Introduction
Silvaboreal is a metadata database containing most of the forestry field trials in Sweden. The
database is owned by The Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences and maintained by the Unit
for Field-based forest research.
Currently, more than 3600 trials are registered in Silvaboreal, from 15 different
organisations.
Purpose
Cooperation
The purpose of the system is to increase availability of the information that exists from a broad range of
research probjects within forestry in Sweden, as well as to increase cooperation between researchers.
Silvaboreal is also an excellent resource for planning excursions.
Securing valuable trials
Silvaboreal is a powerful tool to ensure the survival of important field trials. By using information about
the trials geographical location, we can decrease the risk of accidental manipulation (such as clear-
cutting).
We are cooperating with The Swedish Forest Agency (Skogsstyrelsen) so that each time they get a report for
planned felling, the reported area is compared with our registered trials so that we get advance warning in case
there are overlaps.
Keeping a record
Silvaboreal is an easy to use tool for researchers to ensure that documentation on their trials is kept up to
date. A registered trial is, for example, less vulnerable to changes to the organisation or changes in
staffing.
Feature overview
Searching
Anyone can use Silvaboreal to search for forestry trials. Each trial is classified to make finding something
especially interesting easier. The system offers two modes of searching, one based on keywords and one based on
geographical location.
Distribution
Researchers can publish data from their trials directly on Silvaboreal, to either be available to the public
or only to authenticated users.
WMS-service
All of the geographical data in the database is provided as a WMS-service that you can use directly in your
GIS applications. Companies use it when planning felling operations so that they can minimise damage to
trials