Röbäcksdalen Field Research Station

Röbäcksdalen Field Research Station (RBD)
Röbäcksdalen Field Research Station is located in Umeå in the coastal region of northern Sweden. It is a part of both a Natura 2000 area and of Vindeln’s biosphere reserve. The station started up nearly 60 years ago and include soils well suited for farming and field research, and a dairy farm with around 120 cows. The research station is located around 2 km from Umeå city center so it is easy to access by train, flight and bus. If you are staying overnight, you can find plenty of hotels and hostels at a distance of 0.5 – 3 km from the station.
The facilities at Röbäcksdalen provide fields for studies in a wide range of subjects, e.g. agricultural sciences, animal science, biology, agroecology, soil science and environmental science. The station offers access to land, technicians, data about soil and climate, workshop, machines and equipment, sample preparation laboratory including balances, drying cabinets and mills, and desk space for office work. Data, and in some cases archived samples (soil and plant tissues), are available from several long term field trials, as well as possibilities to take new samples. On the animal side we have two bee hives (with the nordic bee) and a dairy barn with cows and heifers. The barn is equipped for continuous measurement of feed intake, weight, milk production and greenhouse gas emissions from cows.
Röbäcksdalen is part of SITES monitoring programs SITES Water and SITES Spectral. The station also has its own monitoring data for weather data, soil data in open and grass covered land down to 1 meter and SMURF – the compiled data from the dairy barn’s 300 ha cultivated land.
If you’ like to know more you can contact the station manager.
More info about Röbäcksdalen can be found at the station's webpage.
Station manager
Johanna Wallsten
johanna.wallsten@slu.se

Short facts
Main ecosystems
Agriculture, lakes and streams
Climate
Boreal
Mean annual temperature: 2.8 °C
Operational period
Year-round
Organization
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Latitude and longitude
63.8108 N; 20.2419 E
Elevation
12 m