The project focuses on the expansion of woody species into historically herb-dominated alpine tundra of the Niwot Ridge LTER site, Colorado, USA over the last 80 years. Remote sensing data enable to explore the spatio-temporal patterns, mechanisms, constraints and implications of the increased shrub cover. To analyze drivers of change, detected dynamics will be related to both abiotic factors (derived from topography/geomorphology, geology, soil, climate and snow cover) and biotic conditions (vulnerability of tundra vegetation to the shrub encroachment). Remote sensing approach will enable to link patterns at both local and landscape scale. Project runs in collaboration with Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA.
Project (2017-18) is funded by Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program
Principal investigator: Jana Müllerová
Collaborator: K. Suding, Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA