Start of the project.

 

The project started in February 2023. A first expedition within the ExPoSoils project was already organized in June-July 2023 to the northernmost (scientific) community, in Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard, 79° N). Three members set out to resample plots established in 2017 along moisture gradients in this High-Arctic tundra system. In 2017, snowfences were installed in the framework of the Biodiversa CLIMARCTIC project (PI Prof. Elie Verleyen) and baseline data was collected. These snowfences are used to artificially increase the onset, duration and depth of the snow cover, since one of the predicted effects of climate Change in Polar environments is increased snowfall. Using snowfences, we can anticipate the impact this increase has on the microbial communities through changes in light and moisture availability and the protection from extreme temperatures. Time-lapse cameras were installed to track the snow cover, and a vegetation survey was performed to monitor the effect on vegetation as well.

In addition, the team contributed to the REMUS project (PI Dr. Kevin Newsham, British Antarctic Survey). Dr. Newsham has installed Open Top Chambers, which function as small greenhouses, increasing the soil and air temperature within with 1-3 °C. Long-term effects on vegetation are already noticeable, and in summer 2024, an ExPoSoils team will sample these plots to investigate the effect of long-term warming on the diversity and functioning of microbial communities.

These data will be compared to those of similar experiments in continental Antarctica, and eventually the Antarctic Peninsula.

 

Snowfence with time-lapse cameras installed

Open Top Chambers

Bjorn Tytgat