Do You Still Believe That Global Warming Is A Myth?

LONDON (Reuters) - Plants and shrubs have colonised parts of the Arctic tundra in recent decades growing into small trees, a scientific study found, adding the change may lead to an increase in global warming pressures if replicated on a wider scale.

Scientists from Finland and Oxford University
investigated an area of 100,000 square km, roughly the size of Iceland,
in the northwestern Eurasian tundra, stretching from western Siberia to
Finland.

Using data from
satellite imaging, fieldwork and observations from local reindeer
herders, they found that in 8-15 percent of the area willow and alder
plants have grown to over 2 metres in the last 30-40 years.

A report of the research is published on Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change.

"It's a big
surprise that these plants are reacting in this way," said Marc
Macias-Fauria of Oxford University and lead author of the report.

Scientists had thought that the colonisation of the warming Arctic would take centuries, he said.

"But what we've
found is that the shrubs that are already there are transforming into
trees in just a few decades."

Previous studies suggested that the advance of forest into Arctic tundra could increase Arctic warming by an extra 1-2 degrees Celsius (1.8-3.6 Fahrenheit) by the late 21st Century.

Warming in the
Arctic is happening about twice as fast as in the rest of the world. As
reflective snow and ice recede, they expose soil or water which are a
darker colour and so soak up more of the sun's heat.

The same occurs when trees are tall enough to rise above the snowfall, presenting a dark, light-absorbing surface.

More warming in the
Arctic is likely to spur oil and gas development, as well as attracting
herds of reindeer as they feed on willow shrubs.

But a warming
planet is also linked to increases in severe drought and flooding around
the world, putting people, crops and livestock at greater risk.

The global average
temperature last year was the ninth-warmest in the modern meteorological
record, continuing a trend linked to greenhouse gases that saw nine of
the 10 hottest years occurring since the year 2000, NASA scientists said
in January.

Macias-Fauria said
the area researched in the study is a small part of the vast Arctic
tundra, and an area that is already warmer than the rest of the Arctic,
likely due to the influence of warm air from the Gulf Stream.

"However, this area
does seem to be a bellwether for the rest of the region, it can show us
what is likely to happen to the rest of the Arctic in the near future
if these warming trends continue."

(Reporting by Jeff Coelho)

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