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Transitional forests between boreal and tundra regions in the far north are getting taller and greener due to global climate change. The shifts in vegetation structure will continue at least until 2100, according to @nasa scientists. 🌲
The new study found that trees and shrubs will both be larger and more abundant in transitional tundra and boreal landscapes where they are currently sparse. The team used millions of data points from NASA’s ICESat-2 and the NASA / @usgs Landsat missions.
Taller, greener forests could absorb more of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. However, the changes to forests could also lead to increased permafrost thawing, which would release ancient carbon stored in the ground into the atmosphere as CO2.
Image descriptions:
1: An image taken from the viewpoint of the plane. The image is mostly showing a green landscape below, with splotches of dark green tree covered area interspersing the lighter green grassy areas. Above is a bright blue sky with wispy clouds stretching horizontally across the sky.
2: A rendered map of the northern United States and Canada. The ocean is depicted as a light blue, while most of the land is depicted in grayscale. Data is overlaid onto the image in splotches of purple and green. A scale is at the bottom of the image, with a label stating Change in Tree Canopy Cover 1984-2020 (%/yr).
#Earth #NASA #Climate #ClimateChange #Forests #Boreal #Tundra #Science
