Forest genetics and biodiversity
The core areas of the department is biological and genetic diversity, forest tree breeding, and climatic adaptation and regeneration of forest
Important subjects and tasks are:
- Biological diversity in forest – knowledge about species and their genetic structure and dynamics, which is needed for developing conservation strategies
- Research and advice relating to woodland key habitat inventories (MiS), an important part of the environmental certification of forestry
- Distribution ecology – understand impact of invasive species, fragmentation of habitats and the effects of climate change on biodiversity
- Forest history – natural and human impacts on forests over the history and their implications for present and future forests
- Forest tree breeding – improve climatic adaptation, growth and quality, and conserve the genetic variation of the forest trees
- Genetic resources of forest trees – improve knowledge about genetic structure and apply this in conservation and management of the forest
- Molecular ecology – use molecular and genomic tools to study evolutionary processes and adaptations
- Epigenetics – understand the role of epigenetics in the climatic adaptation of forest trees, and the environmental cues needed for switching the regulation on and off
- Regeneration – understand mechanisms for germination, survival and growth of forest trees
- Plant production – improve knowledge about commercial production of forest plants, and about production of Christmas trees and greenery
