Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology

We answer questions about how agriculture and forestry can be conducted in a world with changing climate. Key themes include forest and plant pathology as well as nutrient and carbon cycling in agricultural and forest ecosystems.

News

  • 2025-06-02

    Bolivian students dive into the world of bioinformatics

    How do you identify an organism at the molecular level – and how can that contribute to sustainable agriculture? These were some of the questions explored by Bolivian students during an international course in La Paz, led by researchers from SLU.
  • 2025-05-12

    Healthy forests in a changing climate – the path to resilient conifers

    In her doctoral thesis, Matilda Stein Åslund has studied genetic and environmental factors that affect diseases in conifers. This is an important step toward preserving our forests in the ongoing climate change.
  • 2025-04-23

    Plant genotype-dependent biocontrol of wheat diseases

    Genetic variation in plants can affect how efficiently biological control agents can reduce diseases. In this doctoral thesis, Sidhant Chaudhary has investigated this variation to bring us closer to optimising crops for higher biocontrol responsiveness.

Agriculture and forestry in a changing world

Through our research we answer questions about how agriculture and forestry can be conducted in a world where the climate is changing. We conduct both basic and applied research and have active collaborations with forestry and agriculture.

Undergraduate education

From fungi and lichens to forest ecology, forest and agricultural pathogens and biogeochemical cycles. Find our courses, distance courses and independent work here.

Doctoral education

Doctoral education BK

Are you interested in learning about and developing new knowledge for more sustainable agriculture and forestry? Our doctoral program provides a scientific approach, subject knowledge, and training in pedagogy and leadership.

Calendar

About us

You can find us out in the field digging holes with big shovels or pipetting like there is no tomorrow in the lab. We investigate how microorganisms like fungi and bacteria interact with the environment. The Department is part of Biocentrum Ultuna at SLU in Uppsala.
Read more about us

Collaboration

Collaboration and continuous dialogue with stakeholders and the public is the foundation for our research. Our field pathologist and forest and tree mycologist are always in dialogue with the surrounding community.
Read more about collaboration

For staff

Find internal information about where to book trips, rooms and equipment or get on the computing grid.
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Research

Research projects

  • 2025-05-20

    Thresholds and tipping points in ecosystem responses to global warming

    Thresholds and tipping points in ecosystem responses to global warming, THRESHOLD, uses a novel cross-disciplinary approach to advance our fundamental knowledge of how non-linear temperature responses transcend different levels of ecological organization.
  • 2025-05-20

    SOB4ES

    SOB4ES is a large project with 19 partners on a mission to make soil biodiversity visible to society and integrate it into EU policies. Within SOB4ES, we analyze soil biodiversity under various intensities of major land uses in pedoclimatic regions representative for the EU.
  • 2025-05-20

    Mycorrhizal symbiosis

    We focus on the biology, evolution and ecology of symbiotic mycorrhizal fungi. Our research includes the diversity and molecular evolution of symbiotic fungi and their roles in biogeochemical cycling, mineral weathering and carbon sequestration.
  • 2025-05-20

    RangeX

    One of the objectives’ is to better understand how altered plant interactions with soil biota mediate the impacts of climate warming on range-expanding plant species and how altered plant-soil biota interactions as a result of range expansions will impact key ecosystem functions.
  • 2025-05-20

    Tolerant Tree

    We support development and implementation of good practices for use and management of forest genetic resources to the benefit of the Nordic societies.

Research groups

  • 2025-05-20

    Agricultural Plant Pathology

    We conduct research within plant pathology and plant-microbe interactions with relevance for plant health. This includes pathogenic interactions in agricultural systems, but also beneficial interactions used for biological disease control and plant growth promotion.
  • 2025-05-20

    Forest microbiology

    We focus on the role of soil biota in plant performance and ecosystem functioning.
  • 2025-05-20

    Forest Pathology

    Our research in forest pathology concentrates on pathogenic fungi causing diseases in forests. We study the interactions between the pathogen, the host tree and the environment from molecular to ecosystem level.
  • 2025-05-20

    Plant disease epidemiology

    We study disease development of plant pathogens to develop sustainable plant disease management strategies. We focus main staple food crops grown in Sweden as diseases in these crops are responsible for a large amount of pesticide use in Sweden.
  • 2025-05-20

    Soil Microbiology

    Microorganisms play a key role in nature’s cycles, controlling how essential nutrients like nitrogen move through ecosystems. By understanding their functions, we can find solutions to environmental challenges such as eutrophication, climate change, and unsustainable agriculture.