Siberia’s tundra could fall to climate change, scientists warn

What comes to mind when you think of Siberia?

If you associate a vast tundra with the massive northeastern region in Russia, you’re not alone. Across nearly 2,500 miles of unbroken wilderness, the Arctic tundra is a unique and unexpectedly abundant ecosystem.

But that could change if human-caused global warming goes unchecked, researchers warn. And if the world doesn’t adopt consistent measures to protect the climate, they write, the tundra could disappear completely.

The dire prediction is reported in a study in eLife that simulates how a changing climate would affect the boundary between the tundra and the forests that border it. When researchers modeled how the forests would respond to climate change, they found what they call an “invasion of forests under global warming.” They predict that a climb in summer temperatures would cause the trees’ habitat to creep northward, overtaking the tundra and threatening both the landscape and its species.