Prof. Dr. Kristian Förster

Climate Change Hydrology

+49 8161 71-6208

Portrait von Kristian Förster. Professor an der HSWT.

Address: A5.423
Am Hofgarten 6
85354 Freising
Faculty: Department Landscape Architecture
Institut: Institute of Ecology and Landscape

Office hours: Monday: 10:00 - 11:00 a.m.

Topics for theses

Topics for theses are continuously updated on this page: https://kristianfoerster.github.io/hswt-cch/
Memberships
German Hydrological Society

German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste

International Association of Hydrological Sciences

Austrian Alpine Association

European Geosciences Union
Teaching
Project 1

Water Systems and Climate Change

Meteorology and Climatology

Hydraulic engineering and water management

Project Landscape Planning

Hydrology (as part of various modules)

Water resource management

Climate-orientated urban planning
Research interests
Hydrological extremes, hydrological modelling, climate and climate change

Spatial reference: Hydrology of urban areas, landscapes and high mountains
Academic functions
Spokesperson for the B.Life Water Cluster

Member of the Doctoral Centre Sustainable Land Use Systems

Member of the Research Commission

Member of the Investigation Commission for Ensuring Good Scientific Practice

Member of the DWA working group GB-1.17 „Potential of water retention in agricultural land“

Member of the IAHS-Arbeitsgruppe Acceptance of Nature-based solutions & their implementation in guidelines (https://iahs.info/Initiatives/Scientific-Decades/helping-working-groups/acceptance-of-nature-based-solutions--their-implementation-in-guidelines/)

Spokesperson for the IAHS-HELPING Arbeitsgruppe Near-term (annual to decadal) forecasts of water availability (https://iahs.info/Initiatives/Scientific-Decades/helping-working-groups/near-term-annual-to-decadal-forecasts-of-water-availability/)

Associate Editor Frontiers in Water, Sect. Water and Hydrocomplexity (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/water)

Academic education

2001 - 2006

Studied hydrology at the TU Dresden (graduated with distinction)

2011 - 2013

Doctorate, TU Braunschweig (grade: summa cum laude)

2020

Positive interim evaluation of the Junior Professorship for Urban Hydrology („Proving yourself as a university lecturer“)

Professional / academic background

2006 - 2009

Graduate hydrologist and project manager at Lotz AG Ingenieure, Wächtersbach

2009 - 2013

Research assistant at the Leichtweiß Institute for Hydraulic Engineering, Department of Hydrology, Water Management and Water Protection at the TU Braunschweig

2014 - 2017

Research assistant (PostDoc) at the Institute of Geography of the Leopold-Franzens-University Innsbruck (Austria), Working Group Alpine Hydroclimatology (Human-Environment-Systems Research) and Senior Researcher at alpS GmbH (alpS - Centre for Climate Change Adaptation), Innsbruck (Austria), Water AREA

2017 - 2023

Junior Professor of Urban Hydrology, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institute of Hydrology and Water Resources Management

Since 2023

Professor (Chair of Climate Change Hydrology), Department of Landscape Architecture, Institute of Ecology and Landscape, Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences

Publications

Journal articles (peer-reviewed)
- Kristian Förster, Daniel Westerholt, Jule Klandt, Andreas Kurths, Antje Backhaus
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  Estimating water availability and demand for urban green with a minimal model (2026) Urban Water Journal , S. 1-14. DOI: 10.1080/1573062X.2026.2648234
  
  Urban green infrastructure (UGI) is key in retaining stormwater and mitigating the urban heat island effect, thus complementing efforts in climate change adaptation. However, UGI itself is vulnerable to climate change, particularly in the form of heatwaves and droughts. This study introduces a freely available coupled modelling approach consisting of a library for quantifying evapotranspiration, a continuous water balance model, and an approach to estimate minimum water requirements. This approach is applied to 21 cities (stations) in Germany for street trees over a period of 29 years. The study discusses spatio-temporal variations in water availability and demand across Germany. According to the model, water demand became relevant from 2015 onwards for most stations, reaching magnitudes of up to 150 mm per season, especially during the multi-year drought period between 2018–2022. Data and model codes are publicly available and might help to inform stakeholders about estimates of irrigation needs.
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- Larissa Nora van der Laan, Anouk Vlug, Adam A. Scaife, Fabien Maussion, Kristian Förster
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  Decadal re-forecasts of glacier climatic mass balance (2025) The Cryosphere 19 (9), S. 3879–3896. DOI: 10.5194/tc-19-3879-2025
  
