INITIAL – Going BIG: a spatial grid as basis for the Bjørndalen field laboratory
In this project, we have started a long-term monitoring grid on plant communities in the High Arctic.
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Vegetation recording in the Bjørndalen field laboratory (BIG) of Arctic Biology. A spatial grid recording plant communities every 20m was established in summer 2022 (INITIAL). Photo: Simone I. Lang.
In 2019, the department of Arctic Biology at UNIS established “Bjørndalen Integrated Gradients” (BIG). Within BIG we observe an ecosystem over time. These so called time series provide information on how an ecosystem might develop in the future. In the new project INITIAL, we aim to establish a basis for the terrestrial part of the ecosystem.
In this project, we have started a long-term monitoring grid on plant communities in the High Arctic.
The project was set up in Bjørndalen. A 100m x 140m spatial grid was established. Initial vegetation recording has been carried out in 2022, and the topography was measured using a drone. Future measurements include snow depth measurements during winter.
The project started in 2022 and is expected to continue in the future.
