Effects of deglaciation on circumpolar distribution of arctic vegetation

Abstract

An understanding of the factors controlling the distribution of arctic vegetation will allow better prediction of the effects of climate change. This study examines the effect of the age of landscapes on the distribution of arctic vegetation. We compared time since deglaciation with the distribution of vegetation types and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite measures of greenness (normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI). Most of the older arctic landscapes occur between the Taimyr Peninsula in Russia and the Mackenzie River in Canada. The vegetation types most commonly associated with the oldest landscapes include tussock-sedge, dwarf-shrub, moss-tundra, and sedge-shrub wetlands. Most of the Arctic, including most bioclimate subzones and most vegetation types, showed increasing NDVI with increasing landscape age. Landscapes showed rapid increases in NDVI during the first several thousand years after deglaciation. Relatively low NDVI values occurred on landscapes 5000 – 15 000 years old, as on the Canadian Shield. Higher NDVI values occurred on landscapes older than 20 000 years. Landscape age accounted for 34% of the variation in NDVI for landscapes younger than 900 000 years. The coldest parts of the Arctic (subzone A) and vegetation types that grow primarily in these areas did not show any trend with landscape age.