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Nuolja Nuolja, also known as Njulla, is a field research site in Sweden that stretches across Mt. Njulla.[1] With the mountain to the east, the village of Abisko to the south, and bordering Lake Torneträsk, this is a varied-habitat field site.[1] Mountain birch forests are one of the main appeals of this research site.[1] The name "Nuolja" may also refer specifically to a 12 km hiking trail on Mt. Njulla, Sweden.[2] HistoryNuolja was founded in 1917 by botanist Thore E. Fries, who published a lengthy report in 1925 titled "Ecological and Phenological Observations at Abisko Over the Years".[3] Fries hiked up the mountain and down again some 150 times, helping set the location of the future field site, assessing how snow melt dates affected plant phenology.[1] ResearchNuolja serves as a key climate change assessment site, echoing the original research done by Thore. E. Fries in 1917. In 2017, 100 years after his work, researchers began re-assessing how climate change has affected both snow melt and plant phenology.[1] This work will be able to be directly compared to Fries' publication. There are also several tree-line studies occurring, and a research project assessing alpine bee populations and the flowering plants they visit.[1] A citizen science project also launched in 2017, asking visitors to the area to collect field data on approximate 20 key plant species.[4] By submitting sightings and photographs, researchers will be able to assess a broader and more numerous set of samples, across a variety of climate events and elevations. The trail, opened in June 2017, will be able to be accessed by four or by chairlift.[4] References
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