Research and Teaching

At the University of Freiburg, Ganssen was increasingly engaged in basic soil science research . Questions of soil classification , soil conservation and soil improvement were among his fields of work. However, he earned his most significant merits in the field of regional soil science, soil geography . His main goal was to research the landscape-dependent laws of soil formation that are valid worldwide. He presented the most important results of these studies in the book “ Bodengeographie. With special consideration of the soils of Central Europe ”and summarized in the“ Atlas of Soil Science ” published together with Friedhelm Hädrich in 1965 .

Inspired by a research trip to South West Africa , Ganssen has also dealt with problems of land use in arid regions since 1958 . He published numerous articles on the results of this research in soil science journals and in the two books “ South West Africa. Soils and soil culture. Attempt at a climatology of warm arid areas ”(1963) and“ arid areas. Soils, land use Soil cultivation, soil endangerment. Attempt to introduce geographic and land management problems in arid and semi-arid areas ”(1968).

Of the other independent publications by Ganssen, the book “ Principles of soil formation. A contribution to theoretical soil science “(1965). In this work, which is primarily aimed at students, he has summarized the key points of his pedological teaching and research concept . Ganssen maintained close contacts with the neighboring disciplines of soil science, especially geography. The German Soil Science Society awarded him honorary membership in 1981 .

Works

• Soil geography with special consideration of the soils of Central Europe . KF Koehler Verlag Stuttgart 1957; 2., completely redesigned. and very adult Ed. With the collaboration of Zlatko Gracanin, ibid. 1972.
• South West Africa. Soils and soil culture. Attempt at a climatic medology of warm arid areas . Publishing house Reimer Berlin 1963.
• Atlas of Soil Science (together with Friedhelm Hädrich). Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim 1965 = BI university pocket books vol. 301a / 301e.
• Principles of soil formation. A contribution to theoretical soil science . Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim 1965 = BI university pocket books vol. 327.
• Arid areas. Soils, land use, soil cultivation, soil endangerment. Attempt of an introduction to geographic and economic problems of arid and semi-arid areas . Bibliographisches Institut Mannheim 1968 = BI university pocket books vol. 354 / 354a.

literature

• W. Moll, F. Hädrich and UZ Gracanin: Professor Dr. Robert Ganssen on his 65th birthday on March 22, 1968 . In: Festschrift Robert Ganssen for his 65th birthday. Freiburg 1968, pp. 1–7 (with list of publications).
• Friedhelm Hädrich: Robert Ganssen in memory . In: Freiburger Universitätsblätter H. 79, 1983, pp. 6-7 (with picture).

Web links

• Literature by and about Robert Ganssen in the catalog of the German National Library