Autumn phenology of plants on Svalbard

This study will determine whether the timing of autumn senescence is related to the timing of spring snowmelt in natural and experimental snowmelt gradients. Autumn phenology will be assessed as amount of leaf colouration as well as pigment concentrations and nitrogen index. I aim to evaluate the species-specific responses and degree of plasticity in natural and manipulated environments. This will improve our understanding of autumn phenology in general and the importance of season length and snowmelt timing in the Arctic specifically.