  We present the first study employing decadal re-forecasts to simulate global glacier climatic mass balance, bridging the gap between seasonal forecasts and long-term projections of glacier contributions to catchment hydrology and sea-level rise. Using the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) and Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) decadal re-forecasts of temperature and precipitation, we demonstrate the predictive skill of glacier mass balance re-forecasts over decadal timescales in two components: for a set of 279 reference glaciers, making use of their mass balance record, and all land-terminating glaciers, making use of the globally available geodetic mass balance, respectively. Results show that forcing OGGM with decadal re-forecasts outperforms persistence forecasts and historical general circulation model (GCM) simulations. Specifically, out of 279 reference glaciers, 174 show improved skill when forcing OGGM with decadal re-forecasts for decadal mean mass balance and 186 show improved skill for cumulative mass balance. On a global scale, forcing with decadal re-forecasts yields the best agreement with observed regional mean mass balances for the period 2000–2020. These findings demonstrate moderate improvements from using decadal re-forecasts, though statistical significance is limited. While improvements are modest, the results suggest decadal re-forecasts may offer potential for improved near-term glacier predictions relevant to hydrological applications, particularly in regions where near-term forecasts can inform water resource management and climate adaptation strategies.
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- Kirk B. Enu, Fabian Merk, Hao Su, Manuel Rauch, Aude Zingraff-Hamed, Karl Broich, Kristian Förster, Stephan Pauleit, Markus Disse
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  A Scenario-Based Analysis Of Wetlands As Nature-based Solutions For Flood Risk Mitigation Using The TELEMAC-2D Model (2025) Nature-Based Solutions 7 , S. 100263. DOI: 10.1016/j.nbsj.2025.100236
  
  Urban flooding is an escalating threat in rapidly urbanising regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where unregulated expansion and climate change intensify risks. Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly recognised as cost-effective, sustainable measures for flood mitigation, yet their implementation strategies remain underexplored in SSA. This study assessed the hydrological impacts of water-related ecosystem loss (1986–2023) and evaluated the effectiveness of NbS (floodplain restoration and wetland creation) under various scenarios in the Aboabo catchment within the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA), Ghana. Using spectral indices and TELEMAC-2D hydrodynamic modelling, we found a 59% decline in wetlands and a 134% increase in built-up areas, resulting in reduced cumulative discharge and intensified, shorter floods. Among NbS scenarios, the combined approach (floodplain restoration and wetland creation) consistently achieved peak flow reductions (16–19%) in prolonged storms, while the restoration_ambitious scenario (restoring the full floodplain network) delivered the highest reduction (24%) for short-duration storms. In contrast, the landscape scenario (wetland creation in available spaces) achieved limited reductions (1–3%), highlighting the need for spatially targeted interventions. TELEMAC-2D proved highly adaptable for modelling flood resilience in data-scarce environments, making it particularly valuable for SSA. This study provides one of the first quantitative assessments of NbS in SSA using TELEMAC-2D and advocates for hybrid approaches that combine NbS with engineering solutions to enhance both immediate and long-term flood resilience. The findings offer a replicable framework for sustainable urban planning in SSA and similar regions.
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- Larissa Nora van der Laan, Kim Cholibois, Ayscha El Menuawy, Kristian Förster
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  A scenario–neutral approach to climate change in glacier mass balance modeling (2024) Annals of Glaciology 64 (92), S. 411-424. DOI: 10.1017/aog.2024.22
  
