Project information
Project manager
Johan Berg
Other project members
Harald Säll, Linnaeus University
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University, Södra, Studieförbundet Vuxenskolan
Financier
Södra Skogsägarnas stiftelse för forskning, utveckling och utbildning, Jan och Erlands Stiftelse samt Stiftelsen Seydlitz MP bolagen
Timetable
1 jan 2021- 31 dec 2025
Subject
Forestry industry production systems (Department of Forestry and Wood Technology, Faculty of Technology)
Linnaeus Knowledge Environment
Green Sustainable Development
Website
https://www.sv.se/avdelningar/sv-kronoberg/Klimatanpassatskogsbruk/
More about the project
The project is a pilot project for climate-adapted forestry where forest owners are given knowledge about climate change, their effects and opportunities to counteract them. The focus is on climate benefit: sequestering as much carbon dioxide as possible without excessive risks and producing forest raw materials that can in turn substitute fossil substances and concrete.
The project's relevance to southern Swedish forestry
Climate change means increased uncertainty and risk for forestry. With a changing climate, we will likely see increased risks of damage from fungi, insects, storm precipitation and frost. Forestry must therefore take a position on a number of different aspects such as adapted forestry, planning of forestry in time and space, introduction of new forestry methods, tree species selection and increased preparedness against various pests.
In southern Sweden, we have a different climate and different natural conditions than the middle and northern parts of Sweden. There are also differences in how the forest is owned and managed, where most of the forest in southern Sweden is owned by individuals and run as family forestry. Therefore, we see a great need for adaptations of forestry based on our conditions in southern Sweden.
Climate change motivates increased variation and spread of risk in forestry, especially in southern Sweden and Småland, where the risk of climate-related damage is greater than in other parts of the country. Adaptation measures can in many cases involve increased costs or a financial risk, but there can also be measures that reduce the risks while maintaining the financial outcome, alternatively a small financial loss but clearly reduced risk.
Background – the role of forests in climate work
The Swedish forest has a very large climate benefit in that when it grows it takes up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and stores it in biomass. According to the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency's statistics, the annual net uptake in Sweden was approximately 44 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents during the period 1990-2017. The growth can also be harvested and converted into renewable forest products that can replace fossil fuels, fossil-intensive products and concrete. If the forest's role in climate work is to be strengthened, the contribution must increase compared to the climate benefit that the forest already creates. There are great opportunities to replace materials, which are not renewable or in other respects not sustainable for the environment, with, for example, forest raw materials. In addition to the traditional areas of use for forest raw materials, there are other products today such as textile fiber for viscose fabrics, biocomposite materials, biofuels, chemicals and biodiesel. Therefore, it is important to ensure the forest's role as a carbon sink by taking advantage of changed production conditions while reducing the risks of harmful effects.
The project is part of the research in the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment: Green Sustainable Development
