Principal Investigators (PIs)

PI definition

BECC consists of scientists at different stages of their career. A particular role is played by BECC’s principal investigators (PIs) who, as representatives and leaders within the research groups encompassed by BECC in Lund and Gothenburg, contribute to the development of BECC by proposing and reporting research and engaging in the communication and dissemination of BECC findings through interactions with stakeholders and scientific networks. A PI in BECC is a permanently employed research leader pursuing an independent research program closely related to BECC’s strategy. The PI list is revised yearly by the BECC board, with suggestion of new members made by current PIs. 

BECC PI benefits and obligations

PIs contribute to the development of the BECC strategic research area, e.g. by pursuing relevant research development, facilitating synergies between research groups, interacting with stakeholders and attending relevant BECC meetings, including seminars and Theme meetings. PIs:
are invited to contribute to the development of strategic plans,
can apply for BECC funding according to the terms of specific calls,

• are invited to use BECC support functions,
• are expected to participate in BECC activities, including PI meetings,
• are expected to contribute by reporting all activities in line with BECC’s strategic plan, regardless of funding, and
• are expected to highlight BECC affiliation (and funding when applicable), e.g. in relevant talks and publications. 

PI nomination template (DOCX, 43,7 kB)

All BECC PIs (principal investigators)

List updated 17 February 2022

Lund University

All names in the list below link to their respective web pages on Lund University's research portal. 

Centre for Environmental and Climate Science

• Anna Persson – urban biodiversity, human nature relations, landscape ecology, citizen science, ecosystem service
• Deniz Koca – system analysis, circular bioeconomy, modelling of complex dynamic systems, stakeholder facilitation
• Hakim Abid - remote sensing
• Helena Hanson – green space governance, sustainable urban development, environmental sciences, climate change adaptation
• Johanna Alkan Olsson – natural resource management, stakeholder collaboration, processes of social change, environmental policy, regulatory scales
• Maria Hansson - ecotoxicology
• Mark Brady – applied economics, agriculture, agent-based modelling, ecological economics, multidisciplinary
• Natascha Kljun – climate research, meteorology and atmospheric sciences, biospehere-atmosphere
• Paul Caplat – conservation biology, landscape ecology, biodiversity
• Per Persson – geochemistry, x-ray absorption spectroscopy, synchotron techniques, water-mineral interfaces, environmental chemistry
• Richard Walters - biodiversity in animals
• Ullrika Sahlin – risk assessment, uncertainty, economic-ecological modelling, Bayesian analysis, environmental decision making
• Wilhelm May – climate variability and change, climate extremes, land surface climate interactions, climate impact, synthesis
• Yann Clough – landscape ecology, ecosystem services, agricultural policy, agroecology, land use intensity and scenarios

Centre for Mathematical Science/Mathematical Statistics

• Johan Lindström – mathematic analysis, spatial statistics, simulation based inference, uncertainty analysis, Gaussian Markov Random Fields

