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Climate change and Arctic ecosystems: 1. Vegetation changes north of 55°N between the last glacial maximum, mid-Holocene, and present
Alaska Quaternary Center, College of Science, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Department of Geography, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet, Trondheim, Norway
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Dynamic Palaeoclimatology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meerforschung, Potsdam, Germany
Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
Climate Impacts Group, Department of Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Potsdam Institut für Klimafolgenforschung, Potsdam, Germany
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Plant Ecology, Department of Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Northeast Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, Russia
Department of Vegetation of the Far North, Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia
University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Department of Vegetation of the Far North, Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia
Pebbledash Cottage, Corfe, Taunton, UK
Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany
Climate Impacts Group, Department of Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA
Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Alaska SAR Facility, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Department of Geology, Quaternary Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Earthscience Co. Ltd., Sapporo, Japan
Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Botanisk Institutt, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Big Sky Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA
Joint Institute for Geology, Geophysics and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
A unified scheme to assign pollen samples to vegetation types was used to reconstruct vegetation patterns north of 55°N at the last glacial maximum (LGM) and mid-Holocene (6000 years B.P.). The pollen data set assembled for this purpose represents a comprehensive compilation based on the work of many projects and research groups. Five tundra types (cushion forb tundra, graminoid and forb tundra, prostrate dwarf-shrub tundra, erect dwarf-shrub tundra, and low- and high-shrub tundra) were distinguished and mapped on the basis of modern pollen surface samples. The tundra-forest boundary and the distributions of boreal and temperate forest types today were realistically reconstructed. During the mid-Holocene the tundra-forest boundary was north of its present position in some regions, but the pattern of this shift was strongly asymmetrical around the pole, with the largest northward shift in central Siberia (∼200 km), little change in Beringia, and a southward shift in Keewatin and Labrador (∼200 km). Low- and high-shrub tundra extended farther north than today. At the LGM, forests were absent from high latitudes. Graminoid and forb tundra abutted on temperate steppe in northwestern Eurasia while prostrate dwarf-shrub, erect dwarf-shrub, and graminoid and forb tundra formed a mosaic in Beringia. Graminoid and forb tundra is restricted today and does not form a large continuous biome, but the pollen data show that it was far more extensive at the LGM, while low- and high-shrub tundra were greatly reduced, illustrating the potential for climate change to dramatically alter the relative areas occupied by different vegetation types.
Received 23 May 2002; accepted 18 December 2002; published 8 October 2003.
Citation: (2003), Climate change and Arctic ecosystems: 1. Vegetation changes north of 55°N between the last glacial maximum, mid-Holocene, and present, J. Geophys. Res., 108(D19), 8170, doi:10.1029/2002JD002558.
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