Rapid advancement of spring in the High Arctic
Global warming has advanced the onset of spring with more than a month for several species in the high arctic part of NE Greenland. This is documented by comprehensive ecological observations at Zackenberg Research Station over the last ten years 1996-2006.
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Global warming has advanced the onset of spring with more than a month for several species in the high arctic part of NE Greenland. This is documented by comprehensive ecological observations at Zackenberg Research Station over the last ten years 1996-2006.
Today some of the arctic plant, animal and insect species start their summer cycle more than 30 days earlier than a decade ago. In particular, flies are record holders by occurring up to 35 days earlier than usual. Such dramatic shifts due to warmer spring have not been observed before so consistently across very different species.
These extraordinary findings by the researchers from
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Global climate change is expected to have the most extensive impact in the High Arctic. Until now it has been unclear to which extend organisms in the region would adapt to the predicted extreme warming. Currently temperatures are increasing at nearly double the global average. The mean temperature in June has over the last decade increased by 1.1 degree Celsius at the Zackenberg Research Station.
Now the researchers from NERI, headed by Dr. Toke T. Høye, have documented - for an entire ecosystem in a single locality - an extremely rapid climate-induced advancement of flowering, emergence and egglaying in a wide array of species.
“At this time we have already achieved an outstanding knowledge of not only the responses of plants and birds to climate changes in the High Arctic, but also how an entire ecosystem responds to the changes,” says Toke T. Høye, NERI and
In comparison, similar studies have shown flowering dates for European plants two-three days earlier per decade, whereas for the Northern Hemisphere there has been observed advancement of approximately five days in several plant and animal species.
Over the last decade, the growth season in the area near Zackenberg Research Station has been extended with as much as three days per year.
Specifically, the analyses of the Zackenberg data have shown that the flowering dates in six plant species, the median emergence dates of twelve taxa of arthropods, and the clutch initiation in three species of birds have advanced in average by 14.5 days over the last decade.
However, the data also revealed huge differences in advancement within animal and plant species, most likely due to the highly variable microclimate in the
“For example, successful egg laying by migrant birds is highly dependent on the abundant presence of emergent insects. As documented in the present study by Høye and colleagues, the insects have responded in a much faster and massive way compared to birds. In the future, the birds might benefit from this extra supply of food early egg laying period of their short in breeding season in the High Arctic.”
The extensive research at Zackenberg is financed by the Danish EPA.
Ph.d. Toke T. Høye, tel. +45 6130 9490, toh@dmu.dk
Professor Mads C. Forchhammer, tel. +45 4630 1958, mcf@dmu.dk
Rapid advancement of spring in the high
Download high resolution photographs from Zackenberg (26,644 kB)
The pictures can be reproduced freely with acknowledgment of the photographer and institution.
Photo: Toke Thomas Hoye, NERI
Climate research in Dept. Arctic Environment
Zackenberg Research Station: ZERO
Vol. 11 No. 9, 19. June 2007