Once an untamed Alpine river with a braidplain up to 2 km wide, stretching into the Alpine forelands as far as Freising, the Isar has been heavily modified for flood protection and hydropower generation over two centuries. Today, only the Upper Isar between Wallgau and Sylvensteinspeicher is still in a largely natural state. On our excursion, we first visit the Isar near Vorderriss with its still natural riverscape, then a degraded section downstream of the Sylvenstein dam, and conclude with a visit to the Mühltal restoration section, one of the largest restored continuous Alpine river sections in Europe.
Max. 24 participants
50 EUR per person (food and drinks NOT included)
Departure: Freising 8:00, return ca. 19:00
2. Middle Isar channel and lakes: 1 day excursion with Hanno Schaefer
Sunday, 08.09.2024
[Photo: Hanno Schaefer]
In the 1920s, a more than 60 km long concrete channel and seven water power stations were built in the North of Munich to produce energy with a part of the Isar water. Three large and three large artificial lakes were constructed to be able to regulate the water flow through the turbines. Even though this has had negative consequences for the Isar ecosystem, the artificial lakes quickly turned into some of the most important bird habitats in the region.
We will visit the Ismaninger Speichersee, Moosburger Speichersee, and the Echinger Speichersee near Landshut where we will have a chance to observe some of the many bird species that breed in the area and the first autumn migrants. While the main focus will be on the avifauna, we will also have a look at flora and vegetation in and around the lakes.
Max. 20 participants
50 EUR per person (food and drinks NOT included)
Departure: Freising 8:00, return ca. 17:00
3. Vegetation and management of calcareous grasslands in the Munich gravel plain - 1 day excursion with Johannes Kollmann
Sunday 08.09.2024
[Photo: Johannes Kollmann, Gentiana clusii Garchinger Heide]
The first excursion destination is the Garching Heath. It is a relict of the historical heathland in the intensively utilised Munich gravel plain. In terms of plant sociology, the vegetation is a mosaic of semi-dry and fully dry grasslands. In addition to the typical plants of the nutrient-poor grasslands, dealpine and continental flora elements contribute to the biodiversity of the area. The area currently harbours 61 species on the Red List of endangered vascular plants in Germany or Bavaria. Representatives of the variegated ground lichen community can be found on the tarmac, an 80-year-old topsoil removal site. Although the Garching Heath has been maintained for over 100 years in the interests of nature conservation, many target species have declined. Possible causes include eutrophication, fragmentation, lack of pollinators, seed removal, rabbit predation and the maintenance regime. A new maintenance and development plan was adopted in 2021, which aims to curb this negative trend through, among other things, a differentiated mowing regime and harrowing of pleurocarp mosses. In order to increase this habitat, extension areas have been created since 1993, where some of the target species have successfully established themselves
The second excursion destination is the Dietersheimer Brenne in the degraded Isarauwald forest. The area has a somewhat lower floristic biodiversity, but is an important FFH biotope and, with its mosaic of calcareous grassland and successional woodland, is an important habitat for butterflies and wild bees in particular. The species composition, conflicts between hunting and nature conservation, habitat fragmentation and corresponding solutions are the topics discussed there.
The last excursion point is the Krimmer organic seed propagation farm. Some of the species planted on the expansion areas of the Garching Heath were temporarily propagated there. The production and application of organic seed will be demonstrated and discussed.
Excursion type: Lowland hike in three sections
Max. 24 participants
Cost: 50 EUR per person (food and drinks NOT included)
Departure: Freising railway station in front of the 'Freisinger Tagblatt' at 9 am, return around 16:00
Organisational details: Both parts of the hike lead along unpaved paths through flat terrain and are each approx. 4 km long.
4. Kranzberg Forest Roof Experiment (KROOF) - Half-day excursion with Karl-Heinz Häberle and Thorsten Grams
Friday, 13.09.2024 in the morning
[Photo: Thorsten Grams ]
Ongoing climate change and the associated increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts pose a significant threat to trees and forests worldwide. The death of large forest areas in 2018/2019 has brought this home to us in Germany to an alarming way. The half-day excursion takes us to the Kranzberg Forest Roof Experiment (KROOF), the largest drought experiment on a mature forest in Germany. After a 10-minute bus ride and an equally long walk on forest paths, we arrive at the forest laboratory of the Technical University of Munich. In 2013, a drought experiment was started here on about 100 mature trees in a mixed beech-spruce forest. In the first phase of the experiment (4/2014 to 7/2019), successive summer droughts were simulated with the help of throughfall exclusion roofs. Since then, the trees have been in the second phase (2020-2024), in which recovery and legacy effects are monitored before the third phase of the experiment begins in 2025 with an extreme drought until the trees die. We will have the opportunity to discuss the above and below ground drought stress responses and acclimation of the trees growing in mono and mixed situations.
Max. 50 participants
Cost: 25 EUR per person
Duration: about 3,5 h
5. Murnauer Moos: 1 day excursion with Hanno Schaefer
Friday, 13.09.2024
[Photo: Richard Bartz, wiki.commons, CC BY-SA 2.5]
The Murnauer Moos is with an area of 32 km2 the largest still relatively well-preserved bogland ecosystem in Bavaria and Germany. During 10 km hike, we will see the most important vegetation types, characteristic flora and fauna, and some of the challenges for nature conservation in this nature reserve.
