FunCaB (2015-2019) The role of Functional group interactions in mediating climate change impacts on the Carbon dynamics and Biodiversity of alpine ecosystems

In many regions climate is predicted to become warmer and wetter, which will affect among others species composition, population dynamics and species interactions. FunCaB is a large-scale experiment in the western Norwegian fjord landscape, attempting to understand alpine biodiversity and carbon (C) dynamics under climate change.

Specifically, we will disentangle the roles of and interactions between characteristic and important alpine primary producers (graminoids, forbs, woody and non-vascular plants) and decomposer (bacteria vs. fungi) communities under climate change.

In 2009, 12 experimental grassland sites were established, in a climate grid where three levels of mean summer temperature (7.5, 9.5 and 11.5°C) were combined with four levels of mean annual precipitation (600, 1200, 200, 2700mm) levels. All other conditions, like bedrock type, slope and southward exposure were kept as constant as possible.

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