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Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre

Hem
Sverige
Alnarp
Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre

Vägbeskrivning Webbplats Kontakta universitetet

We develop new knowledge about sustainable forests and forestry through interdisciplinary research and education, with the base in Alnarp in southern Sweden.

The department's mission is to develop and deliver knowledge for practical use in close collaboration with the forest sector in southern Sweden. Research is both basic and applied and is conveyed primarily through the department's basic courses but also through further education, training and information efforts directed toward the forest sector. Our research groups focus on the research fields of:
- Forest pathology
- Silviculture
- Forest policy and planning
- Forest ecology

13/10/2026

🌲 Out of the classroom and into the forest!

Students in the Silviculture of Temperate Forests course, part of the EuroForester master’s programme, recently set off on an excursion through Germany, with stops in Saarland and Rheinland-Pfalz, Northern Bavaria/Franconia and Göttingen.

Here’s what one of our students, Jakub Wojtarowicz, had to say:

💬 “We learned a lot about different forest management systems and the challenges that are emerging for forest managers in Central Europe. It was really important that students could see in person how forests look when managers have different goals for growing them. It was also a great chance to bond with fellow classmates!”

His highlight? A visit to a veneer timber sawmill, where students saw what top-quality timber looks like and how it is processed into veneer. And the most eye-opening lesson: introducing non-native Asian and North American tree species can pose a serious risk to European forest ecosystems.

Click through the photos to see the trip. 👇

📸 Jakub Wojtarowicz

12/10/2026

🌲 Igår flyttade vi diskussionen om granens framtid ut i skogen.

På Farstorps gård utanför Vetlanda samlade FRAS höstexkursion forskare, skogsbruk och andra intresserade för en dag om granens roll i framtidens sydsvenska skogar.

Granen står för nästan 60 procent av den årliga volymtillväxten i Götaland och är en viktig råvara för svensk skogsindustri. Samtidigt utsätts den för allt större utmaningar från bland annat torka, stormar, granbarkborre och rotröta.

En central fråga under dagen var därför: Hur behöver vi förändra skötseln av gran för att möta ett förändrat klimat?

"Det stor intresset för att komma på FRAS höst exkursion visar tydligt på att forskning och kunskapsöverföring om granen nu och i framtidens klimat är och kommer att vara viktigt”, säger Henrik Böhlenius, docent vid SLU.

Under dagen fick deltagarna ta del av både föreläsningar och fältstationer om bland annat:

🌱 lyckad föryngring
🌲 gran i blandbestånd
🪵 hyggesfria alternativ
🦋 granens betydelse för biologisk mångfald
🪲 dagens och framtidens skogsskador
🛰️ fjärranalys för att upptäcka skador
🧬 förädling av gran
🌲 douglasgran som möjligt alternativ i ett förändrat klimat

Stort tack till alla deltagare, föreläsare och stationsvärdar som bidrog till diskussionerna!

Exkursionen arrangerades av forskningsprogrammet FRAS i samarbete med Stiftelsen Seydlitz MP bolagen – Wernerstiftelser och med bidrag från SLU Partnerskap Alnarp.

📸 Henrik Böhlenius

06/10/2026

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has bought 15,000 hectares of mountain-edge forest in Härjedalen, Sweden, for SEK 235 million. But the size isn't what makes it unusual.

We asked Vilis Brukas, professor in forest policy at SLU what the deal really means.

A few of his points:

🌲 15,000 hectares is not exceptional in the Swedish forest sector. What is unusual is the combination: a foreign private individual as owner, and a purchase made on behalf of a person rather than a traditional forestry company acquisition.

🏴 In Scotland, “green absentee landlords” have in some cases sparked conflicts with local communities. So it can matter when the owner lives far away.

🇱🇻 At the same time, Swedes or Swedish-linked capital have acquired very substantial areas of forest in Latvia. More than 10 percent of the country's forest area, according to some estimates. Brukas wonders whether anyone has reflected on how that affects local communities there.

📈 The high-profile nature of the purchase, Brukas argues, could make similar acquisitions more likely in the future.

What do you think: is foreign ownership of Swedish forest a problem, or a non-issue?

📸 Torbjörn Esping

02/10/2026

Forskning vid SLU visar ett brett stöd för mer löv i södra Sveriges skogar.

