Staff
Berglind Karlsdóttir
BSc, MSc
BSc, MSc
Berglind conducts research on knowledge, values, attitudes and behaviours of people who engage with and manage treescapes. She specifically examines management practices responding to tree pests and diseases – projects which feed directly into policy and support schemes as they’re being developed. Berglind is specifically interested in: – How information is disseminated to different audiences and translated into action. Specifically in relation to tree health and management of pests and diseases. – The ways in which interactions with nature or changes in local natural environments affect people’s values. – The dynamic interactions and relationships between nature and people and the importance of investigating changes over time. – The potential of qualitative longitudinal research for contributing to our scientific understanding of people’s relationships with nature.
Berglind joined the Social and Economics Research Group in early 2019. She has a background in conservation and has worked on projects across the tropics. In 2017, Berglind completed her master’s thesis on human barriers and enablers to amphibian captive breeding programmes in the tropics. This work led to a position with Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. Since then, Berglind has applied her experiences from conservation to problem-solving challenges to treescapes and the wider environment at Forest Research. Berglind is also currently undertaking a PhD on the ‘Impacts of Tree Planting on Human Values and Wellbeing’ at the Countryside and Community Research Institute.
Forestry Commission office
620 Coldharbour Lane
Bristol
BS16 1EJ
Research investigating barriers and solutions for translating forest and land manager knowledge into action to prevent and mitigate tree pest and disease impacts and build resilience into our treescapes.
Policymakers across Great Britain want to know how to encourage more people to get involved in volunteering activities such as tree planting, citizen science and community woodland management. This review has investigated the motivations and barriers that are relevant to different groups of people when seeking to engage in volunteering activities connected to trees, woods […]
This report reviews and summarises some of the key evidence from around the world on values associated with ash trees, and the management decisions about both ash dieback and emerald ash borer. The evidence on values focuses on historical, social and cultural values while the parts on management decisions looks at actual decisions taken as […]
Bridging the knowledge to action gap for tree health
Role: Co-lead managing an interdisciplinary team, investigating and implementing solutions to knowledge-action gaps for tree health
The social dimensions of oak processionary moth (OPM) management
Role: Investigating local authorities’ planning and strategic responses to OPM
Understanding land managers’ behaviours for tree health policy options
Role: Data collection, analysis and reporting. Particularly involved in investigating how tree health knowledge transforms into action
Active Forests Programme Evaluation
Role: Evaluation of the Forestry England Shaun the Sheep family activity trail. This also led to an evaluation of the Gruffalo Spotters trail
SMARTIES – Surveillance and management of multiple risks to treescapes
Role: Stakeholder mapping, questionnaire and interviews with stakeholders managing ash trees
Assessment of large-scale plant biosecurity risks to Scotland
Role: Project conducting tracing exercises on large scale plantings for landscaping and infrastructure projects.
Reports
Karlsdóttir, B. Ambrose-Oji, B., Colley, E., Marks, E., Hards, J., Teverson, D., Lobley, M., Wheeler, R., & Jones, N. (2023). Overcoming the Knowledge to Action Gap (March 2021-September 2023). Final Report to Future Proofing Plant Health.
Karlsdóttir, B. Ambrose-Oji, B., Colley, E., Marks, E., Hards, J., Teverson, D., Lobley, M., Wheeler, R., & Jones, N. (2023). Overcoming the Knowledge to Action Gap: Year 2 Interim Report to Future Proofing Plant Health.
Karlsdóttir, B. (2023). Qualitative Longitudinal Methods for Forest Social Science. Opportunities, feasibility, and methods: a review. Forest Research, UK
Karlsdóttir, B., Ambrose-Oji, B., Paterson, A., Spencer, K., Drummond, C., Buttle, M., Lobley, M., Wheeler, R. Winter, M. & jones, N. (2022). Overcoming the Knowledge to Action Gap Interim Report to Future Proofing Plant Health. Report to Future Proofing Plant Health.
Karlsdóttir, B. and Pollard, C. (2022) The Dashboard Approach Programme 3: Using the dashboard approach for research knowledge exchange. Forest Research, UK
Marzano, M., Ambrose-Oji, B., Karlsdóttir, B., Paterson, A., & Pollard, Chris. (2021). An Evaluation of the support measures for management of oak processionary moth (OPM). Farnham, Surrey: Forest Research report to Defra.
