Paludification and forest retreat in northern oceanic environments.

ABSTRACT: Examination of temperature variations over the past century for Europe and the Arctic from northern Norway to Siberia suggests that variations in the North Atlantic Oscillation are associated with an increase in oceanicity in certain maritime regions. A southward depression of the tree line in favour of wet heaths, bogs and wetland tundra communities is also observed in northern oceanic environments. The physiological basis for this change in ecological succession from forest to bog is discussed in relation to the long-term effects of flooding on tree survival. The heightened values currently detected in the North Atlantic Oscillation Index, together with rising winter temperatures, and increased rainfall in many areas in northern Europe, presents an increasing risk of paludification with

SUBMITTER: Crawford RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4244994 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature