Flakaliden

Flakaliden is located 23 kilometers southwest of Vindeln and 60 kilometers west of Umeå. The Flakaliden experiment was established in 1986 in a young Norway spruce stand, planted in 1963 after clear-cutting, slash burning, and soil preparation. The area is situated above the highest coastline, and the soil texture is sandy, moist, unsorted moraine.

The experiments show that it is possible to more than double the growth of Norway spruce in northern Sweden. It is not primarily the harsh climate or our slow-growing tree species that limit growth in Swedish forests. Instead, it is the availability of nutrients, primarily nitrogen in northern Sweden, that determines how much growth occurs.

Researchers are now planning to build one of the largest field experiments to evaluate the effects of climate change on tree growth, carbon storage, and biodiversity in the boreal forest. The experiment, which will include various types of water limitation (drought) and warming, will feature instrumentation, scale, and replication unparalleled in its field. The experiment is expected to last more than 10 years. The project will be funded by the Kempestiftelsen and the KAW Wallenberg Initiative for Forest Research (WIFORCE).