  Scenario–neutral methods are commonly used to rapidly compare system responses to changes in climate. Using glacier mass balance as a system response, we present a bottom-up, scenario–neutral method as an effective tool for preliminary and overview studies on glacier sensitivity and a complementary approach to traditional top–down methods. The method's main characteristic is its visual result: two–dimensional response surfaces depicting glacier mass balance. Their axes represent perturbations in temperature and precipitation relative to a baseline. The simplicity of our approach makes it applicable to all global glaciers. As a proof–of–concept, the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM) is used to perform a scenario–neutral glacier sensitivity analysis for four glaciers. In addition, the integration with a top–down approach is demonstrated by overlaying temperature and precipitation from four Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models, under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP). Finally, the benefits of the method are discussed for decision–making and science communication. Assessing results shows that overall, this scenario–neutral method can provide useful information for the research of climate change impact on glacier mass, from aiding study design to science communication.
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- Chris Leong, Ana Mijic, Giovanny M. Mosquera, Bertil Nlend, Adeyemi O. Olusola, Maria J. Polo, Melody Sandells, Justin Sheffield, Theresa C. Van Hateren, Mojtaba Shafiei, Soham Adla, Ankit Agarwal, Cristina Aguilar, Jafet C.M. Andersson, Cynthia Andraos, Ana Andreu, Francesco Avanzi, Ryan R. Bart, Alena Bartosova, Okke Batelaan, James C. Bennett, Miriam Bertola, Nejc Bezak, Judith Boekee, Thom Bogaard, Martijn J. Booij, Pierre Brigode, Wouter Buytaert, Konstantine Bziava, Giulio Castelli, Cyndi V. Castro, Natalie C. Ceperley, Sivarama K. R. Chidepudi, Francis H. S. Chiew, Kwok P. Chun, Addisu G. Dagnew, B. W. Dekongmen, Manuel del Jesus, Alain Dezetter, Jose A. do Batista Nascimento, Rebecca C. Doble, Nilay Dogulu, Joris P. C. Eekhout, Alper Elci, Maria Elenius, David C. Finger, Aldo Fiori, Svenja Fischer, Kristian Förster, Daniele Ganora, Emna Gargouri Ellouze, Mohammad Ghoreishi, Natasha Harvey, Markus Hrachowitz, Mahesh Jampani, Fernando Jaramillo, Harro J. Jongen, Kola Y. Kareem, Usman T. Khan, Sina Khatami, Daniel G. Kingston, Gerbrand Koren, Stefan Krause, Heidi Kreibich, Julien Lerat, Julien Liu, Mariana Madruga de Brito, Gil Mahe, Hodson Makurira, Paola Mazzoglio, Mohammad Merheb, Ashish Mishra, Hiba Mohammad, Alberto Montanari, Never Mujere, Ehsan Nabavi, Albert Nkwasa, Maria E. Orduna Alegria, Christina Orieschnig, Valeriya Ovcharuk, Santosh S. Palmate, Saket Pande, Shachi Pandey, Georgia Papacharalampous, Ilias Pechlivanidis, Gopal Penny, Rafael Pimentel, David A. Post, Cristina Prieto, Saman Razavi, Sergio Salazar-Galan, Adarsh Sankaran Namboothiri, Pedro P. Santos, Nura J. Shanono, Ashutosh Sharma, Murugesu Sivapalan, Zhanibek Smagulov, Jan Szolgay, Jin Teng, Adriaan J. Teuling, Claudia Teutschbein, Hristos Tyralis, Ann Van Griensven, Andries J. Van Schalkwyk, Marit Van Thiel, Alberto Viglione, Elena Volpi, Thorsten Wagener, Lan Wang-Erlandsson, Marthe Wens, Jun Xia, Berit Arheimer, Christophe Cudennec, Attilio Castellarin, Salvatore Grimaldi, Kate V. Heal, Claire Lupton, Archana Sarkar, Fuqiang Tian, Jean-Marie K. Onema, Stacey Archfield, Günter Blöschl, Pedro L. Borges Chaffe, Barry F.W. Croke, Moctar Dembele
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  The IAHS Science for Solutions decade, with Hydrology Engaging Local People IN a Global world (HELPING) (2024) Hydrological Sciences Journal . DOI: 10.1080/02626667.2024.2355202
  
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- Maria Herminia Pesci, Philipp Schulte-Overberg, Thomas Bosshard, Kristian Förster
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  From global glacier modeling to catchment hydrology: bridging the gap with the WaSiM-OGGM coupling scheme (2023) Frontiers in Water 5 , S. 1296344. DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2023.1296344
  
