Mika Kirkhus

My name is Mika Helene Kirkhus, and I am a first-year PhD student at the University of Bergen. My research interests include finding the hidden fungal diversity using molecular methods, both short-read and long-read sequencing. My PhD project focuses on ericoid mycorrhiza and their interactions with dwarf-shrubs in a changing climate. I am going to map the diversity and distribution of ericoid mycorrhiza across a climatic gradient in Norway, in addition to looking into how this fungi contributes to carbon storage, drought tolerance, and nutrient uptake of the host plants. This research will hopefully tell us more about how the symbiosis between mycorrhiza and dwarf-shrubs are influencing global climate change.