Eric Agestam

Forest education at the Royal College of Forestry ("Skogshögskolan" - that was before the era of SLU). Employed at department of forest yield research in Stockholm (59o15'N). Moved to Garpenberg in the beautiful Dalarna, approx 200km NW of Stockholm, where I worked with yield studies; mixed stands vs. pure stands of pine, spruce and birch. PhD in silviculture/forest yield research 1986. Then a couple of years in Umeå (appprox 700km N of Stockholm) and mainly work with field experiments in Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) (Swedens 3rd coniferous tree species when it comes to volume!). 1988 I went for a short trip (That was not true!) to very southern Sweden and the establishment of the southern Swedish Forest Research Centre in Alnarp (approx 600km S os Stockholm). As I like X-country skiing I often ask myself: "What do I do in this part of Sweden?" But a fantastic working environment, good colleagues and friends. During the first decade in Alnarp I manly worked with silvicuture;  broadleaves, quality in pine and spruce trees/stands, mixed stands, and much more. For a long period teaching and taking care of the department was been my main responsibility. Now and then I have been a proud head of department (1998-2002, 2008), currently I am vice head of department and a happy "prefect emeritus".

Now partly retired I am happy every time the department ask me for my help and it always about education.

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Teaching and education and that sort of things

Something like 75% of my working time is now related to education. The main task is our international master course EUROFORESTER which attract 30-40 students yearly, mainly international student. This year we have students of 16 nationalities from 5 continents.

The course: - Sustainable forestry in southern Sweden (September-October) – a lot of silviculture, mainly coniferous (read Norway spruce). - Sustainable forest management, concept, modelling and a case study (November-December) – work with forest tactic plan and growth and yield models - Broadleaves, Ecology, Nature Conservation and Silviculture (April-May) – Silviculture and use of broadleaves - Now and then I also have activities with the forest sector and shorter basic courses in forestry for students in Alnarp

I am responsible for MSc thesis works at our department and work with examination of silviculture works. Every year about 20-25 students do their MSc thesis at our department, majority of them international students.

I was contact person for the Atlantis exchange program, an EU funded program exchange program between Sweden, Finland and USA. It provided scholarships for students and also faculty exchange (see address below). We still have contact with our partners: university of Helsinki, Finland, North Carolina State University, USA and Michigan Technological University, USA.

Since about 10 years I am member of the faculties "board of education".

As partly retired I work very little with research. But I think I still have some knowledge about forestry in general and more specific in the field of silviculture and growth and yield studies. 

Who cares? But OK, some few!

My PhD thesis: Agestam, E., 1986. A growth simulator for mixed stands of pine, spruce and birch in Sweden. SLU, department of forest yield research, report no 13 (PhD thesis defended 1986-02-28 do you remember what else happened that evening?)

This one is good!: Might be the most important publication I have been involved in? Agestam, E, Ekö, P.-M. & Johansson, U., 1998. Timber quality and volume growth in naturally regenerated and planted Scots pine stands in S.W. Sweden. Studia Forestalia Suecica 204, 17pp (available: http://www-umea.slu.se/bibum/studia/index.cfm?volid=138!:

We worked a lot with beech regeneration in the early days in Alnarp and this is all Agestam, E., Ekö, PM., Nilsson, U. & Welander, N.T., 2003. The effects of shelter-wood density and site preparation on natural regeneration of Fagus sylvatica in southern Sweden. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 176, Issues 1-3, 17, Pages 61-73

(this is a really odd study, but we had a lot of fun!) Vollbrecht, G & Agestam, E., 1995. Identifying Butt Rotted Norway Spruce Trees from External Signs. For. & Landsc. Res 1:241-254.

And some ´publications with some of the many very nice PhD students that I have worked with:

Klang, Agestam, E. & Ekö, PM., 1999. Effects of different selection methods in thinning on tree properties in Picea abies. In Klang, F., The influence of Silvicultural Practices on Tree Properties in Norway Spruce. SLU, faculty of Forestry, Silvestria 128. (PhD dissertation)

Béland, M., Agestam, E., Ekö, P.-M., Gemmel, P.& Nilsson, U.2000. Effects of scarification and seed-fall on natural regeneration of Scots pine under two shelter-wood densities in southern Sweden. Scand.J.For.Res.15:247-255

Lindén, M and Agestam, E., 2003. Increment and yield in mixed and monoculture stands on Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies based on an experiment in southern Sweden. Scand J For Res. 18:2 pp 155-162

Fahlvik, N, Agestam, E., Nilsson, U., Nyström, K., 2005. Simulating the influence of initial stand structure on the development of young mixtures of Norway spruce and birch. Forest Ecology and Management, Volume 213, Issues 1-3, 18 , Pages 297-311

Pfister, O, Nilsson, U, Agestam, E. 2009. Influence of thinning programmes on the quality of boards from different positions in the stems from planted Norway spruce stands. In: Pfister; O., Influence of Spacing and Thinning on tree and Wood Characteristics in Planted Norway spruce in Southern Sweden. Faculty of Forest Sciences, Doctoral thesis no 2009:61.

Fahlvik, N., Agestam., E. & Ekö, P.M. 2011. Development of single-storied mixtures of Norway spruce and birch in Southern Sweden. Scand. J For Res; 26:S11, 36-45

Liziniewicz, M., Ekö, PM, Agestam, Eric (2012). Effect of spacing on 23-year-old lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl var. latifolia) in southern Sweden. Scand J For Res.1-11.

And also this: Agestam, E., Karlsson, M., Nilsson, U., 2006. Mixed Forest as a Part of Sustainable Forestry in Southern Sweden. Journal of Sustainable Forestry, 21:2/3, 101-1 Selected Popular Science Publications

Most important (?) knowledge transfer to the fores sector. The last 10 years I have been engaged by the Swedish board of forestry ("Skogsstyrelsen") in some projects.

1. Responsible for silviculture recommendations after the "BIG storm Gudrun" that hit south Sweden January 2005. Agestam, Eric (editor) & Bergquist,J., Bergqvist, G., Johansson, K., Langvall, O., Långström, B., Petersson, M. 2006. STORMSKADAD SKOG, föryngring, skador, skötsel. (Wind damaged forest – regenerationen, damages, silviculture) Skogsstyrelsen rapporter 2006:6. 88pp Available: http://www.skogsstyrelsen.se/forlag/enbok.asp?Produkt=1759

2. Author of the web publication GALLRING (thinning) in the silviculture series published by the board of forestry. Agestam, E. 2009. GALLRING. 85pp (Thinning In Swedish) Available: http://www.svo.se/episerver4/templates/SNormalPage.aspx?id=36533 updated version winter 2015

3.  Agestam, Säll, Wilhjelmson Skogsbruk virke och skogsindustir (Forestry, wood and forest industry). 183 pp. www.skogsstyrelsen.se/globalassets/mer-om-skog/skogsskotselserien/skogsskotselserien-22-skogsbruk-virke-och-skogsindustriprodukter.pdf 

If you can read swedish, this is good: Agestam, E, Ekö, P.-M., Johansson, U. & Klang, F., 1998. Tall på bördig mark – virkeskvalitet och volymproduktion. Skogsfakta nr 1-1998, 4p.

And some more Agestam, E., Ekö, PM. & Johnasson, U., 2000. Ett gallringsförsök i ek. Ekbladet, nr 15, sid 16-19