Families walking in the forest
RESEARCH PROJECT

Forest owners’ cognition and behaviors underpinning Swedish forest biodiversity

KEY POINTS
  • Biodiversity underpinned
Updated: February 2026

Project overview

Project start: January 2026 Ending: December 2030
Project manager: Francisco Aguilar
Funded by: Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation

Participants

Research groups:

Global goals

  • 13. Climate action
  • 15. Life on land

Short summary

Our aim is to offer new information that inform decision makers’ efforts toward increasing biodiversity in Swedish forests.

Societal sustainability aspirations require land management leading to more biodiverse Swedish forests. But, will the thousands of non-industrial individual and family private forest owners (NIPFOs) that dominate Swedish forest ownership adopt biodiversity-enhancing management practices? UNDERPINNED fills a critical gap in the current understanding of NIPFOs cognition underpinning management and perceptions of biodiversity, and responds to the need to study behavioral change in support of sustainable interventions by answering three questions:

1. What salient elements in cognitive models represent NIPFOs perceptions and judgement strategies about forest biodiversity on their ownerships?

2. Do NIPFOs have the capability, opportunity and motivation to change towards biodiversity-enhancing forest management behaviors?

3. Can interventions providing financial compensation encourage NIPFOs change toward adopting biodiversity-enhancing forest management behaviors?

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