Department of Ecology

Climate change, biodiversity loss and competition for land are putting growing pressure on ecosystems – and on us, who depend on them. Ecological knowledge has never been more vital than it is today. We develop solutions for sustainable agriculture and forestry, plant protection with fewer toxins and effective conservation and wildlife management.

  • The Nordic region's largest centre for ecological research
  • Deep knowledge of insects, wildlife and soil organisms
  • A strong focus on interdisciplinary research and working closely with society
News & Events

News

  • 2025-06-19

    SLU and the forest sector in new collaboration to train future experts

    SLU is now announcing eight new PhD positions as part of a collaboration with the forest sector. The positions are part of the research programme Wallenberg Initiatives in Forest Research (WIFORCE), aimed at meeting future knowledge needs for the sustainable management and conservation of forests.
  • 2025-06-18

    Help SLU find wild honey bees this summer

    Are there still wild honeybee colonies in Sweden and Europe? If so, how do they survive the dreaded Varroa mite? These are some of the questions that researchers at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) would like to answer, with the help of citizen scientists and beekeepers.
  • 2025-06-16

    Prescribed burns most effective in dry conditions

    Prescribed forest burning is often conducted in spring when the ground is moist, but a new PhD thesis from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) shows they are most beneficial for biodiversity during dry conditions.

Calendar

Research

Research projects

  • 2025-07-11

    Economics, policy and food systems transformation

    The Bommarco lab explores how diversified farming affects farm economy, how it can be developed and promoted in food value chains and food systems. We explore how biodiversity and ecosystem services, especially pollinators and pollination, are discussed and integrated in policy.
  • 2025-07-11

    Ecological functions in agroecosystems

    The Bommarco lab empirically and theoretically explores ecosystem functions in insect-plant-soil food webs in agricultural ecosystems. We apply this to crop production, pest control and pollination.
  • 2025-07-11

    Diversified cropping

    The Bommarco lab analyses how diversified farming affects crop yield and ecosystem functions in crop production and cropped landscapes. We assess options for adaptation and mitigation of climate change and biodiversity decline.

Research groups

  • 2025-06-16

    Biodiversity and biocontrol lab

    We perform research on biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. We study the links between biodiversity, food-web structure and service provisioning, and how farming practices and land use at different scales can be modified to support ecosystem services.
  • 2025-06-16

    Ninkovic lab

    Plants can communicate with each other in different ways including chemical signalling. The aim of our research is to develop sustainable crop protection strategies based understanding of the interactions between plants, insects and their natural enemies.
  • 2025-06-16

    Bommarco lab

    We study insect and plant ecology in agriculture. We explore how farming practices, land use and climate affect biodiversity and ecosystem functions. We participate in interdisciplinary research on economy policy and transformations of agriculture and food systems.