Borealization of the Finnish subarctic

The boreal forest treeline is advancing further north with the ongoing rapid climate warming, transforming the current Finnish subarctic landscape and the ecosystem services they provide. Attempts to reliably predict shifts in the vegetation or their effect on ecosystem functions have so far largely failed, largely because the forest line is not regulated by the climate alone. Owing to climate-induced shifts in disturbance regimes, warming induces alternative trajectories where open tundra may turn into a mountain birch forest or a coniferous forest, or mountain birch forest may turn into open tundra.

‘BOREARC’ consortium investigates the rate, the direction and the carbon impact of the forest line advance combining methodologies of forest sciences, remote sensing, soil ecology and statistical modeling. The results will advance theoretical concepts of ecosystem states and inform policy-makers on the expected ecosystem change in this important region.