Samtidigt återstår frågor om hur stor förändringen behöver vara, vilka insatser som är möjliga och hur olika aktörers bidrag kan hänga ihop.

Den 4 november bjuder vi in till det digitala seminariet ”Mer löv i Götaland? Från framtidsbilder till styrning och samverkan”.

Vi presenterar studiens resultat och använder dem som utgångspunkt för ett gemensamt arbete kring nästa steg. Vilka förändringar skulle olika aktörer kunna bidra till? Vad behöver de från varandra för att lyckas? Och hur kan en insats skapa möjligheter för andra att agera?

Tillsammans vill vi utveckla konkreta idéer om åtgärder, mål och former för samverkan som kan göra utvecklingen mot mer löv synlig, strategisk och möjlig att följa över tid. Certifiering, regionala mål, skogsbruksplanering, rådgivning och samverkan längs värdekedjorna är några möjliga utgångspunkter.

Välkommen att bidra med dina erfarenheter, perspektiv och förslag!

📅 4 november 2026, kl. 13.00–15.30
💻 Online, på svenska
📝 Anmäl dig senast 28 oktober

Länk till anmälan: https://www.slu.se/kalender/2026/11/mer-lov-i-gotaland-fran-framtidsbilder-till-styrning-och-samverkan/

01/10/2026

Planting Douglas-fir? 🌲 Three things matter more than you might think.

We asked PhD student Michał Kibitlewski from Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre what to consider before establishing Douglas-fir under birch shelter.

Young Douglas-fir seedlings are particularly vulnerable to spring frost. Research from SLU shows that naturally regenerated birch can help protect them during establishment, without reducing early height growth in the five-year experiment.

The takeaway for anyone considering Douglas-fir:

🌱 Know your site. Assess frost risk, moisture conditions and wildlife pressure before planting.

🌲 Choose suitable planting material. Provenance can strongly influence frost tolerance and growth.

🌿 Think of birch as a temporary resource. Naturally regenerated birch can protect young Douglas-fir from frost, but the shelter will need to be managed as the trees grow.

Birch is often seen mainly as competing vegetation. The research shows that during establishment, it can also play a useful role.

👉 Read the practical guide: https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/10/four-things-to-consider-douglas-fir/

📸 Michal Kibitlewski/Kristina Wallertz

25/09/2026

"Even the best adaptation strategies will fail if they’re too expensive or impractical,” says researcher Narayanan Subramanian. “Preparedness has to make financial sense.”

When storms hit, their impact reaches far beyond the forest. Sweden learned this after Storm Gudrun — when 75 million cubic meters of timber fell overnight, causing losses of more than €2.4 billion and years of instability.

At Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Narayanan studies how forest management can balance resilience and economics — helping both large companies and private landowners prepare for a stormier, more uncertain climate.

💡 His research uses advanced modeling tools like Heureka DSS to test how different management choices — from thinning to species diversity — can reduce storm damage while remaining profitable.

“The lesson from Gudrun is clear,” he adds. “Not adapting costs far more than adapting.”

Read the full article: https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/organisation/departments/southern-swedish-forest-research-centre/research-ssv/campaign-forestpreparedness/narayanan-storm-economics/?fbclid=IwcGRvZgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBweU1pUHhFVDRZaGV1MnVMc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHnZXMWiYWtJ3zHe3QPoxKAwoo83yAAI2ECriOE6V02bmjVnSsj05A8xOi2By_aem_HmWVqUbwgY69ibeLR4uFAg

📸 Tashina Alavi

24/09/2026

“Drought is sometimes called a slow crisis. It develops quietly — and by the time we notice, the damage is already done,” says PhD student Emily Viola Delin.

Unlike wildfires or storms, drought doesn’t announce itself. It creeps in — through months of low rainfall, dry soils, and stressed trees — quietly reshaping entire ecosystems.

At the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre (SLU), Emily studies how forests respond to long dry periods and what that means for Sweden’s preparedness in a changing climate.

Her research shows that even when trees survive, they often emerge weaker — less able to withstand the next storm, fire, or pest outbreak. Because forest stress rarely comes alone — it compounds.

“Forests teach us that recovery and maintaining function after disturbance are just as important as handling the event itself,” Emily says.

