Climate change and Arctic ecosystems: 1. Vegetation changes north of 55°N between the last glacial maximum, mid-Holocene, and present

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Read Full Article (file size: 2928035 bytes) Cited by JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 108, NO. D19, 8170, doi:10.1029/2002JD002558, 2003 Climate change and Arctic ecosystems: 1. Vegetation changes north of 55°N between the last glacial maximum, mid-Holocene, and present Nancy H. Bigelow Alaska Quaternary Center, College of Science, Engineering and Mathematics, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Linda B. Brubaker College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Mary E. Edwards Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Department of Geography, Norges Teknisk-Naturvitenskapelige Universitet, Trondheim, Norway Sandy P. Harrison Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany Dynamic Palaeoclimatology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden I. Colin Prentice Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany Patricia M. Anderson Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA Andrei A. Andreev Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meerforschung, Potsdam, Germany Patrick J. Bartlein Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA Torben R. Christensen Climate Impacts Group, Department of Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Wolfgang Cramer Potsdam Institut für Klimafolgenforschung, Potsdam, Germany Jed O. Kaplan Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany Plant Ecology, Department of Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Anatoly V. Lozhkin Northeast Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, Russia Nadja V. Matveyeva Department of Vegetation of the Far North, Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia David F. Murray University of Alaska Museum, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA A. David McGuire Department of Biology and Wildlife, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Volodya Y. Razzhivin Department of Vegetation of the Far North, Komarov Botanical Institute, St. Petersburg, Russia James C. Ritchie Pebbledash Cottage, Corfe, Taunton, UK Benjamin Smith Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Jena, Germany Climate Impacts Group, Department of Ecology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Donald A. Walker Institute of Arctic Biology, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado, USA Konrad Gajewski Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Victoria Wolf Alaska SAR Facility, Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA Björn H. Holmqvist Department of Geology, Quaternary Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden Yaeko Igarashi Earthscience Co. Ltd., Sapporo, Japan Konstantin Kremenetskii Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia Aage Paus Botanisk Institutt, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway Michael F. J. Pisaric Big Sky Institute, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana, USA Valentina S. Volkova Joint Institute for Geology, Geophysics and Mineralogy, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia Abstract 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. Index Terms: 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); 1620 Global Change: Climate dynamics (3309); 1851 Hydrology: Plant ecology; 3344 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Paleoclimatology. Read Full Article (file size: 2928035 bytes) Cited by Citation: Bigelow, N. H., et al. (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. Copyright 2003 by the American Geophysical Union.

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