We feature an article this month on a research expedition to Svalbard, an archipelago between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea and Norwegian Sea. The first Czech expedition by the University of South Bohemia and of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic established a research station in the vicinity of Petuniabukta, in the northern part of Billefjorden, Isfjorden, in central Svalbard, which is the northernmost part of Norway. The Interdisciplinary project, Biological and climate diversity of the central part of the Svalbard Arctic Archipelago is a member of the Network for ARCtic Climate and Biological DIVersity Studies (ARCDIV). and Josef Elster, Jitka Klimešová, Oleg Ditrich.
Czech botanists have studied the vegetation of Northern Biljefjorden (Central Spitsbergen) since 2007. Their activities include vegetation mapping of the whole area (repeated also after 70 years), assessment of vegetation development in deglaciated areas and analysis of clonal growth forms. and Jitka Klimešová, Karel Prach.