And like the forests she studies, preparedness is about resilience — the ability to adapt, recover, and keep going when conditions change.

Read the full story: https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/organisation/departments/southern-swedish-forest-research-centre/research-ssv/campaign-forestpreparedness/emily-when-the-forest-runs-dry/?fbclid=IwcGRvZgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBweU1pUHhFVDRZaGV1MnVMc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmJsd5hWcwszOUb-TzioS6ydCgSSADJ4oAe-w0e7WV_FTIHIw14WnbX85j2u_aem_eFIP5F7YAXkn8RNYsVfbbw

📸Tashina Alavi

23/09/2026

“Bringing fire back isn’t about destruction — it’s about restoring balance.”

At the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, Olga Wepryk researches how prescribed burning — carefully planned, low-intensity fires — can make forests healthier, more diverse, and better prepared for future crises.

“For centuries, we’ve tried to remove fire from our landscapes,” she says. “But by doing so, we also removed the natural processes that kept forests open, varied, and resilient.”

Through her project Burning for Conservation, Olga explores how reintroducing fire can:

🌿 Reduce fuel buildup
🌳 Restore biodiversity
🔥Strengthen forest preparedness in a warmer, drier future

“The goal is to move from reacting to preventing,” Olga explains. “If we understand fire behavior, we can plan ahead — and strengthen preparedness before a real emergency happens.”

Read the full story: https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/organisation/departments/southern-swedish-forest-research-centre/research-ssv/campaign-forestpreparedness/olga-fighting-fire-with-fire/?fbclid=IwcGRvZgFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBweU1pUHhFVDRZaGV1MnVMc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHv2CClEbcgB6GabhlOn5ImCqh4L9EeT9zcKbHrvhrobI-CfijHle6uhnaZlD_aem__jQvEa7aEUCyntpJNF0DlQ

📸 Tashina Alavi

22/09/2026

“Preparedness is about shaping the landscape before it burns.”

When firefighting becomes impossible, prevention is everything.

In war-affected Ukraine, vast forests have become too dangerous to reach — a reminder of how quickly landscapes can change when resources run out. For Sweden, the message is clear: act before the next crisis forces change.

Maksym Matsala from Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre and Jenny Sander from Swedish Civil Defense and Resilience Agency share five lessons on how Sweden can strengthen its wildfire preparedness — from smarter mapping to stronger local capacity.

🗺️ Map fuels to understand how fire spreads
🧰 Build the full toolbox — prevention and response
🌲 Maintain what you start — long-term work matters
🤝 Strengthen local capacity before the roads close
💡 Reward risk-reducing choices

Read the full article: https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/organisation/departments/southern-swedish-forest-research-centre/research-ssv2/campaign-forestpreparedness/maksym-five-lessons-sweden-learn-ukraine/

📸 Torbjörn Esping

21/09/2026

🌲 What does a resilient forest have to do with Sweden’s preparedness? More than we might think.

This week is Beredskapsveckan, Sweden’s Preparedness Week, led by the Swedish Civil Defence and Resilience Agency, Myndigheten för civilt försvar.

At the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre, we want to highlight another part of that preparedness: our forests.

What happens when forests burn during armed conflict? Can prescribed fire reduce future wildfire risks? How can we detect the effects of drought earlier? And how can forest management reduce the damage caused by severe storms?

Throughout the week, we’ll revisit research from four of our researchers exploring how science can help make Sweden’s forests and society better prepared for future crises.

🌲 Maksym Matsala – forest fires under armed conflict and lessons from Ukraine
🔥 Olga Wepryk – prescribed burning and wildfire preparedness
🌱 Emily Delin-Pellish – drought, forest resilience and early detection
🌬️ Narayanan Subramanian – storm risks, adaptation and economics

Because preparedness isn’t only about how we respond when a crisis happens. It’s also about what we do before it does.

📸 Torbjörn Esping/Tashina Alavi

Adress

Sundsvägen 3
Alnarp
23456

Öppettider

Måndag	08:00 - 17:00
Tisdag	08:00 - 17:00
Onsdag	08:00 - 17:00
Torsdag	08:00 - 17:00
Fredag	08:00 - 17:00

Webbplats

http://www.slu.se/en/departments/southern-swedish-forest-research-centre/

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