Complexity revealed in the greening of the Arctic

• Published in: Nature Climate Change
• Main Authors: Myers-Smith, IH, Kerby, JT, Phoenix, GK, Bjerke, JW, Epstein, HE, Assmann, JJ, John, C, Andreu-Hayles, L, Angers-Blondin, S, Beck, PSA, Berner, LT, Bhatt, US, Bjorkman, AD, Blok, D, Bryn, A, Christiansen, CT, Cornelissen, JHC, Cunliffe, AM, Elmendorf, SC, Forbes, BC, Goetz, SJ, Hollister, RD, de Jong, R, Loranty, MM, Macias-Fauria, M, Maseyk, K, Normand, S, Olofsson, J, Parker, TC, Parmentier, F-JW, Post, E, Schaepman-Strub, G, Stordal, F, Sullivan, PF, Thomas, HJD, Tømmervik, H, Treharne, R, Tweedie, CE, Walker, DA, Wilmking, M, Wipf, S
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; Browning; Arctic Greening; Climate change
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-019-0688-1; https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:0d2ce8f0-40a6-44b4-8281-9a4deb6ce88d

As the Arctic warms, vegetation is responding, and satellite measures indicate widespread greening at high latitudes. This ‘greening of the Arctic’ is among the world’s most important large-scale ecological responses to global climate change. However, a consensus is emerging that the underlying causes and future dynamics of so-called Arctic greening and browning trends are more complex, variable and inherently scale-dependent than previously thought. Here we summarize the complexities of observing and interpreting high-latitude greening to identify priorities for future research. Incorporating satellite and proximal remote sensing with in-situ data, while accounting for uncertainties and scale issues, will advance the study of past, present and future Arctic vegetation change.