Using Available Information to Assess the Potential Effects of Climate Change on Vegetation in the High Arctic: North Billjefjorden, Central Spitsbergen (Svalbard)

We review the available data that can be used to assess the potential impact of climate change on vegetation, and we use central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, as a model location for the High Arctic. We used two sources of information: recent and short-term historical records, which enable assessment on sc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2012-07, Vol.41 (5), p.435-445
Main Authors: Klimešová, Jitka, Prach, Karel, Bernardová, Alexandra
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arctic region
Arctic Regions
Atmospheric Sciences
Biodiversity
Biomass
Climate Change
Climate effects
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecological succession
Ecology
Ecosystem
Endangered & extinct species
Environment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental impact
Environmental Management
Environmental Monitoring
Flowers & plants
Glacial retreat
Glaciers
Immigration
Information sources
monitoring
New species
Nonnative species
Norway
Paleoclimatology
Phenology
Physical Geography
Plant communities
Plant Development
Plant ecology
Plants
Pollen
researchers
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Sediments
Species diversity
Sweden
Tundras
Vegetation
Vegetation changes
Vegetation mapping
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Summary:We review the available data that can be used to assess the potential impact of climate change on vegetation, and we use central Spitsbergen, Svalbard, as a model location for the High Arctic. We used two sources of information: recent and short-term historical records, which enable assessment on scales of particular plant communities and the landscape over a period of decades, and palynological and macrofossil analyses, which enable assessment on time scales of hundreds and thousands of years and on the spatial scale of the landscape. Both of these substitutes for standardized monitoring revealed stability of vegetation, which is probably attributable to the harsh conditions and the distance of the area from sources of diaspores of potential new incomers. The only evident recent vegetation changes related to climate change are associated with succession after glacial retreats. By establishing a network of permanent plots, researchers will be able to monitor immigration of new species from diversity ‘hot spots’ and from an abandoned settlement nearby. This will greatly enhance our ability to understand the effects of climate change on vegetation in the High Arctic.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-011-0235-4