Matej Domevscik

My research focuses on one of the most vulnerable period in the lives of trees, their establishment as seedlings. In those first few years, trees can experience increased mortality due to a number of factors. Soil features, weather variables and pests are among the most important ones. While many studies have been done on establishment of seedlings over the years, climate change is quickly diminishing our understanding of the system as well as the tools available. Novel solutions are therefore urgently needed to adapt forest regeneration to the changed environment of the future. Focus should be put on drought resistance, site adaptation and protection against pests, as these factors have been shown to interact with the predicted consequences of climate change. Ensuring good establishment and therefore successful regeneration is crucial for preserving the carbon sink role of trees, among many other values that forests provide.

Licentiate degree in Forest Sciences - SLU, Sweden
Master of Science in Biology - SLU, Sweden
Bachelor of Science in Biology - University of Ljubljana, Slovenia

Domevscik, M., Wallertz, K., Hjelm, K. (2024) Effect of drought and pine weevil damage on mechanically protected Norway spruce seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management.

Domevscik, M., Häggström, B., Lim, H. Öhlund, J., Nordin, A. (2023) Large-scale assessment of artificially coated seeds for forest regeneration across Sweden. New Forests.

Adapting Scots Pine Regeneration to the Changing Climate - poster at the World Forestry Congress (South Korea 2022) 

Häggström, B., Domevscik, M., Öhlund, J., Nordin, A. (2021) Survival and growth of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) seedlings in north Sweden: effects of planting position and arginine phosphate addition. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research.

Lodberg-Holm, H.K., Gelink, H.W., Hertel, A.G., Swenson, J.E., Domevscik, M., Steyaert, S.M.J.G. (2019) A human-induced landscape of fear influences foraging behavior of brown bears. Basic Applied Ecology.