Often when we characterize plant growth and development, we focus on the above-ground, but less-so on the below-ground. Join us in exploring the blow-ground world!
Project description
Here in the DURIN project we focus on the important heathland ecosystems of Norway, and we take a dive below to better understand the habitat preferences of these dwarf shrub species, including nutrient usage and soil conditions. We have several possible projects, including:
- Does the habitat type and climate have an effect on the below ground carbon stocks of dwarf shrubs (Loss on ignition) and/or does the standing root biomass (amount in the soil) differ?
- What soil types dwarf-shrub communities like to grow in across open and forested heathland systems in Norway (e.g. sand/silt/clay or Carbon and Nitrogen content)?
Tasks
We have a couple of projects related to these topics. The various projects can involve:
- Sorting roots from the soil and weighing root biomass before measuring loss on ignition
- Opportunities for further assessing root traits with a scanner and image analysis.
- Calculating silt, sand and clay concentrations
The samples will be collected in early September, so there’s a small chance of fieldwork participation around Lygra and Sogndal. Otherwise, as the material will have 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 – 15 May 2026
The project involves: labwork
Experience
We just require enthusiastic and interested students, who are willing to learn about carbon investment and/or environmental conditions. Understanding how to manage and analyze data in R is an advantage, but not necessary.
You will gain more lab experience!
Involvement: 40 hours
Interested by this project? Need more info? Contact Kristine Birkeli (Kristine.Birkeli@uib.no)
Project number: 052