Current findings - EMA

How can SLU’s goldmine of forest data be put to the best possible use? Through Digital Impact North, a collaborative network for digital innovation, powerful tools have ended up in the right hands at more than 100 public and private actors in northern Sweden – leading to award-winning products.

Crayfish plague and invasive species threaten freshwater crayfish across Europe. In a comprehensive study, researchers from 13 European countries show that eDNA can improve monitoring, but that the choice of method is crucial for how reliable the results are.

Bats are fascinating animals – and key players in natural ecosystems. Researchers are now developing a new tool for species identification that will support research, conservation and even bat watching.

Using recreational fishing and mark–recapture methods, researchers estimated how many pike live in a Baltic archipelago bay—2,449 individuals. When grey seals appeared, catches fell sharply, not because pike disappeared, but because their catchability declined.

An ambitious and constructive implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation provides opportunities for adapting forestry to the future, researchers at SLU say. A restrictive implementation risks continued unclarities, heated debates and conflicts on forests and forestry, they argue.

Most of the antibiotics and antiviral drugs we use have changed when they leave the body. Many of these breakdown products can remain in aquatic environments for a long time with preserved biological activity and risk spreading antibiotic resistance, according to a new dissertation from SLU.

A new study shows that the level currently used as a benchmark for maximum sustainable yield carries a higher risk of stock collapse than previously assumed. Almost the same long-term catches can be achieved with slightly lower fishing pressure, but with a significantly lower risk to the stocks.

Are Swedish forest soils depleted in nutrients by forestry and increased tree growth? No, a new study reports that levels of important mineral nutrients have increased in the organic layer over the past 40 years. Reduced acid rain and uplift of nutrients from the mineral soil are suggested reasons.

After more than 100 years of operation, Sweden’s first facility for compensatory fish farming of salmon and trout has now permanently closed its doors.

In October, the European Parliament voted against the proposal for a new EU Forest Monitoring Law. However, work to harmonise forest data across Europe continues – and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) plays an important role in that process.