Department of Biology

• Anders Tunlid – microbial ecology, decomposition, ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi, cycling of nutrients and carbon, biogeochemical processes
• Anna Runemark – speciation, biodiversity, biogeography, evolutionary genomics, evolutionary biology
• Bengt Hansson – population genetics, conservation genetics, genetic conflict, sex chromosome evolution, speciation, hybridisation, range expansion
• Björn Klatt – conservation biology, pollination biology, pesticides, ecological intensification, yield quality and quantity
• Caroline Isaksson – urbanisation, birds, oxidative stress, nutrition, pollution
• Christer Brönmark – predator-prey interactions, wetlands, landscape of fear, aquatic ecology, limnology
• Dag Ahrén – bioinformatics, systems biology, (meta)genomics, fungal host interactions, next generation sequencing
• Dimitrios Floudas - microbes, carbon cycling, decomposition, genomics, spectroscopy
• Edith Hammer – soil chips to measure soil functions and biodiversity, soil fertility, soil carbon storage, mycorrhiza, synchrotron/spectroscopy analysis
• Emma Kritzberg – aquatic biogeochemistry, land-use, browning, linking terrestrial, limnic and marine systems, bacterial community
• Erik Svensson – evolutionary biology, phenotypic evolution, evolutionary dynamics, color signaling, evolution of phenotypic plasticity
• Erland Bååth – soil microbiology, fungi (saprophytic and mycorrhizal), bacteria, community composition, biotic and abiotic environmental conditions
• Helene Bracht Jörgensen – soil science, soil fungal and bacterial communities, agricultural soils, extreme weather, crop rotation intensity
• Henrik Smith – conservation biology, ecosystem services, behavioural ecology, agricultural intensification, agri-environment schemes
• Honor C. Prentice – botany, biological systematics, local adaptation, landscape history, plant community assembly
• Håkan Wallander – soil science, microbiology, mycorrhizal fungi, phosphorus, nitrogen
• Jacob Johansson – phenological mismatch, climate change biology, adaptive dynamics, theoretical ecology, evolutionary rescue
• Jadranka Rota - molecular phylogenetics, systematics, historical biogeography, evolutionary biology, Lepidoptera
• Johannes Rousk – ecology of microorganisms, microbial communities, soil systems, biogeochemistry, microbial decomposition
• Karin Rengefors – phytoplankton ecology and evolution, algal blooms, genetic diversity, population genetics and genomic structure, dispersal and local adaptation
• Katarina Hedlund – soil science, above- and below ground interactions, microorganism, ecosystem services, sustainable use of soils and agricultural biodiversity
• Lars Pettersson – biodiversity monitoring, citizen science, butterflies and moths, conservation biology, land management
• Lars-Anders Hansson – ecosystem ecology, aquatic ecology, cyanobacteria, food webs, limnology
• Lettice Hicks - plant-soil-microbial interactions, carbon and nutrient cycling (C, N, P), global change ecology, soil fertility and carbon storage, linking microbial community structure and functions
• Magne Friberg – evolutionary biology, evolution of plant signals, plant-insect interaction, life-history biology, molecular and chemical ecology
• Maj Rundlöf – farmland biodiversity interactions, landscape ecotoxicology and effects on bees, pollination, landscape scale experimental setup, network of farmers and national/international connections (EU authorities)
• Mats Hansson – plant architecture, time to flowering, chlorophyll and wax biosynthesis, molecular techniques, biochemical methods
• Martin Stjernman – field biology, conservation biology, agricultural land-use, biodiversity, predictive models
• Mikael Pontarp – evolutionary biology, biogeographical processes, ecosystem structure and dynamics, eco-evolutionary simulation models, ecosystem services
• Milda Pucetaite - Carbon sequestration
• Niklas Wahlberg – biological systematics, evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, diversification, Lepidoptera
• Nils Cronberg – biological systematics, genetics, bryophytes, reproductive biology, evolutionary biology
• Ola Olsson – conservation biology, heterogenous environments, modelling and empirical methods, landscape characteristics, biodiversity, ecosystem services
• Olle Anderbrant – chemical ecology, insects, evolution, pest control, chemical signals
• Pablo Urrutia Cordero - agro-ecosystem
• Per Bengtson – northern ecosystems, decomposition of soil organic carbon, C cycling and sequestration, C and N turnover, linking with above ground biota
• Per Lundberg – evolutionary ecology of natural communities, species sorting, community assembly, evolutionary history, theory
• Pål Axel Olsson – biodiversity, mycorrhiza, nature conservation, plant-soil interaction, botany
• Staffan Bensch – genomic ecology, molecular techniques in ecology and evolution, microsatellite markers, genetics and genomics of migratory song birds, host-parasite evolution of avian malaria parasites
• Stefan Andersson – genetic and experimental research, evolution of wild plants, natural selection, ecotypic variation, inbreeding
• Tina D'Hertefeldt – botany, plant ecology, GMO, agroecology, clonal plants
• Åke Lindström – birds, monitoring, conservation biology, migration, energetics
• Øystein Opedal – plant interaction, high-alpine communities, changing climate, Dalechampia

Environmental and Energy Systems Studies

• Alexandra Nikoleris - sustainability transitions, narratives
• Pål Börjesson - life cycle assessment

Department of Geology

• Anne-Birgitte Nielsen – palaeoecology, pollen/vegetation relationships for dominant species, land use history, long term landscape change, millennial scale climate change
• Charlotte Sparrenbom - groundwater, pollution, site conceptual models, remediation, sustainability 
• Dan Hammarlund – natural climate fluctuations, lake sediments, paleoecology, quaternary, ecosystem responses
• Daniel Conley – biogeochemical cycles of nutrients, Silica, linkages between land and aquatic ecosystems, paleoecological techniques
• Helena Filipsson – oceanography, hydrology, water resources, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, marine sciences
• Jesper Sjolte - climate reconstruction, climate modelling, weather patterns, climate extremes, external forcing
• Johannes Edvardsson – tree-ring analysis and data, long-term climate dynamics, peatland development, tree colonization, palaeohydrology
• Karl Ljung – geosciences, multidisciplinary, past climate and environmental changes, microfossils, geochemical methods
• Raimund Muscheler - solar activity, sun-climate linkages, cosmogenic radionuclides, paleoclimate
• Svante Björck – quaternary geology, distinct climatic events expressed in terms of environmental impact, paleoclimatology, sea level change
• Sven Lukas - glaciers, environmental change, climate change, sediments, mountains

