Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming
Abstract Wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services of local and global importance, but currently there exists no comprehensive, high‐quality wetland map for the Arctic region. Improved information about Arctic wetland extents and their vulnerability to climate change is essential for adaptation a...
Published in: | Earth's Future |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2021
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001858 https://doaj.org/article/b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 |
id |
fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 2023-05-15T14:33:47+02:00 Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming Elisie Kåresdotter Georgia Destouni Navid Ghajarnia Gustaf Hugelius Zahra Kalantari 2021-05-01 https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001858 https://doaj.org/article/b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 en eng Wiley 2328-4277 doi:10.1029/2020EF001858 https://doaj.org/article/b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 undefined Earth's Future, Vol 9, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) Arctic wetlands climate‐driven regime shifts | climate projection permafrost thaw regime shift vulnerability envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2021 fttriple https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001858 2023-01-22T17:52:55Z Abstract Wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services of local and global importance, but currently there exists no comprehensive, high‐quality wetland map for the Arctic region. Improved information about Arctic wetland extents and their vulnerability to climate change is essential for adaptation and mitigation efforts, including for indigenous people dependent on the ecosystem services that wetlands provide, as inadequate planning could result in dire consequences for societies and ecosystems alike. Synthesizing high‐resolution wetland databases and datasets on soil wetness and soil types from multiple sources, we created the first high‐resolution map with full coverage of Arctic wetlands. We assess the vulnerability of Arctic wetlands for the years 2050, 2075, and 2100, using datasets on permafrost extent, soil types, and projected mean annual air temperature from the HadGEM2‐ES climate model for three change scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5). Our mapping shows that wetlands cover approximately 3.5 million km2 or roughly 25% of Arctic landmass and 99% of these wetlands are in permafrost areas, indicating considerable vulnerability to future climate change. Unless global warming is limited to scenario RCP2.6, robust results show that large areas of Arctic wetlands are vulnerable to ecosystem regime shifts. If scenario RCP8.5 becomes a reality, at least 50% of the Arctic wetland area would be highly vulnerable to regime shifts with considerable adverse impacts on human health, infrastructure, economics, ecosystems, and biodiversity. The developed wetland and vulnerability maps can aid planning and prioritization of the most vulnerable areas for protection and mitigation of change. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Climate change Global warming Human health permafrost Unknown Arctic Earth's Future 9 5 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Unknown |
op_collection_id |
fttriple |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic wetlands climate‐driven regime shifts | climate projection permafrost thaw regime shift vulnerability envir geo |
spellingShingle |
Arctic wetlands climate‐driven regime shifts | climate projection permafrost thaw regime shift vulnerability envir geo Elisie Kåresdotter Georgia Destouni Navid Ghajarnia Gustaf Hugelius Zahra Kalantari Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming |
topic_facet |
Arctic wetlands climate‐driven regime shifts | climate projection permafrost thaw regime shift vulnerability envir geo |
description |
Abstract Wetlands provide multiple ecosystem services of local and global importance, but currently there exists no comprehensive, high‐quality wetland map for the Arctic region. Improved information about Arctic wetland extents and their vulnerability to climate change is essential for adaptation and mitigation efforts, including for indigenous people dependent on the ecosystem services that wetlands provide, as inadequate planning could result in dire consequences for societies and ecosystems alike. Synthesizing high‐resolution wetland databases and datasets on soil wetness and soil types from multiple sources, we created the first high‐resolution map with full coverage of Arctic wetlands. We assess the vulnerability of Arctic wetlands for the years 2050, 2075, and 2100, using datasets on permafrost extent, soil types, and projected mean annual air temperature from the HadGEM2‐ES climate model for three change scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5). Our mapping shows that wetlands cover approximately 3.5 million km2 or roughly 25% of Arctic landmass and 99% of these wetlands are in permafrost areas, indicating considerable vulnerability to future climate change. Unless global warming is limited to scenario RCP2.6, robust results show that large areas of Arctic wetlands are vulnerable to ecosystem regime shifts. If scenario RCP8.5 becomes a reality, at least 50% of the Arctic wetland area would be highly vulnerable to regime shifts with considerable adverse impacts on human health, infrastructure, economics, ecosystems, and biodiversity. The developed wetland and vulnerability maps can aid planning and prioritization of the most vulnerable areas for protection and mitigation of change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Elisie Kåresdotter Georgia Destouni Navid Ghajarnia Gustaf Hugelius Zahra Kalantari |
author_facet |
Elisie Kåresdotter Georgia Destouni Navid Ghajarnia Gustaf Hugelius Zahra Kalantari |
author_sort |
Elisie Kåresdotter |
title |
Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming |
title_short |
Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming |
title_full |
Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming |
title_fullStr |
Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mapping the Vulnerability of Arctic Wetlands to Global Warming |
title_sort |
mapping the vulnerability of arctic wetlands to global warming |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001858 https://doaj.org/article/b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Human health permafrost |
genre_facet |
Arctic Climate change Global warming Human health permafrost |
op_source |
Earth's Future, Vol 9, Iss 5, Pp n/a-n/a (2021) |
op_relation |
2328-4277 doi:10.1029/2020EF001858 https://doaj.org/article/b17a350ef93b479f85ac7531e719b444 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001858 |
container_title |
Earth's Future |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
5 |
_version_ |
1766306984484667392 |