  Coupled glacio-hydrological models have recently become a valuable method for predicting the hydrological response of catchments in mountainous regions under a changing climate. While hydrological models focus mostly on processes of the non-glacierized part of the catchment with a relatively simple glacier representation, the latest generation of standalone (global) glacier models tend to describe glacier processes more accurately by using new global datasets and explicitly modeling ice-flow dynamics. Yet, to the authors' knowledge, existing catchment-scale coupled glacio-hydrological models either do not include these most recent advances in glacier modeling or are simply not available to other users. By making use of the capabilities of the free, distributed, physically-based Water Flow and Balance Simulation Model (WaSiM) and the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM), a coupling scheme is developed to bridge the gap between global glacier representation and local catchment hydrology. The WaSiM-OGGM coupling scheme is used to further assess the impacts under future climates on the glaciological and hydrological processes in the Gepatschalm catchment (Austria), by considering a combination of three climate projections under the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5. Additionally, the results are compared to the original WaSiM model with the integrated Volume-Area (VA) scaling approach for modeling glaciers. Although both models (WaSiM with VA scaling and WaSiM-OGGM coupling scheme) perform very similar during the historical simulations (1971–2010), large discrepancies arise when looking into the future (2011–2100). In terms of runoff, the VA scaling model suggests a reduction of the mean monthly peak between 10–19%, whereas a reduction of 26–41% is computed by the coupling scheme. Similarly, results suggest that glaciers will continuously retreat until 2100. By the end of the century, between 20–43% of the 2010 glacier area will remain according to the VA scaling model, but only 1–23% is expected to remain with the coupling scheme. The results from the WaSiM-OGGM coupling scheme raises awareness of including more sophisticated glacier evolution models when performing hydrological simulations at the catchment scale in the future. As the WaSiM-OGGM coupling scheme is released as open-source software, it is accessible to any interested modeler with limited or even no glacier knowledge.
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- Fang Yenn Teo, Faissal Aziz, Silvia Di Francesco, Kristian Förster
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  Editorial: Potential and limitations of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) to global water challenges (2023) Frontiers in Water 5 , S. 1278462. DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2023.1278462
  
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- Terence J. O'Kane, Adam A. Scaife, Yochanan Kushnir, Anca Brookshaw, Carlo Buontempo, David Carlin, Richenda K. Connell, Francisco Doblas-Reyes, Nick Dunstone, Kristian Förster, Antonio Graça, Alistair J. Hobday, Vassili Kitsios, Larissa Nora van der Laan, Julia Lockwood, William J. Merryfield, Andreas Paxian, Mark R. Payne, M. Catherine Reader, Geoffrey R. Saville, Doug Smith, Balakrishnan Solaraju-Murali, Nico Caltabiano, Jessie Carman, Ed Hawkins, Noel Keenlyside, Arun Kumar, Daniela Matei, Holger Pohlmann, Scott Power, Marilyn Raphael, Michael Sparrow, Bo Wu
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  Recent applications and potential of near-term (interannual to decadal) climate predictions (2023) Frontiers in Climate 5 , S. 1121626 | 1-15. DOI: 10.3389/fclim.2023.1121626
  
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- Thea Wübbelmann, Kristian Förster, Laurens M. Bouwer, Claudia Dworczyk, Steffen Bender, Benjamin Burkhard
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  Urban flood regulating ecosystem services under climate change: how can Nature-based Solutions contribute? (2023) Frontiers in Water 5 , S. 1081850. DOI: 10.3389/frwa.2023.1081850
  
  Urban areas are mostly highly sealed spaces, which often leads to large proportions of surface runoff. At the same time, heavy rainfall events are projected to increase in frequency and intensity with anthropogenic climate change. Consequently, higher risks and damages from pluvial flooding are expected. The analysis of Flood Regulating Ecosystem Services (FRES) can help to determine the benefits from nature to people by reducing surface runoff and runoff peaks. However, urban FRES are rarely studied for heavy rainfall events under changing climate conditions. Therefore, we first estimate the functionality of current urban FRES-supply and demand under changing climate conditions. Second, we identify the effects of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) on FRES-supply and demand and their potential future functionality and benefits concerning more intensive rainfall events. A district of the city of Rostock in northeastern Germany serves as the case study area. In addition to the reference conditions based on the current land use, we investigate two potential NbS: (1) increasing the number of trees; and (2) unsealing and soil improvement. Both NbS and a combination of both are applied for three heavy rainfall scenarios. In addition to a reference scenario, two future scenarios were developed to investigate the FRES functionality, based on 21 and 28% more intense rainfall. While the potential FRES-demand was held constant, we assessed the FRES-supply and actual demand for all scenario combinations, using the hydrological model LEAFlood. The comparison between the actual demand and supply indicates the changes in FRES-supply surplus and unmet demand increase. Existing land use structures reached a FRES capacity and cannot buffer more intense rainfall events. Whereas, the NbS serve FRES benefits by increasing the supply and reducing the actual demand. Using FRES indicators, based on hydrological models to estimate future functionality under changing climate conditions and the benefits of NbS, can serve as an analysis and decision-support tool for decision-makers to reduce future urban flood risk.
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Publications
- Kristian Förster, Lukas Kühle, Antje Backhaus, Daniel Westerholt, Andreas Kurths, Theresia Titzmann
  
