Polar glaciers are retreating, sea level is rising and habitats of arctic species are shifting poleward due to climate change. Antarctica will provide the last suitable habitat in changing climate for terrestrial species adapted to cold. Here we focus on the role of microbes and photoperiodic responses in adaptive radiation of plants in the Polar Regions. In a series of field samplings, spatial-phylogenomic approaches and transplantation and climate manipulation experiments, we will examine microbiomes and their genetic adaptability in the Arctic and Antarctica, and plants ability to expand their ranges into the Arctic. Experimental studies in Finland provide unique opportunities to the research, because comparable climate zones are present at higher latitudes with higher seasonal variation in day length compared to other Polar Regions.

2021

2025