I am an interdisciplinary researcher who believes that sustainable natural resource governance requires a social-ecological systems perspective and insights from multiple disciplines. My research is characterized by a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods that aim to analyse the interlinkages between individuals, society and nature.

Creating knowledge that has societal impact and addressing real world-problems are the overarching goals of my work. I actively engage with stakeholders and decision-makers as part of my research and societal outreach efforts. I have a keen interest and experience in developing and teaching interdisciplinary courses on human-nature relationships at under- and post-graduate levels, aiming to provide students with the skills needed to contribute to sustainable development.

BIOGRAPHY

2022 -              Assistant Professor, Forest and Nature Conservation Policy (FNP) Chair group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

2021 -              Affiliated researcher, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Umeå, Sweden

2021                Postdoctoral researcher, Department of Political Science, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden

2020 - 2021      Researcher, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, SLU, Umeå, Sweden

2015 - 2020      Ph.D. Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden. Thesis: Social-ecological performance of collaborative wildlife governance - The case of Swedish moose management, supervised by Prof. Göran Ericsson, Prof. Camilla Sandström, and Prof. Maria Johansson

2013 - 2015      Research and teaching assistant, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, SLU, Umeå, Sweden

2011 - 2013      M.Sc. (Distinction) Wildlife Ecology and Wildlife Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.

2007 - 2010      B.Sc. International Forest Ecosystem Management, University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde, Germany.

MULTIPLE CHOICE of goals in forestry - voluntary transition of Swedish forest ecosystems to increase multifunctionality & sustainability

Forest ecosystems offer a variety of ecosystem services (ESS), and studies show that values to society from heterogeneous stands are higher than from pure stands. Nevertheless, even aged homogenous stands usually is the goal in Scandinavian forestry, potentially as forest owners perceive alternative methods as risky and costly while mainly contributing public goods. There is a lack of knowledge of the variation in goals for forest owners and of factors influencing the willingness to implement alternative silvicultural practices, including perceived costs, benefits, and risks. In this project, we will investigate which factors steer the prospective behaviours of private forest owners, to understand what limits and determines their goals and choice of practices. We also investigate the role of professional advisers as influential change agents, and enhance the major decision support system used in forestry in Sweden for modelling a full range of ESS bundles. We will simulate the expected delivery of ESS to forest owners and to society across the wide range of strategies and practices adopted and contrast four main scenarios: conventional even-aged forestry, continuous cover forestry, increased rotation periods and
regeneration of mixed stands. Our results will support a transition towards more resilient forest ecosystems and Sweden’s environmental goals, through enabling forest owners to make knowledge-based decisions for attaining diverse individual goals in forestry.

PROJECT TEAM:

• Associate Prof. Fredrik Widemo (PI), Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU
• Assistant Prof. Sabrina Dressel, Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University & Research
• Prof. Francisco X. Aguilar, Department of Forest Economics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU
• Associate Prof. Anne-Maarit Hekkala, Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU
• Dr. Lars Sängstuvall, Department of Forest Resource Management, Division of Forest Planning, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU

PROJECT TIME: 

2022-12-01 -- 2026-11-30

Please feel free to send an email to sabrina.dressel@wur.nl if you are interested in thesis opportunities or collaborations related to the project.

MultiForSe - Multi-use forestry, private forest ownerships, and social learning networks. Approaching family forest owners as grassroots agents for alternative forest management.

Alternative forest stewardship methods have the potential to diversify primary production and provide a wider variety of income opportunities in rural regions while also improving a wide range of environmental aspects. Individuals and families own slightly more than half of Sweden’s productive forests, which makes them a key driver of decision making for implementing alternative management. Although forest management practices in Sweden are embedded in a large, established industry with a high degree of inertia, a recent movement is picking up momentum in which Swedish family forest owners are venturing into new spaces of forest uses and management methods outside the status quo. Swedish family forest owners are at the center of a renewed interest in multi-use forestry (mångbruk), an umbrella term for a variety of non-commercial forest uses as well as new ways of using and managing forests, ranging from small volume wood products to launching forest-based enterprises in the service sector. This research project investigates how the social learning networks that facilitate processes of small-scale change in forest use already underway can be leveraged to accelerate the adoption of
alternative forest management methods. By focusing on Swedish family forest owners as grass roots agents catalyzing management transitions, we assess the effects and benefits of alternative forest stewardship practices and the impacts they have on sustaining rural livelihoods at localized scales.

PROJECT TEAM:

• Assistant Prof. Brian Danley (PI), Department of Earth Sciences, Division of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Uppsala University, Sweden
• Associate Prof. Therese Bjärstig, Department of Political Science, Umeå University, Sweden
• Assistant Prof. Sabrina Dressel, Forest and Nature Conservation Policy Group, Wageningen University & Research
• Asssociate Prof. Nils Droste, Department of Political Science, Lund University, Sweden
• Dr. Jayne Glass, Department of Earth Sciences, Division of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, Uppsala University, Sweden

PROJECT TIME:

2022-12-01 - 2026-11-30

Please feel free to send an email to sabrina.dressel@wur.nl if you are interested in thesis opportunities or collaborations related to the project.