Abstract
Climate models predict a pronounced warming in the Arctic which will be accompanied by an increasing cloudiness during the vegetation period in summer. This study determines which consequences can be expected regarding the spreading of plant communities, their phytomass and the spatial carbon balance in a high arctic catchment under a climate with increased cloudiness after 40–50 years. Using the present and the most likely future distribution patterns of the prevailing plant communities, changes in phytomass and CO2 fluxes were calculated. The calculations showed that an alteration in the distribution of the plant communities is much less effective in changing the carbon balance of the high arctic tundra than a change of important prevailing ecological conditions, such as light or length of the snow-free period.
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Möller, I., Wüthrich, C., Thannheiser, D. (2001). Changes of Plant Community Patterns, Phytomass and Carbon Balance in a High Arctic Tundra Ecosystem Under a Climate of Increasing Cloudiness. In: Burga, C.A., Kratochwil, A. (eds) Biomonitoring: General and Applied Aspects on Regional and Global Scales. Tasks for vegetation science, vol 35. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9686-2_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-9686-2_14
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