With the encroachment of the arctic, we are seeing a drastic change in once stable carbon systems, moving into a positive feedback loop causing worsening of our climate. Come join us in our journey to understand this cycle!
Project description
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 whole plant standing biomass, as well as leaf longevity, and relative investment into stems and leaves on harvested dwarf-shrubs from across Norwegian heathlands and relate this to climate conditions such as temperature and precipitation.
We have a couple of projects on these topics, so join us to learn how do carbon allocation patterns differ:
- Between dwarf-shrubs which were harvested from forested and open habitats across Norway and/or
- Within dwarf-shrub species each year because of changing climate conditions
Tasks
We have a couple of projects related to these topics. The various projects will involve processing whole above ground plant material sampled from different dwarf shrub species collected across forest and open heathlands in southern and northern Norway as part of the DURIN project. In the lab, for some projects this will involve separating leaf and stem biomass to learn about relative investments into photosynthetic vs structural carbon, and for all projects weighing plant biomass. As the material has already been collected, there can be some flexibility around when the lab work can be done during the semester.
Starting date/period: 23 Oct 2025 – 18 Dec 2025
The project involves: labwork
Experience
We just require enthusiastic and interested students, who are willing to learn about carbon investment. Understanding how to manage and analyze data in R is an advantage, but not necessary.
Involvement: 40 hours
Interested by this project? Need more info? Contact Kristine Birkeli (Kristine.Birkeli@uib.no)
Project number: 051