Mari Jönsson

I am an Associate Professor (Docent) specializing in the ecology and conservation of forests, epiphytic lichens and wood-inhabiting fungi. I earned my PhD at Mid Sweden University, where I studied how natural and human-induced disturbances affect forest structure and ecological processes, with a focus on woodland key habitats and deadwood dynamics.

During my postdoc at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), I explored epiphytic lichen diversity in relation to tree dieback and environmental history in traditionally managed wooded meadows on Gotland.

At SLU’s Swedish Species Information Centre (Artdatabanken), I continued working on forest biodiversity and conservation strategies. I also engage in research using citizen science data, including observations from the Swedish Species Observation System (Artportalen).

Currently, I work as a researcher at SLU’s Department of Ecology, where I lead several projects, including:

• Ecological compensation through translocation and restoration of deadwood and associated species communities,
• Diversity and dynamics of wood-inhabiting fungi, and their role in decomposition and CO₂ fluxes,
• The Minedust project, assessing the impacts of mine dust deposition in northern Sweden on biodiversity and ecosystem services,
• Conservation values of retention forestry, focusing on biodiversity, microclimate buffering, and effects of summer drought in small, fragmented forests.

Course leader for Cryptogams and nature conservation

Study director for basic education