Trends in Arctic vegetation productivity 1982-2005 (Greening of the Arctic)

More information and download links below the graphic.

Trends in Arctic vegetation productivity 1982-2005 (Greening of the Arctic)

Click here, or on the graphic, for full resolution.

Trends in Arctic vegetation productivity 1982-2005 (Greening of the Arctic). Arctic vegetation has undergone enormous change in the past, most notably in response to the glacial and interglacial periods of the Quaternary. Data from many sources and at several scales suggest that recent climate change is already affecting terrestrial Arctic ecosystems. Comparisons of historical and contemporary aerial photographs provide evidence that Arctic vegetation has already undergone significant shifts in recent decades, foreshadowing changes that are likely to come. Satellite monitoring provides a broad-scale, repeatable measure of these changes. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a remotely sensed index of productivity, allowing spatial and temporal trends to be examined and related to changes observed on the ground. NDVI has been changing steadily since the 1980s over much of the Arctic reflecting an increase in productivity related to the increases in shrub cover. This map presents trends in productivity derived from a 1982–2005 time series of GIMMS-G AVHRR vegetation indices (NDVI). Significant positive trends, showing as green, indicate an increase in both peak productivity and growing season. Negative trends, showing as red, represent forested areas not recently disturbed by fire that declined in productivity.

Sources

Goetz, S.J., Mack, M.C., Gurney, K.R., Randerson, J.T., & Houghton, R.A. 2007. Ecosystem responses to recent climate change and fire disturbance at northern high latitudes: observations and model results contrasting northern Eurasia and North America. Environ. res. Lett. 2 (4):045031.

Link to web-site

http://www.arcticbiodiversity.is

Cartographer/
Designer

Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil

Appears in

Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010

Published

May 2010

Feedback/Comment/Inquiry

Feedback form

Search for other graphics

Use constraints

Using the graphics and referring to them is encouraged, and please use them in presentations, web pages, newspapers, blogs and reports.
For any form of publication, please include this link:
http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/trends-in-arctic-vegetation-p
roductivity-1982-2005-greening-of-the-arctic

Please give the cartographer/designer/author credit (in this case Hugo Ahlenius, Nordpil) and give full recognition to the data sources used in the graphic.

Feel free to feature links to this page, or other pages on this site, but please refrain from linking to the actual graphics files directly, if possible (i.e. inline linking).

Re-publishing the full resolution version of the graphics (high-quality png and pdf), un-modified, as digital files for download requires approval from the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) Secretariat (contact: tom@caff.is).

We do appreciate if you have the possibility to send us a copy of any printed publications featuring our graphics. See the UNEP/GRID-Arendal contact page for mailing address.

Available Downloads
(please review use constraints above)

	Download this graphic in png format, 1017 KB , suitable for web-sites, documents or presentations.
	Download this graphic in pdf format, 32354 KB, suitable for print and editing.