Markus and Ludger, leaders of the Deutschsprachiges Landschaftsnetzwerk (AK LaFo), reflect on the German network’s distinctive intellectual culture, its transdisciplinary ethos, and its continuing contribution to landscape research across the German-speaking region.
The German-speaking Landscape Research Network (Arbeitskreis Landschaftsforschung, AK LaFo) continues to provide an important forum for dialogue, collaboration, and critical reflection across the landscape research community in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Bringing together scholars and practitioners from multiple disciplinary traditions, the network is characterised by a distinctive intellectual culture that combines conceptual inquiry with empirical engagement. Rather than focusing solely on applied questions of landscape planning or management, discussions within AK LaFo frequently examine how landscape itself is understood — historically, culturally, methodologically, and politically — while remaining closely connected to spatial practice and real-world contexts.
A genuinely transdisciplinary ethos
A defining feature of the network is its genuinely transdisciplinary ethos. Exchanges move fluidly across ecology, geography, planning, sociology, and related fields, creating space for methodological plurality and theoretical debate. This culture of dialogue supports not only academic development but also the broader societal relevance of landscape research.
Contemporary challenges such as climate adaptation, socio-ecological transformation, biodiversity change, and evolving land-use pressures form a recurring backdrop to network discussions. Within this context, AK LaFo provides a setting in which researchers can critically explore the normative and conceptual implications of landscape change alongside empirical and practice-based perspectives.
Between its formal workshops, the network sustains continuity primarily through its regular newsletters and ongoing collaboration among organisers and contributors. This structure supports an active and reflective research community without reliance on rigid institutional frameworks.
The Landscape Research Group recognises the German-speaking Landscape Research Network as a valued and long-standing partner within the wider international landscape research ecosystem. LRG members with aligned interests are encouraged to explore the network’s activities and publications.
Active programme of workshops
The German-speaking Landscape Research Network also sustains an active programme of workshops and gatherings that bring members together for in-depth exchange on emerging themes. Most recently, participants from across the network convened at a autumn workshop to discuss questions of transformation, conflict, and coproduction in landscape research. AK LaFo is now preparing for its next meeting, which will take place in Sweden and continue the tradition of collective reflection and dialogue on pressing conceptual and practical questions in landscape research.
Upcoming conference: Uppsala, 23-25 September
The network’s upcoming conference, Rethinking Landscape for Societal Transition: A German–Scandinavian Dialogue, will take place in Uppsala, Sweden, from 23–25 September. Hosted in collaboration with scholars at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), the meeting brings together German-speaking landscape researchers and their Scandinavian counterparts for comparative inquiry into how landscapes can be reconceived in the context of social and environmental transition. Speakers include Vera Vicenzotti, Mattias Qviström, and Andrew Butler (SLU), who will explore themes at the intersection of landscape theory, governance and transdisciplinary practice. The programme combines structured dialogue with opportunities for informal exchange, continuing AK LaFo’s commitment to experimental and cross-regional engagement. For further details, including registration and programme updates, please consult the network’s official channels and newsletter.
Markus Leibenath and Ludger Gailing coordinate the Deutschsprachiges Landschaftsnetzwerk (AK LaFo) on behalf of the Landscape Research Group. Markus Leibenath is Professor of Landscape Planning and Communication at the University of Kassel, where his research spans spatial and landscape planning, sustainability governance, and societal dimensions of environmental change, and he has published extensively on planning theory, landscape justice, and socio-ecological transformation. Ludger Gailing is Professor and Head of the Chair of Regional Planning at the Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, with a long academic career in spatial planning, regional development and institutional change, and a strong record of research on landscape governance and transformation processes. Together they organise the network’s seminars and newsletters, and act as principal contacts for collaboration and external engagement.
Build links with the German Network
Further information, updates, and announcements are maintained by the network via its official website and newsletter:
Deutschsprachiges Landschaftsnetzwerk – Arbeitskreis Landschaftsforschung (AK LaFo)
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