Welcome to Silvaboreal!

Long-term field trials are essential for answering questions about complex relationships within forest ecosystems and for providing a scientific foundation for sustainable conservation and use of forests as a natural resource. This has become even more relevant in this era of climate change, where expectations for forests in the emerging bioeconomy are high, while environmental goals remain ambitious. Field trials and demonstration plots are also of great value in fostering discussion and implementing research results through educational and informational activities.

Silvaboreal has evolved into a national metadata database for forestry field trials. It contains information about most of the trials conducted on forests and land across the country. There is a connection to the databases of the Swedish Forest Agency and the Swedish Mapping, Cadastral, and Land Registration Authority. This significantly reduces the risk of field trials being unintentionally damaged, for example, when landowners overlook the trials during forestry or harvesting operations.

The system is owned by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and managed by the Unit for Field-based Forest Research. Together with Skogforsk and the Swedish Forest Agency, SLU holds primary responsibility for developing the database. SLU and Skogforsk have approximately 2,200 and 1,800 registered long-term active field trials, respectively. In addition, forestry companies have registered their own trials. Together, these trials address a wide range of questions related to various forest and natural science disciplines. The oldest trials date back to the early 20th century, and many are part of long time-series and comprehensive trial series distributed across the country. The material is highly valuable and, in many ways, unique, both nationally and internationally.

Vision We are working to make Silvaboreal a sought-after and widely used knowledge bank for forestry field trials, serving research, education, practical forestry, and even private forest management. Our goal is to increase the accessibility of information linked to the trials as well as the demonstration plots located across the country. Over time, the system will also become a gateway to primary data, providing broader access to the results of these trials. The Silvaboreal database is intended to serve as a tool for initiating and facilitating increased collaboration between forestry research and practical forestry operations.