Air temperature has warmed in the far north and as a result thunder and lightening storms that used to stay further south now occur in areas of Tundra. As a result, lightening caused wildfires have become more common. According to the National Science, the top 10 year period from 2000 to 2010 saw more area burned by wildfires in tundra than all the other fires from 1950 to 2000 combined.
Vegetation Changes
As the tundra has warmed, the area of true tundra has receded as larger, shrubbier plants move north. Other ares in the tundra have changed from grassy plain makes up tundra to marshy wet land, with tundra vegetation been replaced by wetland grasses. According to the Arctic change website, satellite image shows that between 1982 to 2000, the area of tundra, based on the type of plants growing there, decreased by 18 percent.
Habitat Changes
As temperatures have increased in the tundra, species that did not come to so far north in the past now migrate to the tundra during the summer. According to the Arctic Change, ring neck ducks, for example, had never been seen at an observation station in the near Canadian tundra prior to the 1980s. From that time through 2009, they commonly migrate through the tundra. Additionally, construction of pipelines have blocked traditional caribou migrate path.
Such airborne pollutants as DDT and PCBs have been carried into remote areas of the Arctic tundra. The tundra serves as nesting ground for many species of migration birds.pollutants like DDT can become concentrated in the systems of birds, causing thinning of their eggshells. Although DDT is banned in the U.S, warmer temperatures in the tundra have led to insect of outbreaks and increased use of pesticides may have unknown impact on tundra wild life.
没有评论:
发表评论