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SLU Forest Damage Centre

We produce and collect knowledge and competence for the health of the forest.

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Illustrations on SLU Forest DAmage Centre's research areas.

We prevent and monitor forest damage

We research, analyze and monitor forest damage in order to equip the Swedish forest against today's and tomorrow's risks of damage. We create and collect knowledge for forest health.

With a focus on responsible forestry, preservation of natural values, and biological diversity, we contribute to sustainable social development under changing climate conditions.

About us

Research School

The SLU Forest Damage Centre's research school trains doctoral students to get a broad competence in forest damages. Here, you can network with industry and authorities. The research school is open to all doctoral students at SLU.

Shoes on a stone in the forest. Photo.

Monitoring of forest damage

We collect data on damage and populations or agents that cause damage in Swedish forest ecosystems. The data contribute important information to the analysis function within the Centre and governmental work.

Caterpillars of sawflies on a pine. Photo.

Analyst function

The analysis function is an important part of the SLU Forest Damage Centre. Our analysts investigate the risk for national outbreaks, compile knowledge and provide support in the event of outbreaks or other incidents.

A woman stands by a birch in the forest. Photo.

Our projects

Here you find our current and previous projects. We have research projects, environmental monitoring project, pilot studies or development projects connected to forest damage.

Spruce twig. Photo.

Forest damage related news from SLU

  • 04 April 2024

    More and happier pathogens in warmer Nordic countries

    Wheat with fungal disease. Photo. The majority of all known pathogens to global food production will thrive and reproduce faster in a warmer climate. Such generalizations are, however, not necessarily practically useful. A new report from SMHI and SLU estimates at a geographically higher resolution how 80 known plant pathogens are affected by climate change.
  • 27 March 2024

    Spruce bark beetle attacks in a time of climate change

    A man in a forest. Photo. Where and when does the spruce bark beetle attack? Petter Öhrn has investigated this as well as the spruce's defense capacity in his doctoral thesis. "It is particularly important for forest owners to find and remove infested trees in June".
  • 15 March 2024

    Ancient pine trees tell unexpected tale of ice and fire

    Ancient pine tree unearthed in Lycksele, Sweden. Forest fires were more prevalent in the early post glacial forests in northern Sweden than previously anticipated. In unearthing three pines which had been buried for almost 10 000 years in Västerbotten, researchers from Umeå university and SLU found marks from multiple forest fires from a time when the ice sheet was still receding.
  • 13 March 2024

    Wind damages expected to increase in a warmer climate

    Forest damage after the storm Hans. Photo. In spite of elks, spruce beetles and pathogenic fungi, wind is probably the largest cause of economic loss for European forestry. A number of reports in recent years investigates how the risk of wind damage can be expected to develop during the rest of the century, and how forest owners themselves can affect risks by making active decisions.
  • 21 February 2024

    Registration open for the PhD-course 'Forest Damage - Monitoring and eviromental assessment'

    Spruce. Photo. The registration is now open for the PhD student course on “Monitoring and environmental assessment” that will start in March. The objective of the course is to provide the students with a basic understanding of environmental assessments and how to design programs for monitoring forest damage, the incidence of damaging agents and the risk of damage.
More news on forest damage
Published: 03 April 2024 - Page editor: theres.svensson@slu.se
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