
Climate change is giving Arctic plants a growth spurt.
A study published in Nature Wednesday examined seven key plant characteristics over 30 years of warming at 117 locations in the Arctic or alpine tundra and found that plants were growing taller at all locations studied.
The international team of scientists, led by Aarhus University in Denmark as well as researchers at the University of Edinburgh and the Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center in Frankfurt, also found that taller plant species like vernal sweetgrass, common in the European lowlands, are moving north to locations in Iceland and Sweden, according to a University of Edinburgh press release.
"Quantifying the link between environment and plant traits is critical to understanding the consequences of climate change, but such research has rarely extended into the Northern hemisphere, home to the planet's coldest tundra ecosystems. This is the first time that a biome-scale study has been carried out to get to the root of the critical role that plants play in this rapidly warming part of the planet," University of Edinburgh School of GeoSciences researcher Isla Myers-Smith said in the press release.
Florida International University (FIU) ecologist Steven Oberbauer, who participated in the research, said the increased plant height had serious implications for the state of Arctic soil.
Arctic plants are historically small because the frozen soil does not release many nutrients, but as it thaws, it releases more plant food, as well as something much more dangerous.
"Cold and wet tundra soil holds large amounts of organic carbon as peat. But, as temperatures rise and the soil thaws, the organic matter decomposes, releasing the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere, causing further warming," Oberbauer said in a FIU press release emailed to EcoWatch. "We're better off if things stay frozen."
Plant height could actually speed up as well as signal the warming process. Taller plants trap snow, which insulates the soil and prevents it from freezing as quickly, the University of Edinburgh press release said.
And the plants are only expected to grow taller as temperatures warm.
"If taller plants continue to increase at the current rate, the plant community height could increase by 20 to 60 percent by the end of the century," Anne Bjorkman of the Climate Research Center said in the University of Edinburgh press release.
The research comes as concern grows about the release of methane from melting Arctic permafrost, which contains 30 to 50 percent of the world's soil carbon, according to the University of Edinburgh.
A study published in August found that greenhouse gas emissions from lakes formed from melting permafrost could more than double the estimate of how much carbon the Arctic thaw would release into the atmosphere.
Will Climate Change Make Your Hometown Full of Palm Trees? https://t.co/QV8R7O2Cp7 @TheCCoalition @greenpowerplan— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)1521977416.0
A federal appeals court has struck another blow against the contested Dakota Access Pipeline.
- 15 Indigenous Women on the Frontlines of the Dakota Access ... ›
- Federal Agencies Step in After Judge Denies Tribe's Request to ... ›
- Appeals Court Halts Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown Order ... ›
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Bud Ward
Poet Amanda Gorman got well-deserved rave reviews for her dramatic reading of her six-minute "The Hill We Climb" poem January 20 before a global TV and online inauguration day audience.
- Youth poet laureate Amanda Gorman delivers poem at Harvard ... ›
- Yale Program on Climate Change Communication: Home ›
- 'Earthrise' poem dares us to dream a different reality - Race to Zero ›
- Amanda Gorman (@amandascgorman) • Instagram photos and videos ›
- 5 more poems to listen to from Amanda Gorman ›
Trending
Three men are paying $55 million each to travel to space, the AP reported.
By Jessica Corbett
With temperatures across the globe — and particularly in the Arctic — rising due to lackluster efforts to address the human-caused climate crisis, one of the coldest towns on Earth is throwing its hat in the ring to host the 2032 Summer Olympics.
- Winter Sports Enthusiasts Call for Action on Climate Change ›
- Rising Temperatures Imperil Winter Sports Industry ›
A tornado tore through a city north of Birmingham, Alabama, Monday night, killing one person and injuring at least 30.
- Tornadoes and Climate Change: What Does the Science Say ... ›
- Tornadoes Hit Unusually Wide Swaths of U.S., Alarming Climate ... ›
- 23 Dead as Tornado Pummels Lee County, AL in Further Sign ... ›