More improved birch in new and unique greenhouse

"We get an environment that makes it possible to shorten the time it takes to create a new, improved generation of trees. We do this by making the birch bloom earlier, that is, only a few years after the seeds have germinated. Otherwise, this can take up to 15 years," says Thomas Kraft, program manager of tree breeding at Skogforsk and site manager at the research station in Ekebo.

According to Urban Nilsson, professor of silviculture at SLU and director of Trees For Me, the new greenhouse will form a necessary infrastructure to increase the availability of improved birch. In the long run, this could lead to us getting a new main tree species in Swedish forestry alongside pine and spruce, he reasons.

Skogforsk is one of almost 50 partners in Trees For Me.

Read the full press release (in Swedish) on the Skogforsk webpage - skogforsk.se