  Stadtgrün im Klimawandel - Modellierung des pflanzenverfügbaren Wassers und Strategien für die zukünftige Bewässerung in Hamburg (2026) Posterpräsentation auf dem Tag der Hydrologie 2026 in Kassel, März 2026 .
  
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- Korinna Schmitz, Ann-Katrin Marquardt, Kristian Förster
  
  Naturbasierte Lösungen im Fokus: Partizipative hydrologische Forschung mit Schülerinnen und Schülern (2026) Poster auf dem Tag der Hydrologie, März 2026 .
- Andreas Schwarzer, Korinna Schmitz, Kristian Förster
  
  3D-Modell zur Beurteilung der Wirksamkeit von naturbasierten Lösungen (2026) Poster auf dem Tag der Hydrologie, März 2026 .
  
  Am Beispiel der Stadt Selbitz (Landkreis Hof) wurden im Projekt SCHWAMMBOX neue Ansätze zur Bewertung, Modellierung und praxisnahen Umsetzung von naturbasierten Lösungen entwickelt. Diese werden im Weiteren als ‚Schwammflurmaßnahmen‘ bezeichnet. Selbitz engagiert sich seit einer Überschwemmung mit Schäden in Millionenhöhe im Jahr 2021 aktiv in Fragen der Klimaanpassung und hat bereits erste Maßnahmen im Rahmen eines vorangegangenen Pilotprojekts umgesetzt. Die enge Zusammenarbeit mit kommunaler Verwaltung, lokalen Initiativen und der Bevölkerung ermöglicht eine praxisorientierte Umsetzung wissenschaftlicher Konzepte. Der technische Teil des Projekts verfolgt zwei Schritte: Modellierung – Darstellung des Wasserhaushalts unter Berücksichtigung von Schwammflurmaßnahmen.Toolbox „Schwammbox“ – Ableitung einer Effizienzbewertung und Übertragbarkeit auf andere Regionen. Neben der technischen Umsetzung soll die Akzeptanz für Schwammflurmaßnahmen gestärkt und die Menschen vor Ort zu befähigt werden, langfristig Verantwortung für eine klimaresiliente Entwicklung zu übernehmen. Schwammflurmaßnahmen sollen mithilfe einer hydrologischen Modellierung in Form von räumlich in drei Dimensionen differenzierten, physikalisch basierten Modellen im Catchment Modelling Framework (CMF; KRAFT et al. 2011) abgebildet werden. Für die Modellierung wurde CMF gewählt, da es als flexibler, physikalisch basierter Modellbaukasten die Abbildung komplexer hydrologischer Prozesse ermöglicht und frei verfügbar ist. Der 3D-Ansatz berücksichtigt sowohl horizontale als auch vertikale Strukturen, um die Interaktionen zwischen Oberflächen, Bodenschichten und Vorfluter realistisch darzustellen. Im Fokus steht dabei, wie sich der Wasserhaushalt durch die Maßnahmen über die Zeit verändert – insbesondere im Kontext von Starkregen und Dürre. Die Modellierung unterstützt das Gesamtziel des Projekts, die Wirksamkeit von Schwammflurmaßnahmen besser zu verstehen und langfristig übertragbare Erkenntnisse für andere Kommunen, Projekte und Modellregionen zu gewinnen. Dabei werden auch Lösungsansätze entwickelt, die eine Kalibrierung des Systems ohne klassische Messstationen ermöglichen. Das Modell zur Simulation wird nach Fertigstellung als Open-Source-Software veröffentlicht. Für die Plausibilisierung und Kalibrierung des Modells werden zwei Datenquellen genutzt: (1) Wasserstandsdaten und Abflussmengen im Vorfluter, erhoben durch Citizen Science (CrowdWater), und (2) Bodenfeuchtedaten aus drei CRNS-Sensoren (Cosmic-Ray Neutron Sensing, eine Methode zur flächenhaften Erfassung der Bodenfeuchte). Erste Plausibilisierungen mit den Citizen-Science-Daten zeigen eine vorläufige Übereinstimmung mit den Simulationsergebnissen und liefern Hinweise auf stimmige Modellannahmen. Die CRNS-Sensoren sind seit Sommer 2025 an drei Schwammflurmaßnahmen in Selbitz installiert und sammeln kontinuierlich Daten. Bis Anfang 2026 sollen sie kalibriert werden, um die Echtdaten und die modellierten Daten zu vergleichen und das Modell weiter zu validieren. Dieses Poster stellt den entwickelten Modellansatz schematisch dar und es werden erste Ergebnisse der für die Kalibrierung genutzten Daten von CRNS und CrowdWater dargestellt und verglichen. Zudem wird ein Ausblick auf die geplante Toolbox des Modells aufgezeigt, welches eine generalisierte Übertragung der Projekterkenntnisse auf ähnliche Fragestellungen erlauben soll. Das entwickelte Modell mit seiner Toolbox richtet sich an Landschaftsplaner:innen und Hydrologen:innen, um die hydrologischen Effekte von Schwammflurmaßnahmen im Rahmen des Wassermanagements in der Landschaft besser einzuschätzen zu können.
- Andreas Schwarzer, Bastian Steinhoff-Knopp, Daniel Westerholt, Kristian Förster
  
