Rate My Professor Göran Wallin

Göran Wallin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Gothenburg. As a plant ecophysiologist, his research centers on the functioning of boreal and tropical forest ecosystems through field manipulative experiments examining the effects of global change and air pollutants. Key areas include carbon, water, and nutrient dynamics in northern Scandinavian boreal forests and African tropical montane forests, particularly in Rwanda. Since 2003, he has contributed to capacity building in Rwanda, partnering with the University of Rwanda, Rwanda Forestry Authority, and international organizations to establish tropical forest research initiatives. Wallin serves as Principal Investigator for the Rwanda TREE project, funded by the Swedish Research Council and Formas, which investigates climate impacts on tropical montane forest trees. He manages permanent monitoring plots in Nyungwe National Park and weather stations across Rwanda and Europe. Additionally, he collaborates with the Forestry Research Institute of Sweden on warming effects on Norway spruce along a latitudinal gradient from Sweden to France and leads efforts in the BECC platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Changing Climate, jointly with Lund University.

Wallin teaches undergraduate and advanced courses in environmental science, such as Environmental Sciences (ES1201), Natural Resources Management (ES1300), Pollutants Effects and Dispersal on Biological Systems (ES1305), and Environmental Impact Assessment (ES2419). He founded and directed undergraduate environmental education programs and international exchange initiatives for bachelor, master, and PhD students at the University of Gothenburg. His influential publications include 'The likely impact of elevated [CO2], nitrogen deposition, increased temperature and management on carbon sequestration in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems: a literature review' (New Phytologist, 2007), 'Optimal stomatal behaviour around the world' (Nature Climate Change, 2015), 'Acclimation and adaptation components of the temperature dependence of plant photosynthesis at the global scale' (New Phytologist, 2019), and 'High aboveground carbon stock of African tropical montane forests' (Nature, 2021). He holds an honorary professorship at the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science, University of Rwanda.