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Johan Olofsson

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Johan Olofsson
(professor)

Climate Impacts Research Centre
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences

Email: johan.olofsson@umu.se
Umeå University Webpage

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-6943-1218

Research Summary

My research interest deals with the effect of plant-herbivore interactions on plant community composition and processes in arctic and alpine ecosystems. I study the effect of reindeer on species richness, nutrient turnover and plant growth in northern Sweden and Norway. Another theme is the implications on climate change for plant-herbivore interactions. The effects of temperature and snow conditions on plant chemistry and level of herbivory by invertebrate and mammalian herbivores are studied in long-term experiments as well as along natural gradients. The effects of herbivory from voles, lemmings and reindeer on plant species that expected to expand their distribution in response to a warmer climate are studied in long-term exclosure studies.

Current Projects

Our Projects
Using unmanned aerial vehicles and artificial intelligence to quantify ant impact on the Arctic ecosystem carbon dynamics
Using unmanned aerial vehicles and artificial intelligence to quantify ant impact on the Arctic ecosystem carbon dynamics

This project aims to increase our understanding of how wood ants will influence carbon storage in soil and how climate change will affect their distribution in Arctic ecosystems, building on detailed studies of ants, soil, and vegetation interactions in mountain heaths and mountain forests in the Abisko region.

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Fingerprints of change: Abisko plants and phenology
Fingerprints of change: Abisko plants and phenology

Our citizen science project focuses on the much-beloved signs of seasonal change – the emergence of leaves in the spring, the start of flowering, when berries are ripe for picking, and autumn leaf colours. Our project is inspired by the works of a few key botanists who helped put Abisko on the map 100 years ago, who established a transect from the summit of Mt Nuolja, which we use today.

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Effect of herbivory and climate on tundra vegetation

We will study the interactive effect of herbivores and climate on plant community composition and plant traits using two long term field experiments in the Fennoscandian tundra. We aim to improve the interpretation of the driving forces behind changes in NDVI observed in satellite images, and clarify the potential of herbivores to influence the climate via changes in the albedo of the tundra.

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Effects of altered snow conditions on herbivory in an arctic ecosystem
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Effects of reindeer on plant and soil nutrient stoichiometry in Arctic tundra
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What is a landscape characterized by grazing?

We will examine how effects of excluding reindeer on vegetation vary across gradients in reindeer densities and climatic conditions in the Scandinavian mountains, and assess the importance of these findings in relationship to the environmental quality objectives.

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My research in the news!

Arctic News
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Tidsmaskinen Abisko berättar om klimatförändringen
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Fingerprints of change: Abisko plants and phenology citizen science
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Sveriges Natur - Så förändras våra fjäll
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Reindeer grazing protects tundra plant diversity in a warming climate
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Så kan renen dämpa klimatförändringarna
Så kan renen dämpa klimatförändringarna

Renen har betydelse när det gäller att dämpa klimatförändringarna, det menar Johan Olofsson som är universitetslektor vid Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap på Umeå universitet.

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Climate is no ubiquitous explanation of fluctuations in reindeer numbers

Exploitation of natural resources, such as forestry or gas and oil extraction, and management practices may have faster and greater impacts on reindeer populations than does climate change, a study finds. However, climate change should not be forgotten or underestimated, since reindeer are adapted to cold temperatures and therefore susceptible to temperature increases.

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PhD Students and Post-doctoral researchers

Researchers
Juan Ignacio Ramirez
Juan Ignacio Ramirez

The overarching aim of my research is to understand herbivore-plant interaction from the perspective of both plants and animals and across different biomes. The bulk of my research includes how ungulates interact with temperate forests and how these relationships shift vegetation composition, structure, and succession.

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Emil Andersen
Emil Andersen

By understanding plant activity during the cold season I hope to cast a light on how climate change and winter warming will affect the Arctic ecosystem and feedback to the global climate system.

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Johan Olofsson’s Publications

View publications on DiVA or Google Scholar

 
 

The Climate Impacts Research Centre (CIRC) is based at the
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences

 

All photography provided by CIRC Members and are copyrighted by the owners.

Abisko Weather