Now you can apply for the annual forest scholarship – supporting networking and future forest research

In 2025, the scholarship enabled PhD candidates like Elham Badalzadehe Aghdam and Sezer Olivia Kaya to advance their research and build valuable networks. Elham, from Linnaeus University, visited Söderåsen National Park in southern Sweden as part of her PhD research to study natural regeneration of broadleaf forests following Phytophthora outbreaks. The fieldwork provided insights into the current status of Phytophthora in the area. The focus was to investigate early regeneration patterns and collect background data to support a larger vegetation inventory planned for 2026.

Important firsthand observations

“I looked for symptomatic trees, assessed visible signs of infection, and observed seedling density and early regeneration patterns. Seeing the site conditions firsthand allowed me to make more informed decisions about where and how to carry out future data collection. These field observations will be important in refining my sampling strategy and planning the full vegetation inventory,” Elham Badalzadehe Aghdam explains.

Sezer Olivia Kaya, a PhD student at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), was one of several scholarship holders who used the grant to attend the ”NordGen Forest Conference 2025”, which was held in Hella, Iceland. Presenting research on weevil damage in silver birch, she found the conference invaluable for exchanging ideas with experts in birch breeding and pest management.

“I found the discussions that followed my poster presentation and the chance to meet researchers working on birch breeding, regeneration, and pest management especially valuable. Several people showed interest in the preliminary results from my study, which led to some very good conversations during the conference,” Sezer Olivia Kaya shares.

She also appreciated the sessions on birch–pest interactions and regeneration challenges in the Nordic region, as these subjects were closely connected to her own work and helped her see her research in a broader context.

Useful experiences

The NordGen and SNS forest scholarship not only provides financial support but also opens doors to new collaborations and knowledge exchange. Looking forward, Sezer Olivia Kaya adds:

“The knowledge and perspectives I gained from the conference will be useful as I continue working on damage affecting birch, particularly when preparing future analyses, presentations, and publications. Hearing how similar issues are approached in other Nordic and Baltic countries was very helpful.”