Professor Markku Rummukainen tells us more about the project and what the funding means:
Congratulations on receiving funding from Formas! Could you tell us a little about your project and what it aims to achieve?
Forests and forestry are affected by climate change, the impacts of which are becoming increasingly evident. Climate warming affects growing conditions and the risks of forest damage, for example related to dryness, storms, insect outbreaks and forest fires. We will review the current state of knowledge on alternative climate adaptation measures in forestry. The aim is to provide consolidated knowledge that can contribute to a transition towards a more climate-adapted forestry and help safeguard forest-related societal values srelated to inter alia timber production, carbon sequestration and biodiversity.
What does this funding mean for the project?
We now have the opportunity to bring together an interdisciplinary group of researchers and over two years carry out a structured and comprehensive search, review and analysis of both scientific studies and relevant grey literature, such as reports from public authorities. Research in this field has increased significantly in recent years, alongside practical experiences from weather and climate related impacts.
What are the next steps?
The project starts this autumn. Initially, we will refine how the literature search will be carried out, assemble a reference group, and begin reviewing the current state of knowledge. We will highlight what knowledge exists and how consistent it is, identify where knowledge is lacking or characterised by disagreement, and determine which recommendations can be supported by the available evidence, says Markku Rummukainen.
Congratulations to Markku, Cecilia Akselsson and Henrik G. Smith from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, and Fariborz Zelli from the Department of Political Science, who will all collaborate in the project.