Brief overview of the Soil Inventory
The Soil Inventory is part of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency’s national environmental monitoring program. The inventory began in 1983 in collaboration with the Swedish National Forest Inventory and has since monitored the environmental status of Sweden’s forest soils and other natural lands. Each year, inventory and sampling are conducted at about 2,000 permanent sample plots. The samples are used for analyzing the soil’s chemical properties and determining the fungal community composition using DNA methods. The inventory produces data used in Sweden’s climate reporting to the UN and the EU, in national environmental goal follow-ups, in research, and as information for the public.
The inventory is conducted by the Department of Soil and Environment at SLU and falls under the Forest Program within SLU’s ongoing environmental analysis.
News
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SLU professor appointed Secretary General at the Swedish Research Council
Stefan Bertilsson, professor of functional ecology in limnic systems at SLU, has been appointed as the Swedish Research Council's new Secretary General for Natural Sciences. He will take up the role on 1 October 2025. -
Forest growth is rebounding, according to the Swedish National Forest Inventory
Swedish forest growth is rising after a decline. Harvests are down from record levels. Scots pine volume increases, while Norway spruce declines, and dead wood volume continues to increase. These are some of the key findings in the latest official statistics from the National Forest Inventory. -
Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) grantees 2025-2026
The fourth round of the Interdisciplinary Academy (IDA) at SLU starts on September 1, 2025. Two groups of five researchers each will spend eight months delving into and exploring interdisciplinary working methods during 20% of their working time. -
Koldynamiken i marken – Spelar variationen av det organiska materialet någon roll?
The soil biota is the Earth's "biological engine," driving key ecosystem services. Besides carbon and nutrients, it also needs energy. “By including energy properties of organic inputs, we can better understand soil carbon dynamics in diversified cropping systems,” says Louis J.P. Dufour.