Resilience among smallholder farmers in rural Africa
How do farmers and pastoralists in Africa deal with change, uncertainty and crisis situations in their daily lives? Linda Engström, researcher in rural development, will investigate this together with colleagues from Tanzania and Canada in a project funded by Formas.
When gardening became a science – new book depicts cultivation throughout history
Now, Swedish Garden History 1500 to 1800 has been published, the final part in a three-volume work that covers Swedish garden culture from prehistoric times to the present. The new part focuses on the early modern period, a period when the idea of what a garden can be, and how it can be used, was being formed.
Ambiguous messages appear to have paved the way for rapid climate policy change
What role did political rhetoric play in the rapid shift in climate policy after the 2022 election? SLU researchers who have analyzed debates in parliament and the media believe that politicians used ambiguous messages to appeal to multiple ideological groups simultaneously.
News
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Food is a social lubricant
Most people now live in cities, and the taste preferences of city residents tend to determine which foods are in demand. This is why the city is key to ensuring a sustainable food supply, writes Håkan Jönsson, coordinator of the Food and Cities initiative at SLU. -
New pathways to sustainable milk through interdisciplinary research
How can Swedish milk production become more sustainable – for climate, soil, and animals? A new interdisciplinary research project at SLU explores whether agroecology could be the key to building more resilient and fair food systems. -
Interdisciplinary approaches to ecosystem restoration
As Europe works to restore its natural environments, researchers at SLU are exploring new ways to reconnect ecosystems and people. By linking ecology, society and culture, they aim to create landscapes that are both resilient and meaningful. -
Sun, soil and synergy – the potential of agrivoltaics in a changing landscape
How can solar panels and agriculture coexist – and even benefit one another? That question was at the center of the webinar “Agrivoltaics: Frontiers and opportunities for new research”, part of SLU’s Climate Conversations series on future climate solutions. -
Full House at the Swedish Biodiversity Symposium 2025
In October, the Swedish Biodiversity Symposium 2025 took place – Sweden’s largest interdisciplinary conference on biodiversity. The event brought together researchers, experts and stakeholders from across sectors to encourage positive developments in the field. -
Keeping pigs healthy with storytelling and mobile phones in rural Uganda
In rural Uganda, farmers learn to protect their pigs from African swine fever through short, drama-style stories delivered on mobile phones—a creative, low-cost way to share vital animal health knowledge.
Calendar
Health Promoting Forests
Providing practical advices for urban forest landowners, through action on how to manage forests for the human best.
Sami Natural Resource Use from year 1550 to 1800
The project investigates how Indigenous peoples manage the transition from a foraging to a food-producing economy and how that change affects people.
Include2Restore
The project develops inclusive meeting places where people together find solutions for the restoration of pastures in the Karamoja border area between Uganda and Kenya.
Research groups
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Agrarian History
Agrarian history is a broad discipline examining people in the rural society, their social and economic conditions, and their relationship with nature, the landscape and wider society, as well as agricultural production and technological development. -
Landscape Architecture - Design Theory
The design theory group is concerned with the methods, tools, and pedagogy of the landscape architecture discipline. -
Landscape Architecture - Landscape Management
The landscape management subject focuses on how urban open space management such as vegetation, water and soil contributes to biodiversity, climate change adaptation and ecosystem services. -
Landscape Architecture - Profession and Practice
In the subject area the profession and practice, we focus on methods and theories used by landscape architects in their professional work. -
Landscape Architecture - Spatial Planning
The subject area spatial planning studies the interplay between the landscape, spatial planning and (other forms of) governance. -
Political Science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. Central to this are issues of democracy, power, politics, governance, and public administration at different levels.