Adam Felton

Adam Felton is a forest conservation ecologist, docent and senior lecturer based at the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre. 

My primary research interests involve the maintenance of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in managed forest systems, and the implications of climate change, and related adaptation and mitigation efforts, to forest resilience and sustained ecosystem service delivery. This focus is driven by the growing immediacy of addressing such issues in Sweden and globally. To effectively retain forest biodiversity and associated ecosystem services requires that such values are not relegated to limited protected forest areas, but strategically planned and integrated within production forest landscapes at the stand and landscape scale. How to reach these goals, while acknowledging the need for sustaining forest ecosystem services, is the focus of my research.

I also conduct research with my colleague Annika Felton on moose and primate nutritional ecology, and earlier in my career, most of my research was conducted in Australia and South America.

Together with my wonderful colleagues, my research has contributed to our collective understanding of the biodiversity and ecosystem service implications of a wide range of forest management alternatives, including the use of broadleaf trees, mixed forests, altered rotation lengths, continuous cover forestry, and logging residue extraction. We study forest conservation approaches from green tree retention and dead wood provision to reserves and larger protected forest areas. Our onoing research involves implications of conservation actions and forestry decisions for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, saproxylic beetles, birds and deer. Our research involves a wide-range of approaches, including large-scale experimental studies, modelling, eDNA, remote recorders, remote sensing, tree-related microhabitat surveys, and systematic reviews.    

I am the leader of the FORMAS funded 7.5 milion SEK Sweetspot project that investigates how the biodiversity contribution of green-tree retention actions may be constrained or enhanced by the intensity of production forestry.

I also conduct biodiversity and ecosystem service related research in three 10 million SEK FORMAS projects that were funded in 2022, that involve:

i) Finding alternative paths to a mixed-broadleaf CCF future (the Broaden project)

ii) Co-creating advisory services and planning for diversified management in Swedish family forestry (Co-Creator)

iii) The diversification of forests with silver birch to safeguard resilience and multifunctional roles of forests

In addition, I conduct biodiversity and ecosystem service research in the following FORMAS, Energimyndiheten, and EU funded research programs.

The SPARC Project A research project set to help stakeholders adapt forest related decisions to climate change without jeopardizing other important economic, societal, and environmental forest values.

Trees For ME We develop competence focused on fast-growing broadleaf trees for sustainable forestry, materials and energy in Sweden

Learn For Climate Learning to realize multiple forest policy objectives under climate related stress and disturbance

I am a course leader for a second year course in Forest and Landscape Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem services (BI1418), in the new Forest and Landscape Bachelor program. I also teach for the first year Trees: Structure and Function (BI1385) within the same program. I also lecture for the masters level - Forest Conservation Biology course (BI1378), and Urban Forestry (LK0378) - and the PhD level course Enhancing Forest Resilience for an Uncertain Future (PFG0071). 

Forest and Landscape Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Services

Trees Structure and Function

The new Forests and Landscapes Bachelor program

Forest Conservation Biology

Urban Forestry - management of urban forests and trees

Enhancing Forest Resilience for an Uncertain Future

Current PhD students

Lead supervisor for Jaime Luna’s PhD project: The biodiversity implications of fast-growing broadleaf trees 2022-2026. Co-supervisors Anne-Maarit Hekkala, Kristoffer Hylander, Per-Ola Hedwall, Henrik Böhlenius

Co-supervisor for Daniel Martey Junior Mensah’s PhD project: Participatory planning for sustainable forest management in a changing climate. 2022-2026 Lead supervisor Karin Öhman, with co-supervisor Eva-Maria Nordström: Daniel just won third place in the 2024 Researcher Grand Prix https://forskargrandprix.se/live/

Co-supervisor for Ida Rönnqvist’s PhD: How does continuous cover forestry affect the risk of pest and ungulate damages? Biodiversity interactions. 2023-2027. Lead supervisor Anne-Maarit Hekkala, and co-supervisors Jörgen Sjögren, Maartje Klapwijk.

Co-supervisor for Vikki Bengtsson’s PhD project “Veteranisation - Evaluating the conservation potential of artificially created microhabitats in young trees”, 2024-2028 Lead supervisor Mats Niklasson, with co-supervisors C. Philip Wheater, Helen J. Read. 

Completed

Joan Diaz Calafat (2019-2024): Deciphering the interactions between trees and climate on pollinator networks

Lisa Petersson (2016-2020): The loss of Scots pine forests in Southern Sweden: An emerging threat to biodiversity and forest aesthetics

Isak Lodin (2016-2020): Evaluation of existing and alternative forest management models in Southern Sweden

Google scholar list of my publications and citations