Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea
Tundra vegetation dynamics are an excellent indicator of Arctic climate change. In many places in the Arctic, greening of tundra has been observed since the 1980s due to rapid increases in temperature. However, in some areas the opposite process has taken place in connection with a reduction in biom...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9a0cb6fd3ede413aa7b2c91b7471e1cd 2023-09-05T13:16:05+02:00 Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea Piotr Owczarek Magdalena Opała-Owczarek Krzysztof Migała 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 https://doaj.org/article/9a0cb6fd3ede413aa7b2c91b7471e1cd EN eng IOP Publishing https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/9a0cb6fd3ede413aa7b2c91b7471e1cd Environmental Research Letters, Vol 16, Iss 1, p 014031 (2020) Arctic dwarf shrubs dendrochronology climate change drought stress Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 2023-08-13T00:37:20Z Tundra vegetation dynamics are an excellent indicator of Arctic climate change. In many places in the Arctic, greening of tundra has been observed since the 1980s due to rapid increases in temperature. However, in some areas the opposite process has taken place in connection with a reduction in biomass production. The spatial patterns of tundra ‘greening’ and ‘browning’ constitute important issues in the contemporary analysis of polar ecosystems. The aim of our study was to assess recent tundra vegetation dynamics on the basis of changes in annual growth ring widths of the polar willow. Bjørnøya (Bear Island), located in the western part of the Barents Sea is an important site in the transition zone between the high and low Arctic. No dendrochronological studies have been conducted to date due to the island’s isolation, which makes access very difficult. In 2012 and 2016, 43 samples of Salix polaris Wahlenb. were taken from the south-eastern part of Bear Island. An average chronology of the 29 most closely correlated measurement series was then compiled, covering 95 years (1922–2016); however, the time span 1946–2016 was used for the climate-growth analysis. Beginning in the mid-1980s, an increase in the width of annual increments was observed, whereas over the last decade (since 2005) the growth rate has declined rapidly. Simple correlation analyses showed that temperatures in spring and summer had the positive influence on the radial growth of the polar willow; however, the results of the moving correlation analysis made it possible to conclude that this relationship is more complex and time-dependent. Sensitivity of radial growth to temperature was strongest in the years 1955–2005, whereas the decrease in the strength of positive correlation with temperature since 2005 has been accompanied by a significant increase in the importance of summer precipitation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Greening Arctic Barents Sea Bear Island Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Climate change Polar willow Salix polaris Tundra Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Barents Sea Bear Island ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) Bjørnøya ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) Browning ENVELOPE(164.050,164.050,-74.617,-74.617) Environmental Research Letters 16 1 014031 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic dwarf shrubs dendrochronology climate change drought stress Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic dwarf shrubs dendrochronology climate change drought stress Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 Piotr Owczarek Magdalena Opała-Owczarek Krzysztof Migała Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea |
topic_facet |
Arctic dwarf shrubs dendrochronology climate change drought stress Environmental technology. Sanitary engineering TD1-1066 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Science Q Physics QC1-999 |
description |
Tundra vegetation dynamics are an excellent indicator of Arctic climate change. In many places in the Arctic, greening of tundra has been observed since the 1980s due to rapid increases in temperature. However, in some areas the opposite process has taken place in connection with a reduction in biomass production. The spatial patterns of tundra ‘greening’ and ‘browning’ constitute important issues in the contemporary analysis of polar ecosystems. The aim of our study was to assess recent tundra vegetation dynamics on the basis of changes in annual growth ring widths of the polar willow. Bjørnøya (Bear Island), located in the western part of the Barents Sea is an important site in the transition zone between the high and low Arctic. No dendrochronological studies have been conducted to date due to the island’s isolation, which makes access very difficult. In 2012 and 2016, 43 samples of Salix polaris Wahlenb. were taken from the south-eastern part of Bear Island. An average chronology of the 29 most closely correlated measurement series was then compiled, covering 95 years (1922–2016); however, the time span 1946–2016 was used for the climate-growth analysis. Beginning in the mid-1980s, an increase in the width of annual increments was observed, whereas over the last decade (since 2005) the growth rate has declined rapidly. Simple correlation analyses showed that temperatures in spring and summer had the positive influence on the radial growth of the polar willow; however, the results of the moving correlation analysis made it possible to conclude that this relationship is more complex and time-dependent. Sensitivity of radial growth to temperature was strongest in the years 1955–2005, whereas the decrease in the strength of positive correlation with temperature since 2005 has been accompanied by a significant increase in the importance of summer precipitation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Piotr Owczarek Magdalena Opała-Owczarek Krzysztof Migała |
author_facet |
Piotr Owczarek Magdalena Opała-Owczarek Krzysztof Migała |
author_sort |
Piotr Owczarek |
title |
Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea |
title_short |
Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea |
title_full |
Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea |
title_fullStr |
Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
Post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from Bear Island (Bjørnøya), western Barents Sea |
title_sort |
post-1980s shift in the sensitivity of tundra vegetation to climate revealed by the first dendrochronological record from bear island (bjørnøya), western barents sea |
publisher |
IOP Publishing |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 https://doaj.org/article/9a0cb6fd3ede413aa7b2c91b7471e1cd |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) ENVELOPE(-67.250,-67.250,-68.151,-68.151) ENVELOPE(164.050,164.050,-74.617,-74.617) |
geographic |
Arctic Barents Sea Bear Island Bjørnøya Browning |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Barents Sea Bear Island Bjørnøya Browning |
genre |
Arctic Greening Arctic Barents Sea Bear Island Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Climate change Polar willow Salix polaris Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greening Arctic Barents Sea Bear Island Bjørnøya Bjørnøya Climate change Polar willow Salix polaris Tundra |
op_source |
Environmental Research Letters, Vol 16, Iss 1, p 014031 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 https://doaj.org/toc/1748-9326 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 1748-9326 https://doaj.org/article/9a0cb6fd3ede413aa7b2c91b7471e1cd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abd063 |
container_title |
Environmental Research Letters |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
1 |
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014031 |
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