Sigrun Dahlin

My research in Sweden is largely focused on nutrient cycling on farms and from society to arable land, and on cropping systems including leys. Research and capacity development collaboration in mainly Eastern and Southern Africa and Vietnam have often focused on sustainable intensification of smallholder cropping systems, incl. agroforestry.

I am currently responsible for the course BI1350 Crop Production - soil and crops (Växtproduktion – mark och grödor) at the Department of Crop Production Ecology. Before 2024, I was responsible or contributed to courses and course modules offered to a range of students by the Department of Soil and Environment, mainly basic soil biology modules (all programs) and applied soil science for the landscaping sector (landscape architect program). 

Beside this, I am part of the steering committee of Certified Recycling (Certifierad Återvinning), a voluntary certification scheme for biogas digestates and composts, based on quality control of feedstocks, processes an products, and on transparency towards the customers. 

• Sustainable cropping systems
  - agroforestry
  - sustainable intensification
• Nutrient flows on farms as affected by management
• Nutrient supply via by-products and its effects on crop production and quality, and on soil chemical and biological variables
• N dynamics in the soil-plant system including symbiotic N2 fixation 
• Management effects on cadmium in soils and crops

Van Thanh Pham. 2025-present. (main supervisor)

Lilian Beck. 2022-present. Interorganisational learning to foster co-development and implementation of agroforestry innovations in Cambodia. University of Hohenheim. (co-supervisor)

Thuong Huu Pham. 2025. Improving light and water use and weed management by system adjustments in fruit-tree AF systems on sloping land. (main supervisor)

Grace Mercy Amboka. 2021-present. Mixed cropping, ecosystem functioning, and ecological resilience in African small-holder systems. (co-supervisor)

Karin Andersson. 2025. Improving nitrogen efficiency of cattle slurry. (co-supervisor)

Gaudence Nishimwe. 2024. Untapped potential of under-utilized inidigenous fruit trees in Rwanda. Sokoine University of Agriculture. (co-supervisor)

Hadia Seid. 2024. Effects of improved avocado tree integration on soil fertility, crop yield, and food. Sokoine University of Agriculture. (co-supervisor)

Hung Van Do. 2023.  Fruit tree-based agroforestry on sloping uplands in northwest Vietnam - Effects on soil conservation, tree-crop performance and weed management. (co-supervisor)

Sussy Munialo. 2020. Factors influencing maize yield gaps on smallholder farms in Vihiga and Kakamega countries of Western Kenya. University of Kenya/ICRAF. (co-supervisor)

Marguerite Mukangango. 2019. Potential of Acacia angustissima, Leucaena pallida and Mimosa scabrella in Agroforestry Systems on a Rwandan Ferralsol. (main supervisor)

Benard Guedes. 2017. Carbon stocks and dynamics in miombo, Pinus and Eucalyptus forests in Mozambique. (co-supervisor)

Bodil Lindström. 2013. Micronutrients in temperate forage crops grown in Sweden - Species differences and effects of phenological development and soil. (co-supervisor)

Atefeh Ramezanian. 2013.  Influence of soil amendments and soil properties on macro–and micronutrient availability to microorganisms and plants. (co-supervisor)

Pham HT, Barron J, Bergkvist G, Öborn I, La N, Mulia R, Dahlin AS. Tree rows and grass-strips increase water availability in fruit tree-crop agroforestry systems on sloping land. Journal of Agriculture and Food Research 22 (2025) 102045. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafr.2025.102045 

Dang TTT, Mausch K, Nguyen MP, Öborn I, Dahlin S, La N, Sckokai P, Chopin P. 2025. Potential multifaceted agroforestry impacts on farming household’s livelihoods in Viet Nam: need to account for agroforestry type, magnitude and maturity for non-biased evaluation. Agroforestry Systems 99: 83. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-025-01170-3  

El Khosht F, Bergkvist G, Dahlin AS, Watson CA, Forkman J, Nilsson J, Öborn I.  2025. Rotational grass-legume leys increase arable crop yields, particularly at low N fertiliser rates. Field Crops Research 326: 109835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2025.109835 

Do et al 2024. Spatial and temporal variation in crop productivity and relation with soil fertility within upland agroforestry. Field Crops Research 320 (2025) 109675. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109675

Seid H, Kessy J, Dahlin AS, Asfaw Z. 2024. Homegarden improved avocado cultivation, income diversification, and food security for rural households in Central Ethiopia. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2024.2426537. 

Nishimwe G, Dahlin AS, Niyitanga F, Augustino S. 2024. Pre-sowing treatments for a better germination of Myrianthus holstii seeds. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods 30:54-60 https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2024.2419103.

Pham HT, La N, Öborn I, Bergkvist G, Mulia R, Dahlin S. 2024. Light distribution at the fruit tree-crop interface and consequences for yield in sloping upland agroforestry. Heliyon 10 (19), e38655. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38655

Andersson K, Dahlin AS, Sørensen P, Delin S. 2024. Bedding material properties and slurry C/N ratio affect the availability of nitrogen in cattle slurry applied to soil. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 8:1393674. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2024.1393674  

Nishimwe G, Dahlin AS, Niyitanga F, Augustino S. 2024. Domestication of wild indigenous fruit trees in Rwanda: Perspectives from rural communities. Trees, Forests and People 17 (2024) 100624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2024.100624 

Nishimwe G, Augustino A, Dahlin AS, Niyitanga F. 2024. Characterization of Yield and Physico-Chemical Parameters of Selected Wild Indigenous Fruits in Rwanda. Resources  s 2024, 13, 101. https://doi.org/10.3390/resources13070101 

Seid H, Kessy J, Dahlin AS, Asfaw J. 2024. Exploring farmers’ perceptions on improved avocado on-farm integration and factors influencing tree-crop interactions in Central Ethiopia. Forests, Trees and Livelihoods, 1–17.  https://doi.org/10.1080/14728028.2024.2374255 

Seid H, Kessy J, Asfaw J, Dahlin AS. 2024. Soil Physicochemical Properties under Selected Avocado Cultivars in Ethiopian Smallholder Agroforestry. Journal of Soil Science and Plant Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42729-024-01925-4 

Rijk I, Ekblad A, Dahlin AS, Enell A, Larsson M, Leroy P, B. Kleja D, Tiberg C, Hallin S, Jones C. 2024. Biochar and peat amendments affect nitrogen retention, microbial capacity and nitrogen cycling microbial communities in a metal and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminated urban soil. Science of the Total Environment 936 (2024) 173454. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173454 

Gustafsson JP, Affholder M-C, Dahlin AS. 2024. Cadmium accumulation in soil resulting from application of biogas digestate and wood ash – Mass balance modelling, Applied Geochemistry. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2024.105951

Hall O, Wahab I, Dahlin S, Hillbur P, Jirström M, Öborn I.  2024. A decade of maize yield gap studies in sub-Saharan Africa: How are farm-level factors considered? International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability 22 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2023.2293591.