Göran Bergkvist

I am responsible for the subject area of weed ecology and management at the Department of Crop Production Ecology and have a background as a university lecturer and researcher in crop science with a focus on cropping systems. I am also Vice Dean at the Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences and hold various assignments that support the faculty’s activities. Among other things, I am Chair of the steering group for the Agricultural Field Research Program, which has the overarching aim of strengthening applied agricultural research at SLU and includes, for example, our four field research stations for agricultural trials, SLU’s long-term experiments, and SLU Fältforsk. I am also Chair of the committee for SLU Fältforsk, which is a collaborative body between stakeholders in field research activities, and Chair of Regional Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, which is a research and development program aimed at strengthening agriculture in northern Sweden.

The research projects in which I participate can be divided into four interconnected themes.

In the first theme, we work with the hypothesis that it is possible to replace inputs such as nitrogen, herbicides, and intensive tillage by using ecological services provided by cover crops and catch crops, so-called service crops. In tropical systems, we also work with contour farming and intercropping with trees as tools. We study interspecies competition, weed population dynamics, nitrogen dynamics, impacts on crop yield and health, erosion, and more. The goal is to develop sustainable cropping systems with little need for pesticides—mainly herbicides—and heavy tillage.

The second theme aims to increase knowledge about crops and their cultivation in order to create ecological and economic added value, with the goal of diversifying Swedish agriculture and thereby making it less vulnerable and less dependent on external inputs. I am currently involved in projects with winter wheat production in southern Sweden, soybeans, lupin, and heritage cereals.

In the third theme, we use data from real farms as well as long-term crop rotation and cropping system experiments to evaluate the importance of climate and cropping systems for the occurrence of weeds and ecosystem services, particularly those related to production.

The fourth theme focuses on the traits of cereals and how these interact with the environment and cultivation practices, including their ability to compete with weeds.

In my research, I collaborate with experts in plant ecology, social sciences, soil science, plant pathology, food science, soil microbiology, and process modeling in order to address issues at the field, farm, and societal levels.