Max. 20 participants
50 EUR per person (food and drinks NOT included)
Departure: Freising 8:00, return ca. 19:00
6. Exploring City Oases in Munich: 1 day excursion with Monika Egerer
Friday, 13.09.2024
[Photo: pixabay content licence]
Urban green spaces are important habitats in the city for people and nature – becoming what we consider ‘urban oases’ in the built environment. Under climate change, elements such as trees, park areas and forests will gain importance for contributing to urban heat mitigation and thus climate resilience. Furthermore, vegetatively diverse and structurally complex urban green spaces are linked to biodiversity conservation, as well as to the health of people in the city, who demand recreation and socializing in urban green spaces. In response, the City of Munich has many ambitious plans around urban greening for climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and public health. Although great strides have been made in recent years, many challenges remain. In this full-day excursion led by our interdisciplinary research groups, we will visit different green spaces in the city of Munich, including city parks, street trees and gardens. We will discuss developments in urban greening in the inner city, as well as new research in transdisciplinary engagements with city administration in urban labs for the monitoring and assessment of biodiversity. The walk will also be accompanied by a ‘climate walk’ in which we will use new methods to assess thermal comfort with a ‘climate backpack’ designed by TUM entrepreneurs.
Max. 25 participants
Meeting point: 09:30 @ Marienplatz, Munich (meet at the Mariensäule; https://goo.gl/maps/2fM1TwKtXBTrojpr6), to end at ~16:00 - 17:00.
Use SBahn S1 from Freising until “Marienplatz”.
Contact: Monika Egerer (monika.egerer@tum.de)
7. Weltacker Landshut: Half-day excursion with Theresia Endriß
Freitag 13.09.2024 in the morning
[Photo: Heinrich Inkoferer, Weltacker Landshut e.V.]
If we divide the global arable land area of 1.5 billion hectares by the number of the world's population, this results in slightly less than 2000 m² per person. A “Weltacker” is an example of this area. The currently most important crops are grown on this area in proportion to their global acreage. The Weltacker thus makes it clear to us how small this area actually is on which everything is supposed to grow: Food, feed for livestock, cotton for clothing, bio-gas and bio-diesel, renewable raw materials for industry and also luxury foods such as tea, coffee, cocoa and tobacco. There are already 21 Weltäcker worldwide. On our excursion we will visit Bavaria's first Weltacker in Landshut.
Max. 20 participants
Cost: 5 € per person (food & drinks NOT included)
Additional costs for travelling by public transport are to be paid by the participants themselves.
Meeting point & departure: Freising Bahnhof, platform 4, RE to Landshut at 08:28 a.m.
Return: approx. 1 p.m.
8. Berchtesgaden National Park: Two-day field trip on science and conservation in an iconic mountain landscape with Rupert Seidl
Friday 13.09. - Saturday 14.09.2024
[Photo: Rupert Seidl]
Berchtesgaden Nationalpark is Germany’s only national park in the Alps. It is a unique landscape characterized by strong environmental gradients and very high biological diversity, that is strongly affected by the ongoing environmental changes. Since 2019, research and monitoring at Berchtesgaden Nationalpark is managed in cooperation with Technical University of Munich, utilizing opportunities for improved insights into the dynamics of mountain landscapes, and providing suport for evidence-based management of protected areas. The field trip will allow participants to experience the diverse ecosystems of Berchtesgaden National Park first hand. We will discuss ongoing research at Berchtesgaden National Park, including topics such as biodiversity across gradients of elevation and land cover, vegetation changes at the tree line, dynamics of mountain ungulates and forest change. We will also address current issues of managing protected areas, including visitors management, the regulation of ungulates, high mountain pastures, and the management of spreading forest disturbances such as bark beetles. The field trip will be guided by the teams at TU Munich and Berchtesgaden National Park (Prof. Rupert Seidl, Dr. Sebastian König, Michael Maroschek, Dr. Rudolf Reiner) with a focus on providing diverse inputs and perspectives for participants.
Max. 20 participants
Cost: tba
Departure: Freising at 08:30 on Friday, Sept. 13,
Return to Freising on Saturday, Sept. 14, at approx. 17:00
Hotel Booking:
We have reserved a block of rooms for the participants of the excursion for the night 13.09-14.09.2024 at Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Berchtesgaden Website
info@hotel-vierjahreszeiten-berchtesgaden.de
+49(0)8652 9520
To book your room please contact the hotel directly and ask for a room reserved under “GfÖ “until 10 June. After this date the room block will be returned to the hotel.
The following rooms and rates have been pre-reserved and can be requested up on availability.
We recommend to book early so you can still get the favourite choice. First come, first serve.
11 Double rooms Grand Superior with south facing balcony Euro 180.00 per night incl. breakfast
4 Double rooms superior with south facing balcony Euro 170.00 per night incl. breakfast
10 Single rooms Grand Classic south facing balcony Euro 115.00 per night incl. breakfast
5 Single classic plus north facing balcony Euro 110.00 per night incl. breakfast
