Portrait photo of Sandra Jämtgård

Sandra Jämtgård

Docent and researcher in ecophysiology, Department of Forest Ecology and Management, joint staff
My group’s research revolves around understanding mechanisms that control plant nitrogen availability at the root-soil interface.

Presentation

I am a researcher in ecophysiology. The focus of my research group is on the ecophysiology of nitrogen use efficiency and plant nitrogen (organic and inorganic nitrogen) availability at the root tip scale in different plant species, under different environmental conditions in different types of soil, primarily in boreal forests. 

Program director Future Silviculture, Wallenberg Initiatives for Forest Research, WIFORCE

Associate researcher, Umeå Plant Science Centre, UPSC

SciLifeLab group leader

Research

Insights into sustainable plant nitrogen availability are crucial for tree growth and food production. Further insight to the plant perspective of nitrogen availability is important for finding ways to increase nitrogen use efficiency and decrease nitrogen pollution in managed environments, in a changing climate. Our research approach this from multiple angles and investigates plant physiological as well as soil microbial and soil chemical aspects of this. 

We approach this from field experiments to agar plates. 

We use microdialysis and apply the method in different ways to investigate plant nitrogen availability (diffusive fluxes, mass flow, reverse dialysis). With this method, sampling is performed at microscale with minimal disturbance of the soil and soil processes. 

Our close collaboration with the Swedish Metabolomics Centre and SLU Stable isotope laboratory enables unique expertise in chemical analysis of the root-soil-microbial interface (targeted and non-targeted LC-MS, GC-MS, 15NH4, 15N amino acids).

Google Scholar

ORCID

 

Educational credentials

Docent in Biology, 2020. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden

PhD in Crop Science, 2010. Dept of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, SLU, Sweden

MSc in Biology, 2004. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden

Supervision

PhD students

Lola Bédmar Correa (2025-present, Main supervisor)

Anne Braunroth (2023-present, Main supervisor)

Kelley Bassett Gundale (2020-present, Main supervisor)

 

Post docs

Jasmin Danzberger (2025-present)

Shandry Tebele (2024-present)

Andreas Schneider (2022-2025), Clydecia Spitzer (2022-2025), Kanchan Vishwakarma (2021-2024), Shun Hasegawa (2022-2023), Scott Buckley (2018-2023), Mark Swaine (2017-2019), Dörte Randewig (2015-2017)