Karlsdóttir, B., Pollard, C., Paterson, A., Watkins, H., and Marzano M. (April 2021). Assessment of large-scale plant biosecurity risks to Scotland from large scale plantings for landscaping and infrastructure projects: Project Final Report. PHC2019/05. Scotland’s Centre of Expertise for Plant Health (PHC), Scotland.
Ambrose-Oji, B., Karlsdóttir, B., and Jones, G. (2021) Knowledge to Action: Overcoming the gap between the generation of plant health knowledge into action with hard to reach (HtR) audiences. Forest Research, UK
Burton, V., Karlsdóttir, B., Synes, N., Seo, B., Brown, C., Marzano, M., Ambrose-Oji, B. and Watts, K. (2021) Modelling a socio-ecological system: A proof of concept study. Forest Research, UK
Marzano, M., Ambrose-Oji, B., Karlsdóttir, B., Paterson, A., Pollard, C., Stokes, J. and Rix, H. (2021) An evaluation of the support measures for management of oak processionary moth (OPM). Forest Research, UK
Marzano, M., Ambrose-Oji, B., Karlsdóttir, B., Atkinson, M., Pollard, C., Moseley, D, Stokes, J. and Rix, H. (2020) Understanding landowners approaches and information needs for risk-based approaches to management of oak processionary moth (OPM). Forest Research, UK
Ambrose-Oji, B., O’Brien, L., Hall, C., Karlsdóttir, B., Robinson, J., Jones, G., Amboage, R., Urquhart, J., Leake, B., Hemery, G. and Petrokofsky, G (2020). Understanding behaviours as the basis for policy design to improve the management of (tree health) outbreaks and build resilient treescapes. Forest Research, UK
Karlsdóttir, B., O’Brien, L., and Forster, J. (2020) Shaun the Sheep. Glow Trail and Glow Run Evaluation. Forest Research, UK
Ambrose-Oji, B., O’Brien, L., Hall, C., Karlsdóttir, B., Robinson, J., Jones, G., Amboage, R., Urquhart, J., Black, J., Hemery, G., Petrokofsky, G., Dandy, N and Turner, C (2019). Understanding behaviours as the basis for policy design to improve the management of (tree health) outbreaks and build resilient treescapes. Forest Research, UK
Publications
Ambrose-Oji, B., Urquhart, J., Hemery, G., Petrokofsky, G., O’Brien, L., Jones, G. D., & Karlsdóttir, B. (2024). The opportunities and challenges to co-designing policy options for tree health with policymakers, researchers and land managers. Land Use Policy, 136, 106974.
Ambrose-Oji, B., Goodenough, A., Urquhart, J., Hall, C., & Karlsdóttir, B. (2022). ‘We’re Farmers Not Foresters’: Farmers’ Decision-Making and Behaviours towards Managing Trees for Pests and Diseases. Forests, 13(7), 1030.
Watkins, H., McLinden, A., O’Halloran, S., Karlsdottir, B., Pollard, C., Labib, E., & Marzano, M. (2022). GIbase1.0: A database of green infrastructure plant species in England and Scotland. Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 3(1), e12133.
O’Brien, L., Karlsdóttir, B., Ambrose-Oji, B., Urquhart, J., Edwards, D., Amboage, R., & Jones, G. (2021). How Can Local and Regional Knowledge Networks Contribute to Landscape Level Action for Tree Health? Forests, 12(10), 1394.
Karlsdóttir, B., Barsoum, N., Stokes, V. & Ambrose-Oji, B. (2021). What needs to change for managers to diversify tree species to improve resilience to pests and diseases within the UK’s production forests? Quarterly Journal of Forestry.
Karlsdóttir, B., Knight, A., Johnson, K., & Dawson, J. (2021). Lessons from practitioners for designing and implementing effective amphibian captive breeding programmes. Oryx, 55(3), 382-392. DOI:10.1017/S0030605320000332
Jervis, P., Karlsdottir, B., Jehle, R., Almeida-Reinoso, D., Almeida-Reinoso, F., Ron, S., Fisher, M.C. & Merino-Viteri, A. (2020). Disease reservoirs threaten the recently rediscovered Podocarpus Stubfoot Toad (Atelopus podocarpus). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 14(2).