Climate change in Arctic terrestrial ecosystems with particular attention to the vegetation of Svalbard
Vol.15,No.S(2025)
CPR Special issue
In the last four decades, warming in the Arctic has been much faster than in the rest of the World. The average air temperature in the Arctic has already risen at a rate of almost four times the global average. On average, the Arctic is now approximately 3°C warmer than it was in 1980. Different Arctic regions – Svalbard in particular – warm faster than any other region on Earth. Such warming has consequences for terrestrial ecosystems. Since plant growth and development are closely linked to the temperature of spring and summer, the early onset of vegetation is one of the most remarkable consequences. Moreover, recent evidence from satellite data suggests there is a temperature-induced increase in growth rate and biomass production of Svalbard vegetation; plant species that dominate the tundra communities are growing taller and more densely. In this chapter, we present an analysis of climatic characteristics recorded at the Adventdalen weather station (operated by The University Centre in Svalbard) with particular attention to vegetation cover. In Adventdalen, community types form five groups of vegetation: (a) sparsely vegetated areas on dry subsoil, (b) sparsely vegetated areas on moist substrate, (c) densely vegetated areas on dry substrate, (d) densely vegetated areas on substrate and (e) areas of organic material. The period of 2011–2020 was analysed, and relations between climatic drivers were evaluated. The presented data support the idea of fast ongoing warming of the Svalbard terrestrial ecosystems.
climate warming; Adventdalen; Dryas octopetala ridges; moss-dominated tundra; greening/browning scenario
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