Research

Projects of the Department of Physical Geography since 2015

EU project SOILSCAPE: "Soil and Land Use in Europe: A Pan-European Approach"
(2024–2028)
DFG project: "Reconstructing Holocene landscape development in Mongolia influenced by climate and pastoralism, based on geomorphological archives"
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Manfred Anton Frechen; Dr. Michael Klinge; Dr. Barbara von der Lühe; Prof. Dr. Daniela Sauer (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 429299280 (2019–2025)
DFG project: "The perfume of death - ambrein formation in human adipocere"
Applicants: Dr. Barbara von der Lühe (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 432509546 (2019–2023)
DFG project: "Impacts of transformation of rainforests into oil-palm plantations on silicon pools in soils"
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Daniela Sauer (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 391702217 (2017–2021)
DFG project: "Analysis of the geoecological control factors for the distribution of forest sites and discontinuous permafrost under the influence of forest fires, forest use and climate development in the forest steppes of Central Mongolia"
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Manfred Anton Frechen; Dr. Michael Klinge; Prof. Dr. Daniela Sauer (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 385460422 (2017–2021)
INQUA Focus Group QUASAP: "Quaternary Science and Applications"
→ International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) (2012–2019)
RTP Ebergötzen: Monitoring water and element fluxes in a beech forest ecosystem
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Daniela Sauer (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ Funding: MWK, Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (2017–2025)

Projects Landscape Geoscience

BLE project: "Transboundary approaches to sustainable forest management for enhancing climate resilience and reducing disaster risk in the Himalayas (TRANSMIT)"
Funding: BLE
Consortium: CBL Göttingen; United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS); ICIMOD; ICFRE; GFMC
Co-PIs: Dr. Ankit; Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze
→ TRANSMIT project page (2026–2028)
DFG project: "Deglacial and postglacial vegetation and fire history of the Lake Melville region, Canada (MELPOLL)"
Project partner: Alfred Wegener Institute
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 560560208 (2025–2027)
EU COST Action CA23116: "Open Palaeoecological Data - analysing the past building foresight (PalaeOpen)"
Host institution: Utrecht University
Involvement: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze as Co-PI/National Representative of Germany
→ COST Action CA23116 (2024–2028)
ENLIGHT BIP: "Limnogeology Summer School: Environmental change, natural hazards and human impact in Central Switzerland"
Main applicant: University of Bern
Partner universities: University of Ghent; University of Göttingen
Göttingen participants: Dr. Lisa Feist; Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze; Prof. Dr. Hermann Behling; Dr. Lyudmila Shumilovskikh (2026)
Interdisciplinary research symposium: "Land use under climate change – co-learning with Latin America by combining natural and social science perspectives across spatio-temporal scales"
Organization: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze; Prof. Marcela Ibanez; CBL, University of Göttingen
Funding: MWK "ExzellenzStärken" (August 2025)
DFG project: "Land use in the northern Ecuadorian Andes under climate change – understanding natural-social scientific and local knowledge on past and present landscape dynamics"
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Jessica Budds; Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze; Dr. Liseth Pérez (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 550236129 (2020–2024)
DAAD project: "Fact Finding Missions 2024 - Teaching landscape dynamics and land management, Tropical Ecuadorian Andes"
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen) (2024)
Harz: "Burnt Central European uplands: postfire dynamics in new fire regions"
Lead: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
(internally funded) (2022–2023)
DFG project: "Siberian fire regime shifts during interglacials of the last 3.6 Myrs inferred from sedimentary records of Lake El’gygytgyn (NE Asia)"
Applicants: Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Dietze (Department of Physical Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ DFG-GEPRIS: Project 419058007 (until 2023)

Projects in High Mountain Geography

GEHA project: "Geokulturelles Erbe im Harz: Hybride Montanlandschaften über und unter Tage in Raum und Zeit – Quo Vadis?"
Applicants: apl. Prof. Dr. Lasafam Iturrizaga (Physical Geography / High Mountain Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ Funding: pro.Niedersachsen (2025–2027)
LEHA project: "UNESCO-Welterbe Oberharzer Wasserwirtschaft: Landschaftswandel und Energienutzung im Harz im Anthropozän - Eine Reise des Wassers von der Vergangenheit in die Zukunft"
Applicants: apl. Prof. Dr. Lasafam Iturrizaga (Physical Geography / High Mountain Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Göttingen)
→ Funding: MWK, Lower Saxony Ministry of Science and Culture (2023–2025)