Forest and wood
Forestry and the forest industry are major economic sectors in Sweden. The forest is a carbon sink since it binds carbon dioxide while growing. Branches, tree tops and stumps are currently more used as bioenergy after felling. Forests are also the habitat of many animals and plants, and a vital source of outdoor leisure activities, such as hunting, fishing and hiking. The objectives of SLU research are to gain a better understanding of the different functions of the forests and to make best possible use of the opportunities it offers. Some areas of research are forest economy, biology, ecology, soil and wood sciences. Forest growth, development and environmental changes are reported yearly in the Swedish National Forest Inventory. This work is included in SLU's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment programme Forest, which further develops SLU's role as a centre of excellence for Swedish and international environmental analysis in the forest sector.
Ph.D. course
A PhD course in the Krycklan catchment September 19-25, 2024. ‘Watershed Ecology and Biogeochemistry’ addresses the foundational concepts and modern challenges within the broad field of watershed
Wind damages expected to increase in a warmer climate
In spite of elks, spruce beetles and pathogenic fungi, wind is probably the largest cause of economic loss for European forestry. A number of reports in recent years investigates how the risk of wind
What happens to fungi and ecosystem processes if forest fires become more common?
With global warming, there is a larger risk of fire. How will that affect ecologically important fungi in the soil? SLU researchers investigated the 2014 wildfire areas in Västmanland to find out.
New knowledge on phosphorus in forest soils and the benefits of wood ash fertilization
Whole-tree harvesting for biofuel production and natural phenomena such as weathering and podzolization, affect soil nutrient availability for tree uptake. A new doctoral thesis reveals new knowledge
Phytophthora in Sweden
Species from the genus Phytophthora are predicted to cause increasing problems related to plant health in the future, also in Sweden. To protect us and our trading partners, up-to-date knowledge is
A global observatory to monitor biodiversity
At a time of unprecedented decline in Earth’s biodiversity, scientists are calling for a new system for monitoring and providing the data needed for decision making and conservation action. Earth’s
Awaiting the next summer of fires
SMHI, the Swedish Meteorological Institute, has forecasted that persistent high pressure systems may dominate the weather of Scandinavia for most of June, July and August (2023), and bring us a warm
Advances in pine weevil resistance research may result in new weapons to battle the bugs
In October 2023, the remaining exemptions to the ban on insecticides in pine weevil control will be discontinued in Swedish forestry. That is why a wide array of alternative control methods have been
Difficult to reach consensus on how climate-smart it is to manage forests
Should harvesting Swedish of forests increase or decrease for the sake of the climate? That is a question several scientific studies in recent years have examined. However, these studies came to
How the Swedish NFI handles open data
The Swedish national forest inventory – Riksskogstaxeringen – with its uniquely long time series, has developed its own way of working with open data, combining openness with confidentiality. 2023
ICP Forests: pioneers on tree health monitoring
A fear of dying and declining forests kickstarted ICP Forests – a 40-year-old programme for monitoring air pollution, and a great example of how global programmes can be harmonised with national ones
Environmental analysis data as a basis for research on large-scale changes in woodland vegetation
Numbers are down for the forest’s blueberry bushes and up for herbs such as sorrel and several fern species. Using long data series from the permanent areas of the Swedish National Forest Inventory,