by Yajie Zhu, PhD researcher at the University of St Andrews and POLARIN Ambassador for the USNA-PL project.

In summer 2025, researchers from the University of St Andrews travelled to Kilpisjärvi in northern Finland as part of the USNA-PL project, supported by POLARIN’s Transnational Access programme. Working from the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station and across the slopes of Mount Saana, the team explored how fine-scale differences in soil nutrients and microtopography shape tundra vegetation.

Through detailed field surveys, in situ sensors, and drone mapping, the researchers captured patterns that are often invisible to satellites but crucial for understanding how tundra ecosystems respond to climate change. The work highlights the importance of ground-based observations in highly fragmented Arctic landscapes and provides essential data for improving land-surface models.

Read more in A hidden process shaping the tundra’s future, the Ambassador blog by Yajie Zhu, PhD researcher at the University of St Andrews and POLARIN Ambassador for the USNA-PL project.

USNA-PL  was one of the projects successfully selected through POLARIN’s first call.