Jörg Brunet
Professor, Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre
I have worked with research and education at SLU since 1996 and at the Southern Swedish Research Centre, campus Alnarp, since 2001. From December 2025, I will be professor emeritus.
Research
The ecology of temperate broadleaf forests has been my central research interest since I started to work with my Master thesis in 1988. Being especially interested in botany, geography and history, my research has a focus on ecological and historical factors which may explain distribution patterns of forest species. Hence, my research aims to find general patterns in the fields of plant-soil relations, plant geography and dispersal ecology. I also study distribution patterns and biodiversity along successional gradients from stand establishment to old-growth forest, and along geographical (climate) gradients. As future forest succession is influenced by climate change, these topics are related. My work is relevant when integrating nature conservation and forest production and provides guidance with respect to forest restoration and adaptation of forest management to climate change.
Research projects
Teaching
My teaching includes lectures, seminars, exercises and excursions in botany, plant taxonomy, vegetation ecology, plant geography, forest and landscape history and dynamics, and conservation biology in multiple courses at B.Sc. and M.Sc. levels. I have been a course organizer and main teacher of the M.Sc. course Broadleaves – history, ecology and management (15 ECTS) from 2008-2025. Director of studies Euroforester MSc programme 2016-2020. Deputy Head of Department for undergraduate education 2022-2025.
Educational credentials
I was very happy when I received the individual pedagogical prize at SLU in 2021, and the pedagogical prize of the Alnarp student union in 2025.