Climate change could lead to extensive growth of trees and bushes in large parts of Greenland - that are currently ice-free - by the end of the century, scientists predict.
Scientists expect the future climate to become warmer, and that this will apply to the Arctic in particular.
The temperature in the Arctic is expected to increase considerably more than the average on Earth, according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change average scenario (A1B).
A very significant change will be the emergence of forests, where there are currently only four species of trees and large bushes indigenous to Greenland and they only grow in small areas in the south, researchers said.
An international research group including Professor Jens-Christian Svenning, from Aarhus University in Denmark has analysed which species will be able to grow in the climate expected in Greenland in 2100.
The analysis shows that a majority of 44 relevant species of North American and European trees and bushes will be able to grow in Greenland in the future.
Forests like the coastal coniferous forests in today’s Alaska and western Canada will be able to thrive.
Scientists expect the future climate to become warmer, and that this will apply to the Arctic in particular.
The temperature in the Arctic is expected to increase considerably more than the average on Earth, according to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change average scenario (A1B).
A very significant change will be the emergence of forests, where there are currently only four species of trees and large bushes indigenous to Greenland and they only grow in small areas in the south, researchers said.
An international research group including Professor Jens-Christian Svenning, from Aarhus University in Denmark has analysed which species will be able to grow in the climate expected in Greenland in 2100.
The analysis shows that a majority of 44 relevant species of North American and European trees and bushes will be able to grow in Greenland in the future.
Forests like the coastal coniferous forests in today’s Alaska and western Canada will be able to thrive.