The Oak Project

Sweden’s landscapes are predominantly forested, with oak forests integral in maintaining biodiversity and providing substantial ecological and economic benefits. Recent decades have brought significant environmental changes due to climate change, marked by rising temperatures, shifting precipitation patterns, and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. These changes pose considerable challenges to forest ecosystems — particularly in southern Sweden, which now faces heightened threats from diseases and pest infestations that compromise forest health.

By employing advanced scientific techniques such as DNA sequencing and dendrochronology, we seek to analyse, predict, and mitigate the impacts of these environmental shifts on oak forests. Our ultimate objective is to develop sustainable forest management practices that preserve oak forests and assess their potential to replace less suitable species, like spruce, in southern Sweden’s changing forested landscape.