Julius Sebald

BG Biogeosciences

The 2019 Outstanding Student Poster and PICO (OSPP) Award is awarded to Julius Sebald for the poster/PICO entitled:

The effects of forest cover and disturbance on torrential hazards: Large-scale evidence from the Eastern Alps (Sebald, J.; Senf, C.; Heiser, M.; Scheidl, C.; Pflugmacher, D.; Seidl, R.)

Click here to download the poster/PICO file.

Julius Sebald is a PhD student at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna. He works at the Institute of Silviculture in the Department of Forest- and Soil Sciences. His research focuses on forest ecosystem dynamics under a changing climate. He is particular interested in interactions between forest management, natural disturbances (i.e., abrupt tree mortality events caused by agents such as fire, wind-throw and insect infestation) and human well-being.
He analyzes satellite data to reconstruct historic disturbance regimes and employs simulation modelling to develop climate-smart management strategies for the future. The awarded poster specifically addresses the effects of forest disturbances on the risk of natural hazards in the Eastern Alps.
The results provide large-scale, quantitative evidence that forests protect humans against natural hazards. At the same time the data underline that forest disturbances can challenge this protection function by significantly increasing the risk of hazardous events.