Erik Öckinger

I am interested in the ecological processes that maintain biodiversity, at multiple spatial scales. My research spans from basic to applied aspects of ecology. I study the consequences of land use and climate change on populations and communities, and strategies to preserve, restore and monitor biodiversity in human-dominated landscapes. 

I have a special interest in biodiversity in grasslands, but my reserach includes both agricultural, forest and urban landscapes and habitats. I often focus on pollinating insects and plant-pollinator interactions, and I have a special interest in teh ecology of butterflies. My reserach is often field-based, but I also conduct research and evidence syntheses. organisms.

My current research interests include:

Conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystem services in managed  landscapes: I study how local management and restoration influence biodiversity and related ecosystem services in both agricultural and forest landscapes. In particular, I have long experience of studying biodiversity in species-rich semi-natural grasslands.

How novel habitats contribute to landscape-scale biodiversity: Novel habitats, in urban areas and along inffrastructure such as road verges and power line corridors cover vast areas. I study how such habitats contribute to the biodiversity at the landscape scale, and how they can be managed to promote biodiversity and populations of pollinating insects.

Landscape strategies to promote biodiversity in the face of climate change: Climate change is changing biodiversity and species distributions directly, but also indirectly through altered land use in response to climate change. Land use can also influence the local climate that organisms experience, i.e. microclimate. I use field studies and data from systematic biodiversity monitoring programmes to study how land use and climate change impact populations, communities and species distributions.

I am leading the course Tillämpad Naturvårdsbiologi (Applied Conservation biology).

I also teach in several other courses in ecology, conservation biology and field botany, and supervise several BSc and MSc projects each year. Please contact me if you are interested in a degree project that broadly aligns with my reserach interests!

I hold an assigment as external collaboration specialist in the field of Biodiversity. This means that I am responsible for outreach and collaboration with different actors in society. 

Much of my research is directly relevant for authorities responsible for biodiversity conservation and for land owners and land managers. I frequently interact and cooperate with stakeholders such as public authorities, land owners and NGOs. 

I also conduct research in direct collaboration with stakeholders. For example, I do field experiments on biodiversity-friendly habitat management of power-line clearings in collaboration with Svenska Kraftnät and of road verges in collaboration with Swedish Transport Administration.

Dr. Elin Lundquist - postdoc

Isac Carlsson - PhD candidate

Dr. Juliana Dániel Ferreira - researcher at SLU Swedish Biodiversity Centre

Previous members of the research team:

Svenja Horstmann - PhD candidate 2020-2024, now postdoc at Agroscope, Switzerland

Marie Winsa - PhD candidate 2010-2016, now at the County Administration in Örebro

Andy Ruck - postdoc 2021-2023

Jonas Josefsson - postdoc 2018-2021, now environmental consultant at Greensway

Norbertas Noreika - postdoc 2018-2019, now at Estonian University of Life Sciences.

Giovanni Tamburini - postdoc 2017-2019, now researcher at University of Bari, Italy.

Yoan Fourcade - postdoc 2015-2019, now assistant professor at Paris-Est Créteil Val-de-Marne University, France.

Roser Rotchés‐Ribalta - visiting postdoc 2017.

For a complete list of publications, see my Google Scholar profile.