Summer School for Climate-Environmental Research on the Siberian peatlands

Main Objective and Thematic Focus

Aim: To enhance collaboration and methodological alignment in studying the peat–soil–vegetation carbon cycle through integrated field, lab, and data analysis approaches.

Thematic Focus:

1. Peatland Landscape Structure: Participants will learn visual description techniques, vegetation mapping basics using GIS, and explore methods for assessing peatland spatial structure and heterogeneity (including machine learning techniques).
2. Peat Stratigraphy and Carbon Pool Assessment: Hands-on training in peatland structure investigation, peat core extraction, and basic physical-chemical property measurements to calculate carbon accumulation rates and stocks.
3. Hydrological Function and Hydrochemistry: Field sampling of surface and bog waters, combined with data analysis from the automated data-loggers (EXO-2 and AquaTroll) and monitoring wells to understand peatland hydrology.
4. Peat as a Habitat: An introduction to using bio-indicators (testate amoebae, plant macrofossils) to reconstruct past environmental conditions and understand the peatland as a living ecosystem.
5. Ecosystem Functions and Services: A practical overview of methods for assessing peatland ecosystem services, including an introduction to modeling tools for regulating functions such as carbon storage and water regulation.
6. Meteorological Data and Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: A practical session on processing and visualizing time series: plotting air/soil temperature dynamics, precipitation patterns, solar radiation, air pressure and wind direction and velocity. Participants will also work with greenhouse gas flux data, focusing on calculation routines and graphical interpretation of seasonal trends.

Tutors