Kelley Bassett Gundale

I am a doctoral student utilizing the Swedish National Forest Inventory (NFI) tree core archive as a tool to assess environmental change. I also serve as Assistant Head of Department for issues of Diversity and Equal Opportunities.

My current project utilizes the NFI tree core archive to assess whether long-term changes in nutrients (nitrogen) and water availability are occurring in Swedish forests. The study also examines temporal and spatial variation in functional traits, wood density, and carbon content across the latitudinal gradient of Swedish forests.

Analysis of these relationships enables more accurate estimation of shifts in boreal carbon stocks. The resulting knowledge supports scientists, forest managers, policymakers, and the general public in monitoring changes in forest growth and health, as well as implications for carbon uptake and long-term storage.

Co-course leader, Forest History: Human utilisation and vegetation dynamics

MSc. Forestry, Michigan Technological University, USA, 2001

BSc. Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, USA, 1995

Bassett, K.R., Hupperts, S.F., Jämtgård, S., Östlund, L., Fridman, J. & Gundale, M.J. (2026). Rising atmospheric CO2 reduces nitrogen availability in boreal forests. Nature 650, 629–635. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-10039-5

Sharp, Z., Wostbrock, J., ... Bassett, K.R., ... Ehleringer, J. (2025). Extreme triple oxygen isotope fractionation in Equisetum. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122(44): e2507455122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2507455122

Bassett, K.R., Östlund, L., Gundale, M.J., Fridman, J., & Jämtgård, S. (2023). Forest inventory tree core archive reveals changes in boreal wood traits over seven decades. Sci. Total Environ. 900:165795. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165795

Treydte, K., ... Bassett, K.R., et al. (2023). European Dendroecological Fieldweek (EDF) 2021 in Val Müstair, Switzerland: International education and research during the pandemic. Dendrochronologia 78:126047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2022.126047

Rising carbon dioxide levels leave conifer forests struggling to get enough nitrogen. Royal Society of Chemistry. 18 Feb 2026. 

Archived tree cores reveal why boreal forests are getting starved for nitrogen. SLU Umeå

Unikt arkiv ger nya möjligheter för skogsforskare (Swedish only), SLU Umeå
English: Unique archive provides new opportunities for forest researchers