Press release: Forestry researchers receive awards

No. 129 - 30.09.2026

Sattelmühle Foundation recognises Göttingen University Master’s and PhD theses

The Sattelmühle Foundation has recognised two dissertations in forest sciences at the University of Göttingen: Dr Christina Hackmann received the award for the “Best PhD Thesis”, whilst Leonie von Rudorff won the “Best Master’s thesis”. The prize for the winning PhD thesis is 12,000 euros and 6,000 euros was awarded for the winning Master’s thesis. The award ceremony took place at the Sattelmühle forestry estate in the Palatinate Forest in southwestern Germany.

Dr Christina Hackmann’s dissertation, “Tree-water relations in pure and mixed forests: Drivers of root water uptake depth, stem water and growth dynamics”, was supervised by Professor Christian Ammer, in the Silviculture and Forest Ecology of Temperate Zones Department. In her research, Hackmann examined how water scarcity affects groups consisting of one or many species of tree, and what opportunities this presents for the adaptation of forests to climate change. The Master’s thesis by Leonie von Rudorff, who studied “Biodiversity: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation” and was awarded a Master of Science degree, addressed a related question: in her thesis, entitled “Plasticity of leaf and hydraulic characteristics of mature coastal Douglas fir trees along a precipitation gradient in northern Germany”, she examined the adaptability of the Douglas fir, a species native to North America, to drought stress.

The Sattelmühle Foundation is a charitable foundation that promotes science, research and education in the fields of nature conservation, landscape management and forestry. Since 2021, the Foundation’s awards have been designed to provide an incentive for outstanding scientific work. Over the past two years, applications for the awards have been received from a total of 19 universities in Germany and abroad. The Sattelmühle Foundation is advised by a scientific expert panel when assessing the scientific papers submitted.

Contact:

Professor Christian Ammer

University of Göttingen

Faculty of Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology – Dean’s Office

Büsgenweg 5, 37077 Göttingen, Germany

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-23671

Email: christian.ammer@forst.uni-goettingen.de