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Infrastructure

The Department of Geography has a wide range of facilities that, in addition to self-administration, support the focus areas of our research and teaching. Further information, including the respective contact persons, can be found below.

  • Center for Geomatics and Media Design

    The Center for Geomatics and Media Design (ZGM) produces maps, diagrams, and graphics on various topics for use in research and teaching. We utilize both graphic software and geographic information systems (GIS). Typically, the maps are used to illustrate geographical concepts in the publications of the academic staff of the Department of Geography. In addition, we create posters and banners for conferences and events. Digital photography, image editing, and the creation of animations for digital media are also part of our offerings.

  • Research and Training Laboratories for Environmental Analysis

    The Research and Training Laboratory for Environmental Analysis of the Department of Geography was established in 1977 by Dr. Karl-Heinz Müller. It currently focuses on the following thematic areas: Soil (SoilLab, Prof. Dr. Peter Chifflard), Water (WaterLab, Prof. Dr. Peter Chifflard), Microplastics (MicroplasticLab, Prof. Dr. Peter Chifflard), and Plants (BiogeoLab, Prof. Dr. Maaike Bader). These areas are studied using chemical, physical, (hydro-)biological, and hydraulic methods. As both a research and a training laboratory, it serves a dual purpose and is designed and equipped accordingly.

    Laboratory Head
    Prof. Dr. Peter Chifflard

    Laboratory Assistant
    Olga Schechtel (Dipl-Ing. FH)

  • Equipment Pool

    The Geography Department’s equipment pool offers a wide range of instruments for geoscientific, hydrological, and geodetic applications, which can be borrowed for teaching and research purposes.

    Contact person
    apl. Prof. Dr. Stefan Harnischmacher

  • Map Pool

    The map collection of the Department of Geography includes topographic and geological maps of the Federal Republic of Germany, which can be borrowed for teaching and research purposes.

    Contact person
    apl. Prof. Dr. Stefan Harnischmacher

  • Laboratories for Applied Geoinformatics

    A key methodological focus of the Department of Geography is Applied Geoinformation Science, supported by appropriate facilities such as computer workstations, high-end cluster computers, and access to a wide range of measurement instruments. Further information is provided by the Environmental Informatics research group, the Geoinformation Science Lab Marburg (GISMA), and the Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing (LCRS).

  • Marburg Open Forest

    Marburg Open Forest – the Teaching and Research Forest of Marburg University

    The Marburg Open Forest is located approximately eight kilometers from the Department of Geography. It hosts various courses within the Master’s program in Physical Geography, the Bachelor’s program in Geography, and teacher training programs.

    The Marburg Open Forest provides a realistic teaching and learning environment and served as a development area for the LOEWE priority program Natur 4.0 | Sensing Biodiversity, funded with €4.8 million. This program was conducted by faculty from Physical Geography in collaboration with research groups in Ecology and Computer Science.

    Research at the Marburg Open Forest builds on the Natur 4.0 project, which established a distributed, integrated sensor network for biodiversity monitoring. This includes climate measurement technology, optical, acoustic, and radio-tracking techniques for birds, bats, and other mammals, as well as an Internet-of-Things (IoT) system for recording tree physiological processes.

    Currently, four major research projects are underway at the Marburg Open Forest:

    • RemoTrees – a European project aimed at further developing IoT technologies for tree research, with the MOF serving as a central reference site in a global network.

    • PhytOakmeter – a DFG-funded research group studying the influence of the microbiome on drought and heat resistance in trees, using experimental platforms in the tree canopies.

    • Tree-M – a LOEWE project with similar objectives, investigating the tree microbiome under stress conditions (video).

    • EpiSoma – a BMBF-funded project conducted together with the University of Freiburg and the Technical University of Munich, examining the effects of canopy microclimate on epigenetic priming in trees.

    Currently, more than 25 (early-career) researchers, as well as numerous Master’s and Bachelor’s students, are working at the MOF. Total funding for the projects utilizing the Marburg Open Forest infrastructure exceeds €15 million. Numerous national and international partners, including the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Halle, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), and the Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, are closely collaborating on these projects.