Exciting new Science paper from colleagues in Lund: Sweden’s primary forests store ~72% more carbon than managed ones. The gap is way bigger than anyone thought — especially in soils.
Big implication for climate policies
@lund-university.bsky.social
I am really excited to share our new paper, published today in Nature. We show that rising atmospheric CO2 is linked to decling nutrient availability in boreal forest, with implications for the future carbon sink. Kudos to lead author @kelleyrbassett.bsky.social.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
You gotta love these patterns!
Grateful to the WSL for hosting me while I analyze my European beech samples from last year’s climate-chamber experiment 🌳
We exposed trees to contrasting VPD treatments (hot vs. dry air), and wood anatomy is a key feature. So stoked!
New paper out in Journal of Ecology!
How do wood-inhabiting fungi recover after disturbance in boreal forests?
We compared 2 chronosequences:
🔥 unmanaged fire (4–375 yrs)
🪓 managed clear-cut (1–109 yrs)
Very different diversity trajectories! 👇
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Retaining high deadwood volumes and structural complexity can help maintain fungal diversity in managed forests, however maintaining old-growth stands is essential for conserving highly diverse commu...
besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Boreal forests provide considerable global land carbon storage and uptake, but they are being rapidly transformed to managed secondary forests, with poorly quantified implications for ecosystem carbon...
Nitrogen isotope tree-ring chronologies show that rising atmospheric CO2 has reduced nitrogen availability in boreal forests in Sweden, suggesting that elevated atmospheric CO2 is causing oligotrophic...
First paper from our Scots pine chronosequences (managed vs unmanaged): diversity peaks after disturbance & in old‑growth, driven by soil & structural heterogeneity. Highlights the need for a mosaic of early post‑fire & late‑successional stands.
👉 nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
LU Fluxes - Lund University Flux Measurement Group
Michael J. Gundale
Gerhard Schmied
Vincent
Regrown but not recovered?
Our new post on the Journal of Ecology Blog:
We tend to judge forests by what we see: trees, canopy, structure.
But much of biodiversity is hidden.
Fungal diversity tells a different story about recovery after disturbance.
jecologyblog.com/2026/04/07/r...
“In the grand succession of life after a wildfire, the first beings to appear are neither plants nor animals, but fungi.” 🍄🔥 @hannahthomasy.bsky.social reports.
Bei der Bundestagswahl geht es um viel: nicht weniger als die Zukunftschancen unserer Kinder & Enkel. Die Welt ist in einem Wettlauf gegen die Zeit, eine katastrophale 3-Grad-Welt zu verhindern. Was auf dem Spiel steht hier nochmal kurz aus erster Forscherhand erklärt. ▶️ youtu.be/M6NWcKb5QBs?...
Before plants and animals recolonize after a wildfire, fungi get to work.
🔥Boreal fungi recover very differently after fire vs. clear-cutting. Fires leave long-lasting deadwood that supports rich and red-listed species; clear-cuts do not. High deadwood + structural complexity are key, but old-growth remains irreplaceable 👉️ buff.ly/DLExOE9
