I teach various Ecology courses at the Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation Group at Wageningen University. My own research focuses on the interactions between climate change, permafrost, and tundra ecology. In particular, I am interested how future increases in extreme rainfall events in a warmer Arctic will affect the thawing of permafrost (frozen ground) and tundra plant growth. I use a range of methods, including field monitoring (repeated measuring of ecosystem properties), remote sensing (using high-resolution satellite images to detect changes in the landscape), and dendrochronology (the study of tree rings) on Arctic shrubs.

Currently, Rúna is active in giving lectures, workshops and advocating for ECRs and female polar researchers.

*Rúna was an APECS NL board member from 2017 to 2020.