Background Dwarf-shrubs (Ericaceae) are a dominant plant functional group across the boreal, arctic, and alpine biomes, where they play important roles for biodiversity, ecology and ecosystem functioning. For example, dwarf-shrubs provide important food resources for grazers, pollinators, and people, they are habitat for other plants, insects, rodents, and birds, and through interactions with belowground fungal READ MORE
Tag: DURIN
Research is not done in a flash in the best of times. Fieldwork, data analyzes and writing take time. But this time it took over ten years, two doctorates and one baby to get there. We have just published a new article in the scientific journal Ecography. The article describes how grass and grass-like species, READ MORE
Internship blog: Roos on the start of her internship
Roos Bruins Slot is one of our interns this year. She is part of the Durin project and works with our PhD student Kristine Birkeli to help collect carbon flux measurements in the field. Get to know Roos better! She writes: “I’m a Dutch Biology student and started my internship with Between the Fjords in READ MORE
Soil carbon stocks
Carbon storage is an important ecosystem service, yet we know very little about how much our ecosystems store. Semi-natural systems are especially understudied. First results show that these ecosystems might be some of the most carbon rich! Question: How much soil carbon is stored in western Norwegian semi-natural ecosystems, specifically coastal heathlands and grasslands? For READ MORE
How can we characterize the microclimates of dwarf-shrubs? (Durin)
Leaf temperatures have a major influence on plant growth and development, e.g. photosynthesis rates, and thermal tolerance limits. However, our ability to measure such important characteristics has until recently been limited. Now with thermal imagery we can measure leaf temperatures directly! Learn to analyze thermal images collected on dwarf-shrub canopies across Norway. compare thermal profiles READ MORE
How dwarf-shrubs allocate carbon (Durin)
In the DURIN project, we are investigating how environmental factors and vegetation characteristics impact ecosystem functioning and carbon dynamics in heathland ecosystems. To better understand how dwarf-shrubs are distributing to their above ground carbon resources, we will assess patterns of shoot growth, leaf longevity, and relative investment into stems and leaves on harvested dwarf-shrubs from READ MORE