  Minimale Aufbauhöhen von Gründächern können den Abflussbeiwert gegenüber versiegelten Flächen halbieren (2025) Posterpräsentation auf dem Tag der Hydrologie 2025 in Augsburg, 19.-21.03.2025 .
- Korinna Schmitz, Kristian Förster
  
  Citizen Science zur Evaluierung naturbasierter Lösungen im Wassermanagement: Aufbau und erste Erfolge einer Messkampagne (2025) Poster auf dem Tag der Hydrologie, März 2025 .
  
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- Korinna Schmitz, Kristian Förster, Nejc Bezak
  
  Naturbasierte Lösungen für Wasser in der Hochschullehre: Ein Überblick (2025) Poster auf dem Tag der Hydrologie, März 2025 .
  
  Naturbasierte Lösungen (NbS) sind vielversprechende Ansätze, um die Resilienz des Wasserhaushalts gegenüber Hochwasser, Trockenheit und Hitze zu stärken. Doch wie stark sind diese Konzepte bereits in der Hochschullehre verankert? Im Rahmen der Forschungsdekade HELPING (Hydrology Engaging Local People IN one Global world) der IAHS (International Association of Hydrological Sciences) wird im Arbeitskreis „Akzeptanz von naturbasierten Lösungen und deren Implementierung in Richtlinien“ eine systematische Erhebung zu NbS-bezogenen Lehrinhalten durchgeführt. Ziel ist es, einen Überblick darüber zu gewinnen, in welchen Studiengängen und Kursen an Hochschulen NbS gelehrt werden und wie diese Inhalte in der akademischen Ausbildung vermittelt werden. Die Untersuchung umfasst Hochschulen in über 30 Ländern weltweit, wobei der Fokus des vorliegenden Beitrags auf Deutschland liegt. Durch eine detaillierte Analyse verschiedener Fachbereiche wie Geographie, Bau- und Umweltingenieurwesen sowie Landschaftsarchitektur wird beleuchtet, welche Disziplinen das Thema aufgreifen und wie es in die Lehrpläne integriert wird. Dabei wird nicht nur die Häufigkeit von NbS-Themen in der Hochschullehre untersucht, sondern auch die Qualität der Lehrinhalte bewertet: Sind die Kurse theoretisch oder beinhalten sie auch praktische Anwendungen? Wird das Thema interdisziplinär beleuchtet? Darüber hinaus wird die sprachliche Vielfalt berücksichtigt, indem unterschiedliche Begrifflichkeiten wie Schwammstadt, Blau-Grüne-Infrastruktur oder Renaturierung in die Analyse einbezogen werden. Die Analyse erfolgt als Review, wobei Informationen aus öffentlich zugänglichen Lehrplänen und Umfragen mit Dozierenden genutzt werden. Aufgrund der Vielzahl an Hochschulen in Deutschland erhebt die Untersuchung keinen Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit, bietet jedoch einen repräsentativen Einblick in den aktuellen Stand. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen, dass das Thema naturbasierte Lösungen zunehmend in der Hochschullehre an Bedeutung gewinnt, jedoch noch Lücken bestehen. Besonders die praktische Anwendung und die Interdisziplinarität der Kurse variieren stark zwischen den Fachbereichen und Institutionen. Dieser Beitrag liefert eine Momentaufnahme des Status quo der Verankerung von naturbasierten Lösungen in der Hochschullehre und bietet eine Grundlage für den Austausch zwischen Hochschulen und Fachdisziplinen. Die Ergebnisse können Anregungen für die Weiterentwicklung von Lehrinhalten geben, als Inspiration für die Gestaltung neuer Kurse dienen und die Vernetzung zwischen Institutionen fördern. So trägt die Analyse indirekt dazu bei, die Rolle von NbS im akademischen Diskurs zu stärken und die nächste Generation von Fachkräften auf die Herausforderungen im Wassermanagement vorzubereiten.
Magazine articles
- Andreas Schwarzer, Bastian Steinhoff-Knopp, Daniel Westerholt, Kristian Förster
  
