TOMSK, Sep 21 – RIA Tomsk.Tomsk State University (TSU) BioGeoClim laboratory employees are studying the phenomenon of
"tundra capture" by shrubs as a result of climate warming, these plants
work as a "insulator" and increase the depth of permafrost thawing by
3-4 times; new knowledge will help create environmental management
technologies in the Russian Arctic, the university's press service said.
According
to scientists, the Arctic is becoming "greener" under the influence of
global climate change. Thus, in the south of the tundra in the
Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO), there is an expansion of bushes,
especially alder. Employees of the TSU BioGeoClim laboratory are
studying this phenomenon.
"This year, (TSU scientists)
have studied areas of tundra overrun by actively expanding shrubs.
Analysis of temperature data showed that the soil becomes warmer and
drier after the shrubs settle, and the depth of permafrost increases
three to four times", – the release said.
In winter, shrubs
retain snow, which, like a blanket, warms the soil. According to
scientists, the difference between temperatures in areas with and
without vegetation may be 10-15 degrees. Thus, in the open areas at a
depth of one meter it was minus 10-12 degrees, and in the soil under
bushes it was zero. That is, the depth of permafrost thawing increases
three to four times and can reach 400-430 centimeters, while in areas
without "insulation" does not exceed 70 centimeters.
"The
warming climate contributes to the encroachment of tundra by shrubs.
Obviously, an active biological cycle is triggered, the roots of plants
pull from the thawed permafrost the elements they need to grow. What
exactly the changes are in the soil will show the geochemical analysis
of soil samples", – the press service quotes the laboratory employee
Sergey Loiko.
© предоставлено Алексеем Ольшуковым
In further research the scientists intend to
calculate the area already covered by the shrubs and estimate the
potential for further growth. The new knowledge may become the basis for
the creation of nature management technologies in the Arctic zone of
Russia.
It was previously reported that BioGeoClim
employees are mainly studying the hollows of dried up khasyrey lakes,
which have become oases of highly productive Arctic ecosystems. In 2019,
scientists discovered that such "oases" are also forming in areas of
active permafrost melt. This is due to large doses of micro- and
macro-nutrients entering the soil, which stimulates active growth of
grasses and shrubs. It was also reported that TSU joined the
international consortium for Arctic research at the end of 2020.