Reindeer grazing increases summer albedo by reducing shrub abundance in Arctic tundra

• Published in: Environmental Research Letters
• Main Authors: te Beest, Mariska, Sitters, Judith, Menard, Cecile B., Olofsson, Johan
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för ekologi, miljö och geovetenskap 2016
• Subjects: albedo; climate change; herbivory; land-atmosphere interactions; heat flux; shrub; tundra; Ecology; Ekologi; Arctic; Jules; Betula nana; Climate change; Fennoscandia; Tundra
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-132051; https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa5128

Previous studies have shown that climate warming is causing shrub cover to increase at high latitudes. Increased shrub cover generally lowers surface albedo, which results in higher energy absorption and further warming. In parts of Fennoscandia, herbivory is known to control vegetation height and a...