Head of Unit

CV and List of Publications (September 2024)

After completing vocational training in horticulture, Werner Rolf worked for several years in nature conservation and wilderness preservation both in Germany and abroad. This was followed by a degree in land care and stewardship in Nürtingen, completed in 2000 with a specialisation in environmental development and landscape conservation. He then set up his own office, worked as a lecturer, and engaged in applied research. From 2012 to 2024, Werner served as a teaching and research assistant at TUM Chair for Strategic Landscape Planning and Management, with guest stays at various European universities. A doctorate in landscape management was completed at the University of Potsdam from 2017 to 2020.
Meanwhile, in 2022, he was appointed to a professorship in Landscape Planning and Landscape Development at HfWU. In August 2024, Werner Rolf took up the professorship for Landscape Planning, Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation at the Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

Werner Rolf actively contributes as a reviewer for various initiatives, including IPBES and Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and numerous international scientific journals. He also serves as co-editor of the open-access journal, Landscape Online. Additionally, he participates in various committees of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE), including the executive committee of IALE-Europe and the board of the IALE Germany region.

His work is grounded in landscape ecology, understanding landscapes as socio-ecological systems. Werner Rolf's research interests center on multifunctional, integrative spatial planning and landscape approaches. His work emphasizes collaborative and participatory planning, as well as land-use scenarios. This includes the analysis and modeling of complex spatial and functional interrelations using Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  A current research focus is on green infrastructure planning and nature-based solutions (NbS). In many years of applied research, he has gained experience in collaborative and transformative research approaches in the field of spatial planning and sustainable land management. He has international experience in rural and urban landscapes at different scales across Europe.

More details about his primary work areas, research, and teaching can be found on the unit Landscape Planning, Landscape Ecology and Nature Conservation.