The role of vegetation composition in regulation of soil temperature

This fieldwork will compare the insulation capabilities of moss-dominated communities with vascular-plant dominated communities in Svalbard. It is expected that soil temperatures under moss will be lower, due to better insulation efficiency. Lower temperatures promote thicker permafrost. The active layer beneath vascular plant dominated communities is expected to be considerably deeper than under moss, due to higher soil temperatures and lower insulation capacities. The Arctic is an important habitat for various species of mosses and lichens. Accelerated climate change leads to vegetation shifts. Mosses and lichens are expect to decline and retreat from denser and taller vegetation. This fieldwork investigates, how great the differences of insultation efficiency between moss-dominated and vascular-plant dominated communities really are.