Suchergebnisse

Canada has entered a deep crisis in Arctic science. The lack of a formal Arctic Science and Technology Policy has left our highly fragmented efforts in Arctic research exceedingly vulnerable during times of financial stress and left us effectively without a voice. Logistical support, essential for operating in our vast northern territory, has all but disappeared as a facilitator for both government and university research. Within two years, only specially funded research will be possible, and opportunities for new careers will continue to plummet. The Arctic science community must alert the government to take action. If nothing is done to secure its future, Canada's capacity to perform Arctic research will collapse. . We speak here as active Arctic scientists who are alarmed by the rapid and continuing erosion of northern research in Canada, and who wish to highlight this crisis, draw instructive contrasts with recent U.S. initiatives, and offer, for discussion, a possible solution in light of current Canadian circumstances. Our essay seeks to make it clear that, if corrective action is not taken, Canadian Arctic science will shrivel to insignificance.

Altres ajuts europeus: P.A.W. was additionally supported by the European Union Fourth Environment and Climate Framework Programme (Project Number ENV4-CT970586)P.A.W. was additionally supported by the European Union Fourth Environment and Climate Framework Programme (Project Number ENV4-CT970586). ; The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem functioning. Here we explore the biome-wide relationships between temperature, moisture and seven key plant functional traits both across space and over three decades of warming at 117 tundra locations. Spatial temperature-trait relationships were generally strong but soil moisture had a marked influence on the strength and direction of these relationships, highlighting the potentially important influence of changes in water availability on future trait shifts in tundra plant communities. Community height increased with warming across all sites over the past three decades, but other traits lagged far behind predicted rates of change. Our findings highlight the challenge of using space-for-time substitution to predict the functional consequences of future warming and suggest that functions that are tied closely to plant height will experience the most rapid change. They also reveal the strength with which environmental factors shape biotic communities at the coldest extremes of the planet and will help to improve projections of functional changes in tundra ecosystems with climate warming.