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Tundra Tumbles

-- Adam -- 03/06/2007

A group of Canadian researchers say that global warming will have a greater ramifications for tundra habitats than previously though, CBC News reports. The team looked at the advance of the treeline during the period between 1925 and 1950 and found it expanded at a "rapid rate" with increased temperatures during that period. Presumably we can expect significant declines in land area where species like wild sheep and caribou spend most of their lives. Further, the spread of forest cover is expected the exacerbate warming trends. More leaves will absorb greater amounts of sunlight than lighter-colored tundra grasses and conduct more heat energy into the surrounding atmosphere. The tipping point could be closer than we think in the Great White North.