Arctic plants become higher due to climate change

According to new research, Arctic plants are becoming larger due to man-made climate change and rising temperatures. The new research was conducted by a global scientific collaboration led by the University of Edinburgh.

Although many believe that the Arctic region is covered with thick ice and snow, there are vast landscapes of shrubs, grasses and many other small plants that are important for different processes such as the cycle of carbon and energy balance. However, experts who monitor the polar region have discovered that the effects of climate change are causing Arctic plants to grow more than others, claiming that the height of plants in the tundra has increased dramatically over the past decade. last 30 years.

The southern parts of the Arctic are covered with larger plant species that continue to spread. For example, the common hay commonly used in the lower parts of Europe has now moved north towards the Arctic in Iceland and Sweden.

Dr. Isla Myers-Smith of the Faculty of Geosciences of the University of Edinburgh and Dr. Anne Bjorkman of the Center for Biodiversity and Climate Research of Senckenberg (BiK-F) in Frankfurt conducted research with an international team of 130 scientists. Council Project (NERC). The team collected and analyzed more than 60,000 observations of data from hundreds of different sites in Arctic and alpine tundra. They published the results of their study in the journal Nature.

"Rapid climate warming in the Arctic and Alpine regions is causing changes in the structure and composition of plant communities, with important consequences for the functioning of this vast and sensitive ecosystem," Bjorkman said in a statement. "Arctic regions have long been at the center of climate change research, as permafrost in northern latitudes contains 30-50% of global soil carbon. If taller plants continue to increase at the current rate, the height of the plant community could increase by 20 to 60% by the end of the century. "

Myers-Smith said, "Quantifying the link between the environment and plant characteristics is essential to understanding the impacts of climate change, but this research has rarely extended to the northern hemisphere, where the tundra ecosystems live. colder on the planet. This is the first time a biome-wide study has been conducted to go to the root of the critical role that plants play in this rapidly warming part of the planet.

The team has now created a vast dataset on plants in the Arctic. Data were collected from sites in Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. The team also included alpine sites in the European Alps and the Colorado Rockies in their research.

The team discovered that only the height of the plants increased with time. Plant characteristics have been influenced by the humidity and temperature levels due to climate change.

Myers-Smith said, "While most models and research on climate change have focused on increasing temperatures, our research has shown that soil moisture can play a much larger role than we do. pensions before. We need to better understand the soil moisture in the Arctic. Rainfall is likely to increase in the region, but this is only one factor affecting soil moisture levels. "

According to Helen Beadman, Chief of NERC's Polar, Climate and Weather Service, new research is expected to focus on improving Arctic and alpine vegetation as a result of climate change and on the measures needed for it.