Author: Isabel Barrio

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Characterizing the functional trait space of boreal and tundra plants

Last week, Beatrice Trascau and James Speed visited Mariana García Criado at the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF) in sunny Barcelona, Spain.

Mariana Garcia Criado is a NordBorN researcher currently holding a MSCA postdoctoral fellowship at CREAF in Barcelona.

Mariana reports back from an intensive week of work:

We spent the week working on a NordBorN project with the aim of characterizing boreal and tundra plant species’ functional trait spaces. The workshop was a success and we are currently finalising the analyses and starting to write the manuscript. The idea for this project came up during the first NordBorN meeting in Iceland in 2023, so we are very excited to share some updates with you soon!

During their visit, Beatrice also presented her PhD work to the Global Ecology Unit at CREAF.

Beatrice Trascau is a NordBorN PhD student at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway.
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Beavers and their ponds are moving north

The spread of the beaver (Castor canadensis) into the Arctic tundra is a textbook example of the process of borealization. A new study by Ken Tape at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and James Speed at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and a member of the NordBorN network, shows how temperature is a crucial factor determining the distribution of beavers and their impact on the whole ecosystem through dam building across the Alaskan tundra.

Temperature drives an increase in suitable habitat for beavers from 15 000 km2 in the early 20th century, to 30 000 km2 at present, while future climatic warming is projected to increase the potential suitable habitat to between 100 000 and 150 000 km2 by 2090.

Such a dramatic increase in distribution of an ecosystem engineering species is likely to have dramatic impacts on the future state of the tundra.     

The paper was recently published in Environmental Research Letters, and has been featured in Science.

Reference: Tape, K. D., & Speed, J. D. (2025). Predicted expansion of beaver pond distribution in Arctic Alaska, 1910–2090. Environmental Research Letters, 20(9), 094009. 10.1088/1748-9326/adeba2

The picture shows a beaver modified habitat in Alaska (photo: Ken Tape, University of Alaska Fairbanks)

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NordBorN postdoc position in Trondheim

Deadline: August 31, 2025

The NTNU University Museum is looking for an energetic and ambitious ecologist with excellent organizational and communication skills. The postdoctoral position is part of the Nordic Borealization Network, a NordForsk funded University Cooperation Network.

The Nordic Borealization Network strives to understand the implications of ongoing shifts in the forest-tundra biome boundary, that is, the borealization of Nordic terrestrial ecosystems. These shifts include the encroachment of woody species (treeline advance and shrub expansion), spread of non-native species, and changes in the biotic community composition and ecosystem structure and processes.

The postdoc will have a leading role in coordinating the network and will lead research and synthesis efforts in quantifying past and ongoing rates of borealization and possibly predicting future rates of borealization.

The successful candidate will build leadership expertise by being part of the management board of a large Nordic cooperation project. The position will provide a unique opportunity to be part of a large, active and multidisciplinary international team, participation in project meetings in different countries over the course of the project and opportunities for research visits with other partners and for student supervision.

This three-year position is based at the NTNU University Museum in Trondheim with Prof. James D. M. Speed and will interact with partners across the network.

You can read more about the position and how to apply here. If you have questions, please contact James Speed.