  Die Wasserbilanz dünnschichtiger Gründachaufbauten und deren Variabilität innerhalb Deutschlands (2024) Korrespondenz Wasserwirtschaft 2024 (9), S. 570-577. DOI: 10.3243/kwe2024.09.004
  
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Research data
- Miriam Grote, Kristian Förster
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Two Adapted Variants of the Simpel Hydrological Model for Green Roof Simulation (2026) Zenodo . DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19886176
  
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- Kristian Förster, Richard Poncet, Lena Enderich, Marcel Goerke, Miriam Grote, Tobias Koch, Maria Herminia Pesci, Vera Tigges, Daniel Westerholt, Jean-Luc Bertrand-Krajewski
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Co-UDlabs _TA_20/06_INSA-GROOF: Sub-hourly Hydro-Meteorological Data of Green Roof Test Plots with Different Dimensions (1m x 1m and 3m x 3m) in Lyon, France (2025) Zenodo . DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15129787
  
  This repository includes the datasets of the Co-UDlabs Transnational Access Project INDOOR-GRASP (Intercomparison of the hydrological Response of Green Roofs Across Scales, sites and experimental setups). The novelty of this project lies especially in the idea to conduct a paired green roof experiment, considering open site experimental plots at INSA Lyon (GROOF) and smaller indoor test plots built in the laboratory. Therefore, a 3x3 sq. m and a 1x1 sq. m test plot have been installed at the GROOF facility on the roof a building of the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA, Lyon). Measurements have been collected between September 2024 and March 2025. The project aims at developing a model which can be utilized to scale between both type of dimensions. In a later step, indoor experiments are also foreseen to focus on differences between open field and indoor test plots for green roofs. Whilst being a fascinating research question itself, it has high practical relevance: with this approach, the results of shorter (indoor) measurement campaigns can be scaled to long-term behavior through the outcome of this paired experimental and hydrological model approach. New green roof products can be tested more readily in order to proof their functionality.
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Talks and presentations
- Kristian Förster, Lena Endrich, Sebastian Friedrich, Marcel Goerke, Tobias Koch, Maria Herminia Pesci, Richard Poncet, Antonia Richter, Vera Tigges, Daniel Westerholt, Jean-Luc Bertrand-Krajewski
  
  Intercomparison of the hydrological Response of Green Roofs Across Scales, sites and experimental setups (2026) International Lysimeter and Ecotron Workshop, Hallbergmoos, 23. März 2026 .
  
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- Kristian Förster
  
  Near-term (annual to decadal) Forecasts of Water Availability (2026) HELPING Online Conference 19 January 2026 .
  
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- Julia Laube, Kristian Förster
  
  Dezentraler Hochwasserschutz in Wächtersbach (Spessart) - Ergebnisse eines studentischen Projekts in der Landschaftsplanung (2025) ANL-Tagung Naturschutz: Von der Forschung in die Praxis - Wassermanagement, 23.09.2025, Freising .
  
