[Folda] Next Flóki&Folda lunch lecture on TUESDAY 6th Nov. - PhD-student Martin Mörsdorf presents his research

[Sigurjón Valgeir Hafsteinsson]

This winter the association FLÓKI (graduate students in Life and Environmental science) and FOLDA (graduate students in Earth science) are going to have lunch lectures where our members will present their research and occasionally we will invite guest lecturers to present interesting topics.

Next lecture this semester will be on Tuesday 6th November in Askja, room N-129 kl.11:40-12:20 where Martin Mörsdorf, PhD student in biology, will present:

How does disturbance by sheep grazing affect plant diversity in subarctic Iceland? – An approach on different spatial scales

Abstract: A major challenge we currently face is the conservation of species diversity. Disturbances like e.g. sheep grazing and habitat fertility have been identified as two potential factors that shape species diversity, but they may operate on different spatial scales.  Up to now the effects of sheep grazing on Icelandic plant community diversity have not been addressed with respect to different spatial scales or levels of fertility.
We therefore conducted a large-scale vegetation survey in Iceland where we compared patterns of plant species diversity within grazed and un-grazed glacial valleys. To detect grazing effects on different spatial scales, we stratified sampling to different entities of topography within the valleys. We sampled plant community data and achieved information about habitat fertility by taking soil samples and measuring Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI).
Preliminary results indicated that sheep grazing increased average species diversity (alpha) over all scales within valleys. We also have indication that sheep grazing reduced community differentiation on certain spatial scales, but we can only confirm these results if we account for effects of different habitat fertility.

Upcoming FOLDA & FLÓKI lectures this semester:
8th November: Tom Claybourn - Independent Mapping Report: Petrich, Bulgaria, 2010.
Guest lecture: Steinunn Jakobsdóttir
Jónas Vilhelmsson – Coastal Vulnerability index of Viðey
Einar Hjörleifsson – Landscape fragmentation in Iceland – methods in GIS

We encourage you all to come and join us on our lectures this semester.

Best wishes,
The board of Flóki & Folda