Johanna Deak Sjöman

I am a researcher in the field of landscape planning with focus on long term management via the lense of urban ecology and complex adaptive systems. My research focuses on revealing small-scale processes in urban ecosystems and decision-making, and on how these relate to large-scale policies and landscape planning. I am strongly motivated to investigate how ecosystem functioning and services can be maintained through management and maintenance, as well as through long-term management and governance perspectives.  

I am involved in four research projects, ranging from management approaches based on climate adaptation and extreme weather events to ‘low-carbon landscapes’ with primary focus on city trees, as well as how numerical values assigned to nature have implications for policy, planning and management.

PhD SUPERVISION

Sixten Lundqvist, Bio-engineered Nature-based Solutions, SLU Alnarp. Ongoing.

Zhengdong Sun, Achieving multifunctional, holistic and sustainable stormwater management in existing development. In collaboration with Luleå University of Technology. Thesis defence March 6 2026.

Ella Uppala, Designed plant communities in the nature-based city, Department of Urban and Rural Development, SLU Ultuna. Thesis defence October 3 2025.

PUBLICATIONS (selected)

2026 Deak Sjöman, J. The Speed of Landscape. Making space for time with examples of climate adaptation and green infrastructure. Nordic Journal of Architectural Research. Accepted – In print.

2025 Rodriguez-Esperon, M., […] Deak Sjöman, J. et al. Urban forests as essential infrastructure for climate resilience and biodiversity: A call to policymakers. Plants, People, Planet, p. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.70125

2025 Sjöman, H., Gustavsson, R., Deak Sjöman, J., Wiström, B. Designing urban woodlands; a dynamic approach. In: Hitchmough, J. & Dunnett, N. (Eds.) 2025. The Dynamic Landscape. Taylor and Francis, Great Britain. 

2025 Utkina, K. Ashley, R. M., Sun, Z., Adhikari, U., Ekin Kali, S., Deak Sjöman, J., Randrup, T. B., Viklander, M., Blecken, G-T. Valuing structured alternatives for retrofitting blue-green infrastructure at a catchment scale using the Benefit Estimation Tool (B£ST). Blue-Green Systems, 7 (1), 139–155.  https://doi.org/10.2166/bgs.2025.022

2025 Uppala, E., Deak Sjöman, J., Emilsson, T., Hedlund, M. Reviewing designed plant communities’ potential for optimizing the performance of urban nature-based solutions. Nature based solutions. Vol. 7, 100212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nbsj.2025.100212

2024 Adhikari, U., Broekhuizen, I., Pons, V., Sun, Z., Deak Sjöman, J., Randrup, T. B., Viklander, V., Blecken, G-T. Comparing the hydrological performance of blue green infrastructure design strategies in urban/semi-urban catchments for stormwater management. Water Sci Technol., 90 (9), 2696–2712.  https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2024.346

2024 Sun, Zhengdong, Deak Sjöman, J., Blecken, T-G., Randrup, T. B. Decision support tools of sustainability assessment for urban stormwater management – A review of their roles in governance and management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 141646.                          https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.141646

2024 Deak Sjöman, J., Tuhkanen, E-M., Mänttäri, M., Cimburová, Ž., Stålhammar, S., Barton, D. N., Randrup, T. B. Expectations of i-Tree Eco as a tool for urban tree management in Nordic cities. Frontiers Sustainable Cities Section Urban Greening. Vol. 5.  https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1325039

2023 Randrup, T. B., Jansson, M., Deak Sjöman, J., Van Meerbeek, K., Fleisch, M-R., Shanafelt, D. W., Bernasconi, A., Coleman Brantschen, E. Green Cities and Urban Forests for BioCities: Strategic and Adaptive Management. Transforming Biocities. Designing Urban Spaces Inspired by Nature. Springer.

2023 Lind, E., Prade, T., Deak Sjöman, J., Levinsson, A., Sjöman, H. How green is a tree? The significance of species selection in reducing the carbon footprint of urban trees in Swedish cities. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsc.2023.1182408 

2022 Deak Sjöman, J., Mercado, G., Kristoffersson, A., Randrup, T. B. Sustainable Smart Park Management – a smarter approach to urban green space management? Journal of Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 48(2), 63-70.                         https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2022.006

2021 Deak Sjöman, J., Hirons, A., Bassuk, N. L, Sjöman, H. Plant and Wood Area Index of Solitary Trees for Urban Contexts in Nordic Cities. Journal of Arboriculture and Urban Forestry, 47(6), 252-266. https://doi.org/10.48044/jauf.2021.022

2020 Deak Sjöman, J. & Johansson, E. Nature Based Solutions to Urban Microclimate Regulations. Pp. 339-362. In: Sang, N (Ed.) 2020. Modelling Nature-based Solutions. Integrating Computational and Participatory Scenario Modelling for Environmental Management and Planning. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, Great Britain.

I am the course coordinator for two undergraduate courses, Landscape Management and Maintenance of Green Spaces and Natural Areas, for second-year students on the Landscape Architecture and Landscape Engineering programmes. The main focus of the courses is to develop an understanding of the spatial and temporal relationships within landscape management. The course content therefore focuses on how operational management can support and highlight different levels of historical, contemporary and future characteristics (and needs), as well as on the fact that landscapes are dynamic and constantly changing. In addition to these courses, I teach on the subject of urban ecosystem services and climate adaptation on a number of Bachelor’s and Master’s courses at SLU and at The Faculty of Engineering at Lund University. Every year, I have the privilege of supervising and examining Bachelor’s and Master’s degree theses.