Clever fishing part of the solution
Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea is a growing problem. The emission of nutrients to the sea has to be reduced, but better management of fisheries is also required. To implement ecosystem-based management in the future, researchers at SLU are trying to understand the role of fish in the food chain.
(2012-03-07)
How does climate change affect Sweden’s mountain vegetation?
Mountain forest biomass in Sweden has increased by as much as 19 per cent over the past 13 years, researchers show in a recently published study. The next step is to review data from Sweden’s national inventory programme to study the rest of the mountains.
(2011-12-29)
Follows Nature's Calendar
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) has collected 350 000 phenological observations made during the period 1873-1918 from across Sweden in a unique data base. These historical observations combined with observations of today, makes it possible to follow how plants have been affected by climate change.
(2011-07-13)
What natural environment do we want?
SLU researchers have played an important role in Sweden’s 150 year long history of environmental acidification, for instance the acidification process was first shown by soil researcher Svante Odén in the 1960s. Reduced sulphur emissions and thereby less acid deposition, makes land and water areas in Sweden now recovering from the acidification that started already during the 19th century. But towards...
(2011-07-11)
MOTH finds less common habitats
Every sixth years, Sweden is to report on the conservation status of the habitat types specified in the EU Habitats Directive*.
(2011-04-20)
Occurrence of Algae on Spruce Follows Nitrogen Deposition
The amount of algae found on Norway spruce needles in Sweden is a good indicator of the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen. High nitrogen deposition generates high algae growth and low nitrogen deposition generates low algae growth.
(2011-03-21)
Value of Ecosystem Services
How high is an ecosystem’s recreational value? What is the value of carbon uptake by forests according to carbon permits under the EU emissions trading scheme? Ing-Marie Gren, professor at SLU, has done the calculations.
(2011-03-10)
The Neighbourhood through the Eyes of your Child
What do children think about the outdoor environment in their neighbourhood? Researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) have developed a method using a Geographic Information System (GIS).
(2010-12-02)
High Risk of Vole Fever in Northern Sweden
We are facing an outbreak of vole fever during winter, according to the annual forecast made by scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). This year’s high number of bank voles will spread the illness to a large number of humans.
(2010-12-01)
Mink as a Sentinel Species
Researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) have developed an environmental monitoring system using the Swedish wild mink as a sentinel species.
(2010-11-30)
Working towards a Non-Toxic World
Leif Norrgren is Professor at SLU with a strong international commitment to environmental issues. He collaborates with people all over the world in projects concerning toxic substances and pathogens connected to water.
(2010-11-26)
Farmland birds still declining
Many Swedish farmland birds are becoming increasingly rare. The curlew ( Numenius aquata ) has been particularly hard hit and is now very rare in southern Sweden. The reason for bird declines is that landscapes have become more regionally uniform with more monoculture – cereals are mostly grown on the plains; farmland in forest areas is mostly used for ley grass or fallows. Several species have declined...
(2010-09-06)
Emissions trading around Baltic basins
Toxic algal blooms, dead sea bottoms and declining fish stocks have become a daily reality for people living along the shores of the Baltic Sea. Agreements reached thirty years ago to reduce emissions of nutrients, particularly those of phosphorus and nitrogen, have not yielded the desired results.
(2010-05-07)
Thinned forest maintains the carbon sink
Forest management has a major impact on the carbon balance. SLU researchers are using modern technology to monitor flows of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere above forests of various kinds.
(2010-02-18)
Fewer species with rising crop yields
While crop yields from European agriculture have doubled, biodiversity has declined. Half of all plant species and one-third of ground beetles and birds have disappeared from the agricultural landscape.
(2010-02-08)
Diatoms reflect lake quality
Stationary diatoms reveal whether a river or stream is eutrophied, acidified or affected by organic pollutants. Researchers at SLU in Uppsala are now determining whether the method using diatoms as an indicator in watercourses also works in lakes.
(2009-11-30)
Invasive species costly to control
Rugosa rose, HIV, the rat and Iberian slug – over the years many alien species have been introduced in Sweden, deliberately or inadvertently. These “invasive” species have caused varying degrees of devastation in water, on land and among man and animals.
(2009-05-25)
An intact landscape for animals
The road network creates barriers in the green infrastructure for animals. The more fragmented the landscape, the more difficult it is for populations to survive.
(2008-11-25)
Tax favours “clean” technology
The current technology used for heating and vehicle engines etc makes it very difficult to achieve sizeable reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.
(2008-04-04)
Browner water with less acidification
As sulphur deposition decreases, our lakes and watercourses are becoming ever browner, an effect caused by humus from surrounding land.
(2007-12-10)
Lack of nitrate in blooming lakes
Massive algal blooms occur in eutrophic lakes and the Baltic Sea during warm summers. The algae are often cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae.
(2007-09-25)
Late grazing good for flora
Species diversity in dry or mesic, nutrient poor grasslands in the pastoral landscape would increase if grazing animals were let out to pasture later in the season.
(2006-07-14)