Knowledge transfer through Citizen Science using the example of a forest inventory campaign

Citizen Science (CS) operates at the interface of engineering, natural and social sciences. The topic is currently gaining importance, which, from a political perspective, is based, among other things, on the hope of increasing the acceptance of science and scientific knowledge among the general public. The involvement of non-specialists in the conception and implementation of research projects enables and requires the development of innovative educational concepts that integrate knowledge transfer and added value to science, for example through citizen-based data acquisition. This win-win situation of active learning and the generation of research-relevant data can be implemented in educational institutions in particular by expanding didactic concepts with the integration of citizen science.

As an example, the project of the DLR in cooperation with the Friedrich Schiller University Jena will be presented. The campaign took place at site 15 km to the SE of Jena featuring planted and intensively managed forest. During the past two years the forest was affected by several stressors such as storm events, long drought periods (spring 2018 and 2019, summer 2018), and bark beetle attacks. Thus, forest management activities were conducted in June 2019 to remove stressed and infected trees. Two CS campaigns were conducted: one before (May) and one after (July) the management action (cross validation, check which trees were logged). The aim was to collect the stem circumference, the species, and other describing parameters. The citizens were “gathered“ from a university lecture for forthcoming Geography teachers. During the campaign a new approach for improved positioning under challenging GNSS conditions was tested (offset correction using Bluetooth low energy beacons – BLE).