Seasonal Dynamics of Microbial Communities in Tundra Ecosystems Across a Climatic Gradient

The Arctic winter, which lasts for more than half the year, is not a simple, dormant phase as traditionally perceived. Instead, it involves active microbial processes under the snow cover, driven by soil temperature and moisture dynamics. These processes highlight the ongoing microbial activity and its potential interactions with the environment, challenging the notion of winter as a period of ecological dormancy. Variation in temperature, light, and snowfall  throughout the winter can influence these processes, and therefore it is essential to study how climate-induced changes affect the synchronization, or phenological matches, between plant and microbial activities. Disruptions in this synchrony could lead to

In this study, we focus on bacterial and fungal communities, and their diversity and functional dynamics during winter and summer in heath and meadow vegetation across a climatic gradient ranging from the oceanic climate of western Norway to the continental climate near the Swedish-Finnish border. By integrating microbial community data, based on 16S rRNA gene, ITS amplicon sequencing, and metatranscriptomics (total RNA sequencing), with environmental and plant activity measurements, this study seeks to unravel the interactions between microbes and their environment, and particularly how they adapt to and function during the cold season. This research will provide critical insights into how winter conditions shape microbial community structure and function, ultimately enhancing our ability to predict the impacts of climate change across different Arctic ecosystems.