Piia Tomingas from the Tundra Ecology Lab recently received a research grant of ISK 1.000.000 from the Science- and research fund of Sudurland (Vísinda- og rannsóknarsjóður Suðurlands). President Halla Tómasdóttir was there to present the award and her co-supervisor Dr. Susanne Claudia Möckel was with her at the event.
Piia’s project summary can be found here:
Drained wetlands in Iceland are now being actively restored to overturn the loss of biodiversity and immense greenhouse gas emissions that drainage has caused. At the same time, Icelandic wetlands are uniquely minerotrophic since they receive a constant load of windblown mineral dust. To better understand the dust deposition effect on wetland biota and its implications for wetland restoration, I am conducting a doctoral research project. I aim to find out how the combined effect of dust deposition and land-use changes can shape invertebrate communities. I also aim to improve the methodology for effective wetland restoration monitoring by using environmental DNA. My findings will help us predict the future consequences of growing atmospheric dust in the Arctics and support biodiversity-oriented wetland restoration actions in Iceland.
Congratulations Piia and her supervisors for the received funding and we look forward hearing about the results from this project!