Urban Underground Ecology
Fungal growth on the walls of Kungsträdgården subway station.
Summary
Human activity has a profound impact on the environment. The growing demand for underground utilities and tunnels for transportation is a direct consequence of population growth. Urban underground environments, like metro systems, are constructed to hold and transport large quantities of people daily. An increased human presence in subsurface spaces urges the need to enhance our understanding of these environments, the ecological diversity they hold, and the interaction between underground dwelling organisms, humans and the particular settings represented by artificially lit walls or art work present in metro stations.
This project aims to:
- Examine the composition and community structure of the ecosystems associated with stations (platform, wall, ceilings) in the Stockholm metro system.
- Investigate the biogeographic distribution of microorganisms in the metro system and their ecological impact, including microbial corrosion and/or mineralization related to the underground infrastructure.
This research is funded by Magnus Bergvalls stiftelse
Selected Publications
Réblová, M., Hubka, V., Thureborn, O., Lundberg, J., Sallstedt, T., Wedin, M., Ivarsson, M. 2016. From the tunnels into the treetops: new lineages of black yeasts from biofilm in the Stockholm metro system and their relatives among ant-associated fungi in the Chaetothyriales. PLOS ONE, DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0163396
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Ivarsson, M., Lundberg, J.E.K., Norbäck-Ivarsson, L., Sallstedt, T., Scheuerer, M., Wedin, M. 2013. Kungsträdgården, a granitic subway station in Stockholm: its ecosystem and speleothems. Proceedings of the 16th international congress of speleology, Brno, ed, Filippi, M., and Bosák, M. Vol. 2: 217-220.
Norbäck Ivarsson, L., Ivarsson, M., Lundberg, J., Sallstedt, T., Rydin, C. 2013. Epilithic and aerophilic diatoms in the artificial environment of Kungsträdgården metro station, Stockholm, Sweden. International Journal of Speleology 42: 289-297.