Arctic sea ice retreat fuels boreal forest advance. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38386760/)

These scientists wanted to understand how the forests in northern Alaska are moving further north because of climate change. They studied 19 different areas along the edge of the forest, where the trees meet the tundra. They found that the growth of the trees was more closely related to the amount of open water that was uncovered by melting Arctic sea ice, rather than just the temperature of the air.

They also discovered that when there is more open water, the trees grow better because it makes the area warmer, the snow is deeper, and there are more nutrients available for the trees to use. By looking at data from 82 different sites around the Arctic, they found that more forests are moving north where the sea ice is melting the most.

In simple terms, these scientists found that as the Arctic sea ice melts, it creates more open water which helps the trees grow better and move further north. This study helps us understand how climate change is affecting the forests in the Arctic.

Dial RJ., Maher CT., Hewitt RE., Wockenfuss AM., Wong RE., Crawford DJ., Zietlow MG., Sullivan PF. Arctic sea ice retreat fuels boreal forest advance. Science. 2024 Feb 23;383(6685):877-884. doi: 10.1126/science.adh2339. Epub 2024 Feb 22.