Arctic sea ice retreat fuels boreal forest advance

Climate-induced northward advance of boreal forest is expected to lessen albedo, alter carbon stocks, and replace tundra, but where and when this advance will occur remains largely unknown. Using data from 19 sites across 22 degrees of longitude along the tree line of northern Alaska, we show a stro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2024-02, Vol.383 (6685), p.877-884
Main Authors: Dial, Roman J, Maher, Colin T, Hewitt, Rebecca E, Wockenfuss, Amy M, Wong, Russell E, Crawford, Daniel J, Zietlow, Madeline G, Sullivan, Patrick F
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Albedo
Boreal forests
Climate change
Global climate
Ice cover
Remote sensing
Sea ice
Taiga
Tundra
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Summary:Climate-induced northward advance of boreal forest is expected to lessen albedo, alter carbon stocks, and replace tundra, but where and when this advance will occur remains largely unknown. Using data from 19 sites across 22 degrees of longitude along the tree line of northern Alaska, we show a stronger temporal correlation of tree ring growth with open water uncovered by retreating Arctic sea ice than with air temperature. Spatially, our results suggest that tree growth, recruitment, and range expansion are causally linked to open water through associated warmer temperatures, deeper snowpacks, and improved nutrient availability. We apply a meta-analysis to 82 circumarctic sites, finding that proportionally more tree lines have advanced where proximal to ongoing sea ice loss. Taken together, these findings underpin how and where changing sea ice conditions facilitate high-latitude forest advance.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.adh2339