Code
01N03118
Duration
01 January 2018 → 31 December 2021
Funding
Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund
Promotor
Research disciplines
-
Natural sciences
- Other chemical sciences
- Geochemistry
- General biology
- Plant biology
- Other biological sciences
Keywords
Biological soil crusts
microbial diversity
16S rRNA
18S rRNA
marker pigments
soil properties
functional genes
nitrogen cycle
phosphorous cycle
ecosystem functions
Arctic
Svalbard
Project description
This proposal studies the role of environmental factors on the microbial diversity of High-Arctic Biological Soil Crusts (BSCs) and their role in nitrogen and phosphorous cycling in regions in Svalbard differing in their lithology, weathering, and mineralogy. It will enable to better predict the development and activity of BSCs in High-Arctic deserts as indicators of the greening of the Arctic.