Schulze, Ernst

German Environment    Prize 2006

Prof. Ernst Schulze, a forestry science graduate and director of the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, has received the German Environment Prize for his work on the impact of carbon dioxide on the earth's climate. Schulze and his team of researchers have been able to demonstrate that only half of the carbon released into the atmosphere can be reabsorbed by the land masses and oceans. Another, completely new finding is that large-scale changes of land use, such as the clearing of forests, cause around 25% of global warming.

But this is not the first prize that Prof. Schulze has received in his time as a researcher: in 1990 he received the silver Bayerische Staatsmedaille (Bavarian state medal), in 1992 the Max Planck Research Prize, in 1997 the Bullard Prize from Harvard University and in 2004 the Vernadsky Medal from the European Geosciences Union.

Nevertheless, the German Environment Prize, worth 500 000 euros, has a special significance for him: "It was a real pleasure to be nominated by the German Research Foundation. I took it as an appreciation of my work." Prof. Schulze is also certain that the German Environment Prize in particular will help him push through a project that is very important to him: setting up a European network for atmospheric trace gases: "We have a real deficit in this area at the moment. This is the task I hope I can still manage. I am 65 years old and am allowed to work until I am 68. A dinosaur. In these circumstances you need to be clear about what you can still achieve."

CarboEurope

Micrometeorological    equipment

The importance of such a European network is becoming ever clearer. Since CarboEurope, a project for measuring carbon emissions and absorption in the biosphere across the whole of Europe, began measurements in 2000, the urgency of the situation has at last become clear. Despite the reductions in the combustion of fossil fuels like coal and oil designed to reduce CO2 emissions, which the Kyoto Protocol claims have taken place, the levels of this greenhouse gas in the atmosphere have not fallen: "Fossil fuel use is supposed to have fallen across Germany. That's not what we are measuring in the atmosphere. The message evidently hasn't yet got through to the Weather Maker. In fact we are actually measuring a sharp rise in CO2 concentrations over the continent. And, provided our measurements are correct, and assuming that fossil fuel consumption since 1986 has remained constant, this rise is connected with land use. This means that something is happening in agriculture and forestry which is turning the reduction efforts on their head. It is my opinion that governments must intervene urgently. We have two problems: industry and land use. In the past, efforts have been made on the technical side but not on the biological side. This must now change as quickly as possible. We need to include natural reserves, soil and forests in the equation and control their management to some extent. It could be possible, for instance, to compensate non-use of land."

These thoughts are the result of Schulze's basic research into climate change and the carbon cycle in the 1990s. With his research, the scientist made a significant contribution to the identification of carbon sources and carbon sinks, which play an important role in the production of the greenhouse gas CO2. Around four-fifths of the global carbon reserves involved in the active carbon cycle are found in humus in the soil. If the soil is used with care, the humus absorbs more carbon than it releases, which in turn contributes to a lower production of CO2. Trees also absorb carbon. Prof. Schulze highlights the explosiveness of the situation: "Carbon dioxide is produced in agriculture through overly intensive farming, and also in forestry because only small-sized timber is still attracting market prices. This means that the old forests are being reduced. This will shorten the rotation period still further and that would be very damaging to the atmosphere."

Science, policy and practice

Prof. Dr. Ernst-Detlef    Schulze

In order to prevent this, the scientist has been politically active on numerous national and international committees, including the German government's advisory council on forest damage, the German government's advisory council on global environmental issues and on the German Research Foundation's senate committee for environmental research.

As part of the German delegation at the world climate summit in The Hague, he fought for the results of his research to be taken into account in the fight against global warming: "In The Hague I tried to put a few things right, from the point of view of what is feasible, but on one important aspect I failed: in my efforts to enable carbon sinks to be offset against carbon sources. In the Kyoto Protocol and its successors, the aspect of land use must not be neglected any longer. Otherwise we won't get a grip on climate protection. After all, we now have relevant measurements to hand that prove it."

After graduating in forestry science, Ernst Schulze (born 1941) was given a scholarship to study at the University of California, where he completed his Master of Science in plant ecology. Back in Germany he went to the University of Würzburg, where he completed his doctorate in 1969 and his post-doctoral thesis in 1974, both in botany. In 1975 he was appointed Professor of Plant Ecology at the University of Bayreuth. Finally, in 1997, he became the director of the newly founded Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena, where he continues to work to this day. At the start of his scientific career, Schulze was interested in the relationship between plant functions and the carbon, nitrogen and water cycle. In the 1980s Prof. Schulze made a name for himself in forest damage research. In this area he conducted basic research into the ecosystem as a whole, investigating the relationship between the incidence of damage symptoms in the trees and chemical changes in the soil and groundwater. This was what provided the basis for thorough field research into environmental damage like acid rain. Schulze's work is characterised by efforts to see a rapid transfer of his findings into practice. As a member of a number of committees, he has advised the German government, working in particular towards seeing his research findings taken into account in international protocols like the Kyoto Protocol.