Anywhere else in the world, more trees would be a blessing. But in the far north of Alaska, they’re a reckoning.
As the Arctic warms up to four times as fast as the rest of the planet, white spruce trees are now spreading into tundra that was once inhospitable. Bully for the white spruce, but not so much for the Arctic: Because the trees are darker than snow, they absorb more of the sun’s energy, potentially further heating the region and further driving dramatic change. That, in turn, could release potent greenhouse gases locked in the tundra, accelerating warming for the rest of the planet.
The Arctic is greening before scientists’
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