Liz (B.S., Environmental Sciences, Univ. Vermont, 2013) worked in a dry tundra ecosystem in SW Greenland on a NSF Funded root phenology project.

Liz making minirhizotron measurements by a willow

Liz making minirhizotron measurements by a willow

In the summer of 2014, Liz worked on a project in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland examining the influence of warming temperatures on the timing of root growth. She used a minirhizotron camera to track root growth in plots that were either artificially warmed or unwarmed. These images will be used to determine whether warming causes roots to grow earlier or later in the year. She also used a Unispec-DC Spectral Analysis System to track NDVI and a LI-COR LI-8100 to monitor seasonal soil gas flux. These data will allow us to determine whether warming advances belowground phenology in the same way that it advances aboveground phenology.