Get ready for another piece of Arctic-related climate change news: scientists are now stating that more trees and greenery will be popping up in the Arctic due to rising temperatures, further exacerbating global warming.
The researchers involved in the study claim that the amount of trees in the Arctic could grow by as much as 50 percent over the next few decades.
"Such widespread redistribution of Arctic vegetation would have impacts that reverberate through the global ecosystem," lead author of the study titled "Shifts in Arctic vegetation and associated feedbacks under climate change" Richard Pearson said.
The new, greener Arctic would have a much different look than it does today. Around half of the current vegetation would change to fall under a new class, and tree coverage is expected to increase greatly. This, in turn, would lead to tree lines far north of where they currently lie. The effects of such redecorating will naturally have implications for wildlife as well.
"These impacts would extend far beyond the Arctic region," Pearson explained. "For example, some species of birds seasonally migrate from lower latitudes and rely on finding particular polar habitats, such as open space for ground-nesting."
While more trees aren't necessarily a bad thing, the scientists do express concern at the fact that more greenery in the Arctic will lead to temperatures rising even more, which would affect other biospheres around the globe.
"By incorporating observed relationships between vegetation and albedo, evapotranspiration and biomass, we show that vegetation distribution shifts will result in an overall positive feedback to climate that is likely to cause greater warming than has previously been predicted," the study abstract concludes.
You can read the full published study in Nature Climate Change.
- Contribute to this Story:
- Send us a tip
- Send us a photo or video
- Suggest a correction
