The ecologist with a focus on silviculture and forest production, Anneli Adler, has joined the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre at SLU, where she will continue to be a part of the Trees For Me network through her focus on fast-growing broadleaf trees in a changing climate.
After her PhD defence at SLU, Anneli Adler worked primarily at SweTree Technologies, where she developed silvicultural systems with poplar for the Swedish climate. She also contributed to the development of the SnowTiger® brand for the first Swedish-bred poplar clones adapted to the climate of Svealand and the southern coastal areas of Norrland, clones that grow well also in cold areas of Götaland.
Anneli Adler has been active as a researcher in projects focused on poplar as a raw material for bioenergy and textile fiber, worked in a forestry company as a silviculture specialist with a focus on climate adaptation and fertilisation to increase forest growth, and contributed to the development of commercial seedling production of improved birch in Nässja nursery.
“It's about time that birch starts to be seen as an interesting raw material to the Swedish forest industry”, says Anneli Adler.
What are the most exciting and topical parts of your role as a forest researcher?
“The most exciting part of my research is developing silviculture in close collaboration with forest owners and industry. I am particularly studying the role that fast-growing pioneer broadleaf trees can play in a changing climate. They are naturally adapted to disturbances, can be grown in shorter rotation periods and can complement spruce and pine on the right soils", says Anneli Adler.
The research is about how such systems can contribute to climate benefits, biodiversity and a stable supply of raw materials, while at the same time becoming economically attractive through new value chains and be used for, for example, textile pulp or construction wood.
“It's about diversifying forestry and giving forest owners more sustainable options”, says Anneli Adler.
What’s the potential for increased use of fast-growing broadleaves in Swedish forestry?
“The potential is great as a complement to coniferous forests, but it requires improved value chains, proper investments in the breeding of these tree species and increased knowledge about suitable lands for these tree species among advisors, forestry specialists, planners and timber buyers”, Anneli Adler emphasizes.
She raises the challenge that the regulations for agricultural and forest land are not harmonised, and that the policy instruments that allow landowners to take advantage of the opportunities offered by fast-growing broadleaf trees need to be developed.
“Pioneer broadleaf trees naturally thrive in moist environments near water courses. Wide buffer zones with such tree species could reduce nutrient leakage and thereby contribute to Sweden's climate and environmental goals. Today, the requirements for protection zones and buffer zones differ significantly between forest and agricultural land, which limits the possibility of effective use of pioneer broadleaf trees where they really thrive and can be useful”, says Anneli Adler.