My research focuses on the impacts of environmental change and forestry practices on boreal forest ecosystems. I have extensive experience studying how factors such as elevated temperature, drought, increased CO₂, ultraviolet and ionizing radiation, light intensity, and nitrogen availability influence tree growth and phenology, plant chemical defenses, litter decomposition, soil microbial communities, plant-animal interactions, and ecosystem carbon fluxes and storage.
I currently lead the PREDICT project, a forest monitoring initiative where we investigate tree growth and water balance across climatic gradients in Norway using dendrometers and remote sensing. In the EcoForest project, we examine the long-term effects of clear-cutting on biodiversity, carbon storage, and ecosystem processes in a unique field experiment in southeastern Norway. Additionally, I have conducted research on the chemical ecology of various higher plants and lichens from both forest and arctic-alpine ecosystems.
I received my PhD from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) in 2003, focusing on UV screening in arctic-alpine higher plants and lichens. After my doctorate, I was awarded a personal postdoctoral fellowship from the Norwegian Research Council (NRC) to study lichen compounds, spending most of this period at NMBU and six months at the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) in Joensuu. I later worked as a university researcher at UEF for three years, investigating the effects of climate change on dioecious tree species. Since 2011, I have been employed at NMBU—first as an associate professor and, since 2015, as a professor of forest ecology.
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