Arctic ecosystems being ni...( The Arctic's fragile ecosystems are thr...)

"In the increasingly accessible Artic, we need to be wary of relatively small and seemingly insignificant disturbances. Some of the most productive landscapes are being slowly 'nibbled' away," says Bruce Forbes of the University of Lapland in Rovaniemi, Finland, who did this work with two co- authors. This work in the August issue of Conservation Biology.

This is the first circumpolar assessment of how small-scale human disturbances affect Arctic ecosystems.

The Arctic -- lands poleward of the treeline -- has large populations of caribou (which are wild) and reindeer (which are domesticated), and provides critical nesting habitat for immense numbers of shore and water birds. The most controversial threat to Arctic ecosystems is oil and natural gas development. The U.S. may pump oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; Canada is likely toextract gas just east of the refuge; and Russian and northern European energy companies are already operating in the Arctic.

Other threats to Arctic ecosystems include mining, military activities, heavy reindeer grazing, and recreational activities such as camping, hiking and off-road vehicle use.

Based on recent existing studies, Forbes and his co-authors evaluated how well Arctic ecosystems recover from human disturbance. The most extreme disturbances completely remove the tundra's plant layer and only the smallest, wettest patches recovered on their own within 20-75 years. For instance, dry patches more than three feet across still had bare centers even after 20 years, largely due to wind erosion.

The researchers
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Contact: Bruce Forbes
bforbes@urova.fi
011-358-16-341-2710
Society for Conservation Biology
23-Jul-2001