Karina Clemmensen

My overarching goal is to integrate knowledge about fungi and their traits into ecosystem contexts. Fungi – in particular mycorrhizal fungi - are at the core of potentially opposing processes, such as carbon transport to the soil, decomposition, nutrient cycling and plant nutrition. Understanding fungal biology and ecology is therefore integral to understanding trade-offs among ecosystem properties such as biodiversity, plant productivity, carbon sequestration and climate-mitigation.

Our approach is to combine molecular-based community characterization with assessments of mycelial growth, enzymes, respiration, carbon and nitrogen pools and isotopes, organic matter quality and microbial nutrient cycling capacities. Most of our work is based on field experiments or sampling across natural or management gradients.

Ongoing projects develop three research areas - follow the links below to read more!

Diversity and ecology of grassland fungi

• CHEGDmate – diversity, conservation and nutritional mode of waxcaps and allied in Swedish grasslands. Swedish Research Council Formas (2026-2030)
• MicrObial DIversity and functions in (h)edges of CUltivated Soils (MODICUS). Swedish Research Council Formas. PI: C Castaño, SLU (2026-2030).

Mycorrhizal ecology in boreal forest

• Tree establishment in ericaceous understory – importance of mycorrhizal networks and guild interactions. Swedish Research Council VR (2024-2027)
• Soil organic matter dynamics in boreal forests – the role of mycorrhizal mycelia and microbial communities. Swedish Research Council VR. PI P Fransson, SLU (2025-2028)
• Post-fire recruitment, microbial communities and ecosystem shifts in the Boreal forest. Swedish Research Council VR. PI: MC Nilsson, SLU (2025-2028)
• Invasive earthworms in northern Scandinavia; effects on soil microorganisms and carbon. Swedish Research Council VR. PI: E Krab, SLU (2022-2026)
• Continuous-cover forestry in Sweden - carbon sink, economic returns and soil biodiversity. PI: B Lindahl, SLU (2021-2026)

Climate change and seasonality in the Arctic

• Year-round climate feedbacks of winter phenological (mis)matches of plants and microbes across the Arctic. Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. PI: E Dorrepaal, Umeå University, Sweden (2021-2026)
• Role of saprotrophic and mycorrhizal fungi in soil carbon storage in the Arctic. Independent Research Fund Denmark. PI: A Michelsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark (2022-2026)

I am director of postgraduate studies at department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology since January 2024.

I am course leader and teach on the MSc level course Soil Biology and Biogeochemical Cycles (BI1322, 15 hp) since 2019.

I teach on several other courses as well and have earlier led the BSc level course Molecular Ecology & Evolution (15 hp, 2013-2018) and the PhD course Sample preparation for high-throughput sequencing of fungal communities (2011, 2014, 2018).

2017  Docent (associate professor) in Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

2006 PhD in Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

2001  MSc in Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

PhD students

Eva Kubove (2024-), Louis Mielke (PhD 2022)

PhD students as co-supervisor

Péter Garamszegi (2023-), Tamlyn Gangiah (2022-), Leah Kirchhoff (2022-), Andreas Lundgren (PhD 2026), Erica Packard (PhD 2026), Fahri Hasby (PhD 2022), Karolina Jörgensen (PhD 2021), Mariana Kluge (PhD 2021), Julia Kyaschenko (PhD 2018), Preetisri Baskaran (PhD 2017), Andreas Hagenbo (PhD 2017), Erica Sterkenburg (PhD 2015), Inga Bödeker (PhD 2012)

Hit "View Profile" above to see my publications in the research database.