Filling the high-Arctic gap in Europe-wide plant re-distributions during the Anthropocene
Universität Basel
Lay summary
Arctic and high-alpine ecosystems remained comparatively natural so far but are currently disproportionally affected by accelerating climate warming. Terrestrial plant species are therefore shifting their ranges to higher latitudes and elevations to keep pace with the conditions they are adapted to. It remains, however, unknown whether the velocity of these species-specific range shifts is increasing accordingly or whether they are increasingly lagging behind climatic trends. In this project, funded by the Swiss Polar Institute, we will integrate the high Arctic into a Europe-wide endeavour to address this knowledge gap together with colleagues from the University of Bergen, the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research, and the University Centre in Svalbard. In 2023, we will charter a sailing boat to re-survey vegetation plots and transects on the high-Arctic archipelago of Svalbard that were first recorded during the years 1924-1960 and re-surveyed in 2009.
Details
| Regional focus | Arctic |
| Location | Isfjorden, Svalbard |
| Funded amount | 40,000 CHF |
| Project dates | 1st April 2023 – 31st December 2023 |
| Category | SPI Exploratory Grants |