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- Korinna Schmitz, Kristian Förster
  
  Schwammbox – Entwicklung einer Toolbox für den Wasserrückhalt in der Landschaft. (2025) ANL-Tagung Naturschutz: Von der Forschung in die Praxis - Wassermanagement, 23.09.2025 Freising. .
  
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- Kristian Förster
  
  Lysimeter setups to study the water balance of green roofs (2024) Vortrag, International Lysimeter and Ecotron Workshop, Hallbergmoos, 20. März 2024. .
Other publications
- Antje Backhaus, Andreas Kurths, Jule Klandt, Marie Hildebrandt, Theresia Titzmann, Kristian Förster, Daniel Westerholt
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Bewässerung von Stadtgrün im Klimawandel. Grundlagen und Strategien für die zukünftige Bewässerung von Stadtgrün in Hamburg. Kurzfassung (2025)
  
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- Antje Backhaus, Andreas Kurths, Jule Klandt, Marie Hildebrandt, Theresia Titzmann, Kristian Förster, Daniel Westerholt
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Bewässerung von Stadtgrün im Klimawandel. Grundlagen und Strategien für die zukünftige Bewässerung von Stadtgrün in Hamburg (2025)
  
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- Kristian Förster
  
  Hydrological models for peatlands: processes, scales and application (2024) Session moderation, Peatlands and Ecosystem Functions – iPSC, Freising, 18.-21.09.2024 .
- Florian Hanzer, Kristian Förster, Tim Cera
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  MELODIST 0.1.6 (2024) Zenodo . DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.11518256
  
  MELODIST - An open-source MEteoroLOgical observation time series DISaggregation ToolMELODIST is an open-source toolbox written in Python for disaggregating daily meteorological time series to hourly time steps. It is licensed under GPLv3 (see license file). The software framework consists of disaggregation functions for each variable including temperature, humidity, precipitation, shortwave radiation, and wind speed. These functions can simply be called from a station object, which includes all relevant information about site characteristics. The data management of time series is handled using data frame objects as defined in the pandas package. In this way, input and output data can be easily prepared and processed. For instance, the pandas package is data i/o capable and includes functions to plot time series using the matplotlib library.
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- Kristian Förster, Maria Herminia Pesci
  
  Permissions: Open Access
  
  Permissions: Peer Reviewed
  
  Verbundprojekt AXIS: Skalen- und sektorenübergreifende Untersuchungen von Sedimenteinträgen in Reservoire unter veränderten klimatischen und gesellschaftlichen Bedingungen (DIRT-X); Teilprojekt 2: Hydrologie und Glaziologie : Schlussbericht (Sachbericht) zum Verwendungsnachweis : Laufzeit des Vorhabens: 01.09.2019-30.06.2023 (2023) DOI: 10.2314/KXP:1909310360
  
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Transfer events
- Kristian Förster
  
  Near-term (annual to decadal) forecasts of water availability (IAHS-HELPING-Theme 2 WG) (2025) Splinter Meeting / Workshop, EGU General Assembly 2025, Wien, 29.04.2025 .
- Kristian Förster
  
  Near-term (annual to decadal) forecasts of water availability (IAHS-HELPING-Theme 2 WG) (2024) Splinter Meeting / Workshop, EGU General Assembly 2024, Wien, 15.04.2024 .

Research projects

Duration: 01.04.2026 – 31.03.2028

: Environmental precaution
Abens flood protection from the source to the estuary as an environmentally sound adaptation strategy
Despite near-natural floodplain areas, it has been shown that the Abens has a high risk potential for flooding. The neighboring municipalities along the Abens are committed to sustainable measures. …
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- Project lead (HSWT): Prof. Dr. Markus Reinke
Duration: 01.03.2026 – 28.02.2030

: Climate change
Hitze im Transekt – Herausforderungen und Lösungen in Stadt und Land (HiT)
Das Forschungsprojekt entwickelt innovative Hitzeschutzmaßnahmen für Stadt- und ländliche Räume entlang eines Transekts, um ökologische, soziale und wirtschaftliche Herausforderungen steigender …
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- General project lead HSWT: Prof. Dr. Klaus Menrad

Show 6 more research projects of this author

Supervised doctorates

Time period: 01.03.2025 – 31.12.2028
Development of a hydrological blue green roof model to optimize the active rainwater management
Doctoral candidate: Winfried Krafft
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Prof. Dr. Kristian Förster

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Supervised doctorates