Dr. Ulrike Hiltner

Lecturer in Forest Ecology
Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich
E-mail to ulrike.hiltner(at)usys.ethz.ch

Dr. Ulrike Hiltner is a dedicated forest ecologist with expertise in ecosystem modeling, data scinence, dendroecology, and forest management. Her research focuses on tropical and temperate forest ecosystems, utilizing individual-based simulation models to investigate the long-term mechanisms that influence forest structure, dynamics, and functions.

Research Interests

Dr. Hiltner's research delves into various aspects of forest ecology, including:

Analyzing the effects of environmental factors on tree establishment, growth, mortality, and forest succession.
Assessing the long-term effects of forest management and disturbances, particularly climate change, on forest functions.
Integrating individual-based forest models with statistical modeling and remote sensing to enhance estimates of forest properties.
Developing decision support systems for forest ecosystem services.

Projects

NCCS-Impacts Program: Establishing dynamic climate impacts on forest ecosystem services in managed Swiss forests. (link)
Improved rockfall profiles in Swiss protection forests, Schweizer Bundesamt für Umwelt - BAFU
Embracing structural uncertainty in models of forest dynamics, Swiss National Science Foundation - SNSF, Division I-III, no 188 882
Evaluation of the effects of forest management and climate change on growth variability, German Environmental Foundation - DBU, AZ 20015/398 (link)

Publications

You can find more information about Dr. Hiltner's publications on her Google Scholar profile.

Teaching

Dr. Hiltner is passionate about educating the next generation of forest ecologists. She has taught the following courses at ETH Zurich, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research UFZ Leipzig, and FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg:

Lecture and Exercise: Quantitative Vegetation Dynamics: Models from Tree to Globe (Autumn Semesters 2021-ongoing)
Wald und Landschaft (Forest Landscape): 6 seminars on a scientific topic of choice (Bachelor's programme in Environmental Systems Science, Autmn Semesters 2020-2022)
Introduction to Ecosystem Modelling, UFZ Winter School (Winter Semester 2015)
Geographisches Geländepraktikum (Summer Semester 2013, 2019)

Students

Dr. Hiltner supervises the following students:

Doctoral Students:

Gina Marano (ongoing since 2021): Analysis of structural uncertainty in soil water balance formulations to assess effects of drought on temperate forest dynamics: a forest modeling perspective

BSc, MSc:

Samuel Zweifel (BSc, 2022): Analyses of tree regeneration after wind throw in a central Swiss forest: testing a forest succession model’s abilities
Livia Gysel (BSc, ongoing): Veränderungen der Struktur und Dynamik von Naturwaldreservaten unter Klimawandeleffekten

Honors and Awards

Dr. Hiltner has received numerous honors and awards for her research and leadership, including:

2024: Officer in IUFRO research group of Information Management and Information Technologies (4.03.03), Division 4 - Forest Assessment, Modelling and Management (link)
2023: Leader of Working Group 2 "Models and Methods" in COST Action Decision Support Systems for Ecosystem Services - CA 22141 (link)
2022: Awarded funding as a Co-lead for the Women Postdoctoral Peer Mentoring Group at ETHZ funded by the "Fix the Leaky Pipeline" Program (link)
2019: Doctoral scholarship of the program 'Realization of Equal Opportunities for Women in Research and Teaching’ – FFL of Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg to finalize the PdD
2015: Doctoral scholarship of the German Environmental Foundation - DBU, AZ 20015/398 (link)
2015: Award of the Franconian Geographical Society - FGG Erlangen. Prize for an outstanding Master's Thesis in Physical Geography.

Personal Interests

In her free time, Dr. Hiltner enjoys hiking, cooking, and dancing. She is also an avid blogger, sharing her insights and research findings on forest science through her blog on forest-science.org.