Brooke Micke

I received my PhD in biology from SLU in 2023. My PhD thesis focused on the diversification of Swedish leys through increasing species diversity and increasing the quality of the harvested forage through fractionation. Prior to this I recieved my MSc in Plant Taxonomy and Biodiversity from the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. My masters thesis focused on the characterisation of Nepalese mad honey to identify the plant species responsible for the contribution of grayanotoxins. I completed my bachelors degree in biology with a focus in plant science at Saint Louis University. During this time, I participated in research at the Missouri Botanical Garden focusing on the identification of wild grasses with potential for domestication as grain crops. 

My current research focuses on the diversification of forage legumes in agricultural systems in northern Sweden. I focus on the selection and evaluation of native forage legumes for their potential inclusion as small components of mixed ley systems in northern Sweden to increase persistence and provide ecosystem services in the form of pollinator food sources. Mixed leys play an important role in the agricultural landscape of northern Sweden, but the longevity of these systems is compromised by the poor persistence of red clover. Currently uncultivated native forage legumes may be able to increase the persistence of leys by contributing fixed nitrogen following the decline in red clover content. Additionally, they may provide ecosystem services to improve the sustainability of the system. The aim of this work is to identify native legume species that could potentially be included in mixed leys with red clover as the major forage legume component. This selection process works to identify species with desirable morphology and minimal anti-nutritional factors.

SITES Röbäcksdalen is part of SITES monitoring programs SITES Water and SITES Spectral. The station also has its own monitoring data for weather data, soil data in open and grass covered land down to 1 meter and SMURF – the compiled data from the dairy barn’s 300 ha cultivated land.

Bachelors Thesis

Malin Johansson: SLU: Vicia sepium - Breed or Weed? 

Micke B. och Parsons D. (2023) Using botanical resources to select wild forage legumes for domestication in temperate grassland agricultural systems. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 43(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-022-00853-w

Micke, B. (2023). Diversifying the utility and species composition of Nordic forage systems: new fractionation methods and novel legume species. Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. https://doi.org/10.54612/a.25jjuqtjmh

Micke, B., Bergqvist, S., Adler, S., Morel, J. & Parsons, D. (2023). Fractionation of mixed grass and clover stands using a leaf stripper. Grass and Forage Science, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1111/gfs.12623

Micke, B., Adler, S., Forkman, J., Parsons, D. (2023). Production and nutrient composition of forage legume fractions produced by juicing and leaf stripping. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica, Section B – Soil & Plant Science 73(1), 199-212. https://doi.org/10.1080/09064710.2023.2265147

Frawley, E.S., Ciotir, C., Micke, B. et al. (2020) An Ethnobotanical Study of the Genus Elymus. Econ Bot 74, 159–177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-020-09494-0

Micke, B., & Parsons, D. (2023). Potentialen hos vilda baljväxter i norrländska vallar. Vallkonferens 2023: konferensrapport, 34, 85-88. https://doi.org/10.54612/a.5l50sdfpvh

Micke, B., Adler, S., Parsons, D. (2020). ProRefine: Fraktionering av vallbaljväxter för produktion av proteinriktfoder. Vallkonferens 2020: konferensrapport, 30, 174-176. ISBN 978-91-576-9711-0