Thomas Prade

My scientific interest is in integration of agricultural production of food, feed, bio-materials and bioenergy. Thus, my research aims at finding new ways and at developing novel production concepts to minimise social, environmental and economic costs and maximising sustainability of the overall agricultural system. In order to achieve a holistic view on imminent problems in agriculture, this research focuses on the interaction of energy, environment, technology and economy.

In my research I focus on the following approaches

1. New crops that do not compete with main agricultural food and feed crops, e.g. intermediate crops and crops grown on marginal lands, wetlands and lands taken out of normal production.
2. Multifunctional crops that compete with food and feed crops, but which still contribute to improve the overall sustainability of the agricultural system, e.g. grass-clover crops that contribute to soil organic carbon and therefore potentially increase soil productivity.
3. Multi-purpose crops, where different crop parts are used for different applications, i.e. for food, feed, material and energy, in a biorefinery approach.
4. Soil amendment with organic residues for recycling of plant nutrients and organic carbon in order to close nutrient and carbon loops by.
5. Production chain assessment with product quality feedback resulting in better interaction between suppliers/growers and buyers/end-users.

I follow an interdisciplinary approach to systems analysis in cases where such an approach is likely to result in fundamental insights. For example, this may mean the use of a variety of tools for systems analysis (e.g. energy balances, LCA, soil carbon balances, nutrient balances, techno-economic assessments, GIS-based data acquisition and handling), combined with new input data from field experiments (statistical analyses).

Basic courses

• Sustainable production systems in a global perspective (15 hp, period 3)
• Environmental issues – Introduction to LCA and LCA group work
• Biogas theory
• Urban agriculture - systems perspective

PhD course

• Popular scientific presentation with focus on sustainable development

2025-2027 Interreg project Accel AgroBiogas - Sustainable biomass supply for increased biogas production

2024-2026 SLF-funded project on Intermediate crops in the crop rotation for increased soil fertility and reduced climate impact

2024-2026 Swedish Board of Agriculture-funded project on Cropping system with intermediate crops and smart handling of tops for effective climate benefits

2023-2026 Nordforsk-funded project VIKING - Validating the Introduction of Kernza in the Nordic region

2021-2025 Formas project on Removing agricultural residues as feedstock for the growing bioeconomy – efficiency of intermediate crops to minimize negative environmental consequences

2022-2025 Swedish Energy Agency, project on Green2 Feed – Sustainable animal feed and biogas from green leaves

2021-2025 Formas project on Improving sustainability in urban development by recognizing the carbon costs of urban trees

2021- 2024 Formas project on GreenLeaFood - Added food value from green leaves

2020-2022 Partnerskap Alnarp, project on Proactive drought management - a model-based approach to drought management in Swedish crop production

2020-2022 SLF project via Partnerskap Alnarp on More ley in arable cropping systems for climate efficient primary production

2020-2021 Partnerskap Alnarp project on Production of sustainable planting pods for growing horticultural and ornamental crops

2019-2022 EIP-project on a Web-based tool for choosing intermediate crops

2019-2020 Swedish Board of Agriculture project on Influence of establishment date on summer cover crops on soil organic carbon contribution and weed controlling properties

2017-2020 Interregprojekt BioBIGG - Bioeconomy in the South Baltic Area: Biomass-based Innovation and Green Growth

2018-2019 Partnerskap Alnarp project Milk production with extensively processed silage for increased forage intake and increased resource efficiency

2017-2019 Partnerskap Alnarp project Intermediate cover crops as potential protein source

2017-2019 Partnerskap Alnarp project Evaluation of intermediate cover crops for weed control

2016-2018 SLF-project Turning catch crops into intermediate crops for higher productivity and reduced N and P losses

Education

Academic and professional experiences

Main supervisor for PhD candidates

• Therese Malm, Department of Biosystems and Technology,SLU, started 2022, Improving energy-efficiency and indoor climate of livestock buildings through passive and active adaptation measures
• Yizhi Zhang, Department of Biosystems and Technology,SLU, started 2024, Climate impact mitigation and resource use efficiency of rooftop greenhouses for urban food production
• Cristian Wedgwood, Department of Biosystems and Technology,SLU, started 2022, Utilization of agricultural residues and crops as feedstock for the bioeconomy
• Alejandro Barrios Latorre, Department of Biosystems and Technology, SLU, started 2022, Removing agricultural residues as feedstock for the growing bioeconomy – efficiency of intermediate crops to minimize negative environmental consequences

Co-supervisor for PhD candidates

• Ananta Aacharya, Department of Biosystems and Technology, SLU, started 2025, Crop cultivation in combination with solar panels on arable land – How does it contribute to the future need for food and energy in a profitable way?
• Md Nasir Hossain Sani, Department of Biosystems and Technology, SLU, started 2023, Profiling digestates and transformation into useful products
• Waleed Mlook, Department of Plant Breeding, SLU, started 2023, Protein and biogas production from green biomass
• Shoujiao Li, Department of Biosystems and Technology, SLU, graduated 2024, Intercropping perennial cereal and legumes for improving biological soil health and microbial drought resilience
• Andreas Nicolaidis, Department of Biosystems and Technology, SLU, graduated 2022, Managing coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) : the case of water