Postdoctoral Research Associate University of Louisville Portland, Oregon, United States
Due to their ability to withstand harsh conditions, bryophytes contribute a larger portion of the overall primary productivity in Arctic tundra compared with more temperate systems. Additionally, they provide habitat refugia for microorganisms, harbor nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, provide soil insulation, and generate recalcitrant litter. These features act as a carbon sink, source of nitrogen, and regulator of soil nutrient dynamics. As climate change contributes to permafrost melt, ice retreat, and fewer snow-cover days, the greening of the Arctic is causing alterations in plant community composition. These changes are fundamentally altering the functional contributions that bryophytes provide in the Arctic tundra.