Department of Physical Geography & Ecosystem Science

• Anders Ahlström – global cycles of C and water, interplay with climate and society, climate sensitivity, soil carbon dynamics, vegetation dynamics
• Anders Lindroth – greenhouse gas exchange, land-atmosphere, permafrost, eddy covariance flux measurements
• Anna Maria Jönsson v climate change adaptation, forestry and agriculture, phenology, ecosystem modeling, trees and insects
• Anneli Poska – pollen, palaeoecology, radiation dating, climate reconstruction, biostratigraphy
• Benjamin Smith – ecosystem models, terrestrial ecosystem functioning, interactions with climate, population and community processes, climate research
• Cecilia Akselsson – forest ecosystems, biogeochemical cycles, synergies and conflicts, ecosystem services, sustainable forestry
• Dan Metcalfe – climate change, biogeochemical cycles, plant-animal interactions, global research networks, fire
• Fredrik Lagergren – forest management, climate change, modeling, storms, CO2 fluxes
• Giuliana Zanchi - forest, ecosystem modelling, forest management, climate change, interdisciplinary research
• Janne Rinne – emissions of volatile organic carbons, methane emissions, exchange of gases between ecosystems and atmosphere, ICOS
• Jonas Ardö – carbon cycle, earth observation, Africa, remote sensing, flux and eddy covariance measurements
• Jonathan Seaquist – network analysis, ecosystem production, net primary production, vegetation, interaction of climate and people on vegetation
• Karin Hall – ecological remote sensing, farmland, grassland, landscape history, plant species richness
• Lars Eklundh – remote sensing, time series analysis, land resources, vegetation, ecosystem functioning, monitoring, phenology
• Lena Ström – CH4 flux, greenhouse gas balance, vegetation structure, Arctic, wetland
• Maj-Lena Linderson – biogeophysics, plant-atmosphere exchange processes, micrometeorology, climatology, ICOS
• Margareta Johansson – permafrost and vegetation interaction, Arctic, active layer, permafrost temperature
• Marko Scholze – data assimilation, global carbon cycle, inverse modelling, climate research, meteorology and atmospheric science
• Martin Berggren – biogeochemical cycles, aquatic systems, dissolved organic carbon, water resources, oceanography
• Martin Sykes – plant diversity, plant communities, landscape history, semi-natural grasslands, species richness
• Paul Miller – earth system modelling (incl c and N cycles), LPJ-GUESS (incl LULCC and permafrost), C-N-P interactions incl wetlands, climate change, vegetation dynamic
• Petter Pilesjö – GIS, spatial models, hydrological modelling, topographical modelling, coastal planning
• Stefan Olin – land use, LPJ-GUESS, land-management, soil-organic matter (SOM)
• Thomas Holst – BVOC, biogeochemical climate feedbacks, aerosols, simulation, climate change
• Thomas Pugh - forest ecology, land management, carbon cycle, environmental change
• Torben Christensen – arctic, carbon cycle, climate change, methane emissions, permafrost
• Torbern Tagesson – primary production, dryland degradation, Sahel, vegetation changes, environmental variability
• Vaughan Phillips - clouds, precipitation, bio-aerosols, ice crystals, pseudomonas syringae
• Veiko Lehsten – ecosystem modelling, migration modelling, paleo fire analyses, late blight modelling, climate research
• Wenxin Zhang - earth system modelling, vegetation-climate feedback, belowground greenhouse gas transport, ecological remote sensing, plant root modelling
• Zheng Duan – satellite remote sensing, eco-hydrological modelling, land cover change, earth observations

Department of Political Science

• Fariborz Zelli – global environmental governance, international institutions, political theory and philosophy, institutional fragmentation, global trade
• Jakob Skovgaard – international environmental politics, EU climate policy, climate governance, mitigation policy instruments, climate finance
• Johannes Stripple – urban politics of decarbonisation, forests, climate governance, carbon policy and market, imagination
• Nils Droste – quantitative methods, biodiversity, public finance, land use/ land use change, casual inference on policy effects
• Åsa Knaggård – science-politics relations, environmental policy, public policy, managing scientific uncertainty, cooperation over sectoral and disciplinary boundaries

Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies

• Kimberly Nicholas – sustainable land use, farming systems, sustainable development goals trade offs, food security, climate adaptation

University of Gothenburg

All names in the list below link to their respective pages on the website of University of Gothenburg. 

Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences

• Alexandre Antonelli – evolutionary biology, biodiversity, biogeography, climate change
• Anne Bjorkman – Arctic, alpine tundra ecosystems, biome-wide patterns, plant function and phenological traits
• Annemieke Gärdenäs – biogeophysics, Biogeochemistry, Process-oriented dynamic modelling, Forestry, Agriculture
• Christine Bacon – evolutionary biology, biological systematics, phylogenetics, biogeography, biodiversity
• Daniel Slunge – ticks, stakeholder interaction, hazardous chemicals, public health, pesticides
• Göran Wallin – agricultural sciences, plant ecology, soil science, photosynthetic capacity, resource use efficency
• Håkan Pleijel – interaction between vegetation and atmosphere, ground level-ozone, CO₂ effects on crops, traffic air pollutants, urban greenery
• Johan Uddling Fredin – interactions plant-environment, ecophysiology, climate change, CO₂ effects on crops, trees and urban air quality
• Lasse Tarvainen - plant ecophysiology, thermal acclimation, drought stress, nutrients, resource use efficiency
• Sören Faurby – evolutionary biology, species richness, species diversity, phylogenetics, museum specimens
• Ulf Molau – terrestrial ecology, tundra, experimental warming, temperature sensitivity, subarctic
• Åslög Dahl – allergology, airborne pollen, pollen prognosis, biological weather, climate change effects on pollen

Department of Earth Sciences

• Hans Linderholm – climate variability, effect of climate change on terrestrial and marine ecosystems, role of large-scale circulation in oceans and atmosphere on climate, tree rings, reconstructing past climate changes
• Heather Reese – remote sensing, alpine vegetation, mapping of land cover types, spectral data, spatial modelling
• Leif Klemedtsson – forest, peat, rewetting, greenhouse gas exchange, organic matter cycling
• Louise C. Andresen – plant growth, nutrient limitation, N and P availability, climate change, terrestrial ecosystems
• Robert Björk – plant community dynamics, greenhouse gas fluxes, plant- soil interactions in rizosphere, tundra, responses to climate change
• Mats Björkman – biosphere-atmosphere interactions, cryosphere-atmosphere interactions, changes in soil and microbial composition, changes in carbon and nutrient cycles, permafrost
• Peng Zhang - interaction between vegetation growth and climate extreme at regional and global level, climate change feedback, hydroclimate and land-atmosphere coupling, atmospheric circulation, paleoclimate
• Tobias Rütting – biogeochemistry, dynamics of N cycle, stable isotope techniques, global change effects on N dynamics, nitrous oxide
• Åsa Kasimir – climate research, forest, peatland, rewetting, IPCC, greenhouse gas exchange
• Deliang Chen – impact of climate change, earth system science, climate dynamics and modeling, atmospheric circulation, synoptic climatology

Department of Economics

• Fredrik Carlsson – environmental valuation, environmental regulation, environmental economics, social preferences and norms, cooperation and resource conservation
• Gunnar Köhlin – environmental economics, non-market valuation techniques, domestic energy demand, sustainable resource management, soil conservation
• Håkan Eggert – natural resource management, marine issues, behavioural and experimental economics, resource economics
• Jessica Coria – design of environmental policies, modeling of environmental regulation, choice of policy instruments to comply with environmental regulations, developing countries, applied microeconomics
• Marion Dupoux – environmental economics, experimental economics, microeconomics, willingness-to-pay, policy instruments
• Olof Johansson Stenman – behavioural economics, environmental economics, public economics, welfare economics
• Peter Martinsson – behavioural economics, environmental economics, experimental economics, development economics, health economics
• Thomas Sterner – economic policy instruments, local and as global environmental problems, climate policy, resource management in developing countries, economics of energy use and climate change

Department of Marine Sciences

• Lars Gamfeldt – biodiversity, ecosystem multifunctionality, habitat diversity, experimental warming, marine