The Siberian tundra is under the threat of destruction. Free Technical Library News

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Siberian tundra under the threat of destruction

12.06.2022

Even if global warming could be drastically curtailed by reducing emissions, only a part of the northern Russian biome, including the island of Taimyr and most of the Palearctic, could survive. If current greenhouse gas emissions are halved by 2100, only 2500% of the Siberian tundra will remain in 5,7.

This conclusion was made by two German scientists Stefan Kruse and Ulrike Hertzshu from the Institute of Polar and Marine Research. Alfred Wegener after developing a climate model (named LAVESI) specifically designed to predict the changing relationship between the Siberian tundra and taiga.

The tundra is characterized by permafrost, poor animal diversity, and low vegetation, including shrubs, mosses, and lichens. The very cold average temperature does not allow many trees to grow, with the exception of willows and birches no more than a couple of meters high. The taiga, on the other hand, is a boreal forest located south of the tundra and consisting mainly of large coniferous trees such as larches.

The increase in temperature caused by global warming is allowing taiga trees to move north, "eating" valuable tundra soil - the main habitat of reindeer. The tundra is also home to arctic foxes, bears, wolves and lemmings, as well as many species of birds nesting.

If they disappear, as the German researchers suggest, the consequences will be catastrophic not only for biodiversity, but also for the indigenous population living along the natural resources of these lands, such as the Nenets.

The larger the area of forests, the more heat will be absorbed by the trees, which will lead to warming in the Arctic. This will provoke more cataclysms around the world, lead to the death or migration of species, and also complicate the delivery of goods by sea.

But even worse, as the permafrost melts, the tundra could release large amounts of accumulated greenhouse gases into the atmosphere - up to 1400 gigatonnes globally - which will increase global warming.

Scientists have developed a climate model capable of predicting the fate of the entire Siberian tundra, which stretches for about 4 km. They predict that if nothing is done to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the Siberian tundra will disappear by the year 000, being completely replaced by boreal forest. But even if we succeed in reducing carbon emissions, the tundra of the next few centuries will not be the same as it is today.

For example, the elimination of emissions by 2100 will save only 32,7% of the biome, which will be divided into two very remote regions - Chukotka and Taimyr Island. This will affect wildlife. On the other hand, if by the end of the century we manage to halve emissions, then in 2500, a little less than 6% will remain in place of the Siberian tundra.

One of the main problems of the tundra is that the advance of the taiga is almost impossible to stop even with further cooling of the climate. Researchers believe that people need to pay special attention to the environment right now, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and abandoning fossil fuels.

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