Nature Search

Snow cover is a neglected driver of Arctic biodiversity loss

Arctic biodiversity patterns will be highly dependent on the evolution of snow conditions, according to simulation results that integrate observations of vascular plants, mosses and lichens over a range of Arctic landscapes.

Pekka Niittynen
Risto K. Heikkinen
Miska Luoto
Research22 Oct 2018
Nature Climate Change

Volume: 8, P: 997-1001
Patterns and drivers of Holocene moisture variability in mid-latitude eastern North America

Thousands of years long droughts have occurred in eastern North America during the Holocene (past 12,000 years). The authors link the droughts to the impacts of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the following period of warmer-than-present temperatures.

J. Sakari Salonen
Frederik Schenk
Miska Luoto
ResearchOpen Access15 Apr 2025
Nature Communications

Volume: 16, P: 1-14
Microclimate and forest density drive plant population dynamics under climate change

The impacts of microclimate on future plant population dynamics are poorly understood. The authors use large-scale transplant climate change experiments to show the contribution of forest microclimates to population dynamics and project the distributions of 12 common understorey plants.

Pieter Sanczuk
Karen De Pauw
Pieter De Frenne
Research24 Jul 2023
Nature Climate Change

Volume: 13, P: 840-847
Consistent trait–environment relationships within and across tundra plant communities

Using plant community trait composition data and microclimate and soil chemistry data from four distinct tundra regions, the authors demonstrate strong, consistent trait–environment relationships across Arctic and Antarctic regions.

Julia Kemppinen
Pekka Niittynen
Miska Luoto
Research25 Feb 2021
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 5, P: 458-467
Fine-scale tundra vegetation patterns are strongly related to winter thermal conditions

Winter conditions are the strongest environmental variable relating to fine-scale patterns in tundra vegetation. Vascular plants, lichens and bryophytes nonetheless show complex responses across environmental gradients, highlighting the importance of local heterogeneity.

Pekka Niittynen
Risto K. Heikkinen
Miska Luoto
Research28 Sept 2020
Nature Climate Change

Volume: 10, P: 1143-1148
Plant traits poorly predict winner and loser shrub species in a warming tundra biome

Functional trait data could guide predictions of species responses to environmental change. Here, the authors show that winner and loser shrub species in the warming tundra biome overlap in trait space and may therefore be difficult to predict based on commonly measured traits.

Mariana García Criado
Isla H. Myers-Smith
Anna-Maria Virkkala
ResearchOpen Access28 Jun 2023
Nature Communications

Volume: 14, P: 1-17
Degrading permafrost puts Arctic infrastructure at risk by mid-century

Permafrost thaw poses a serious threat to the sustainable development of Arctic communities. Here the authors show that most fundamental Arctic infrastructure and population will be at high hazard risk, even if the Paris Agreement target is achieved.

Jan Hjort
Olli Karjalainen
Miska Luoto
ResearchOpen Access11 Dec 2018
Nature Communications

Volume: 9, P: 1-9
Statistical modelling predicts almost complete loss of major periglacial processes in Northern Europe by 2100

Cryogenic land surface processes characterise the periglacial realm and control landscape development and ecosystem functioning. Here, via statistical modelling, the authors predict a 72% reduction of the periglacial realm in Northern Europe by 2050, and almost complete disappearance by 2100.

Juha Aalto
Stephan Harrison
Miska Luoto
ResearchOpen Access11 Sept 2017
Nature Communications

Volume: 8, P: 1-8
Fine-grained climate velocities reveal vulnerability of protected areas to climate change

Risto K. Heikkinen
Niko Leikola
Raimo Virkkala
ResearchOpen Access03 Feb 2020
Scientific Reports

Volume: 10, P: 1-11
Abrupt high-latitude climate events and decoupled seasonal trends during the Eemian

The Eemian period (120 ka) is considered a past analogue for future climatic warming, yet data from the high latitudes remains sparse. Here, the authors show that in Northern Europe, the Eemian saw dramatic climatic shifts, linked to changes in Earth’s orbit and North Atlantic oceanic circulation.

J. Sakari Salonen
Karin F. Helmens
Miska Luoto
ResearchOpen Access20 Jul 2018
Nature Communications

Volume: 9, P: 1-10
Global buffering of temperatures under forest canopies

Comparing temperatures in the forest understory versus open habitat across boreal, temperate and tropical biomes, the authors show that tree canopies act as thermal insulators that buffer the understory against temperature extremes.

Pieter De Frenne
Florian Zellweger
Jonathan Lenoir
Research01 Apr 2019
Nature Ecology & Evolution

Volume: 3, P: 744-749
Manifold increase in the spatial extent of heatwaves in the terrestrial Arctic

The Arctic is experiencing a significant increase in the area covered by heatwaves, with climate models predicting further heatwave severity in the 21st century, according to results from observed and projected changes in heatwaves over the terrestrial Arctic using advanced atmospheric reanalysis and global climate models.

Mika Rantanen
Matti Kämäräinen
Juha Aalto
ResearchOpen Access08 Oct 2024
Communications Earth & Environment

Volume: 5, P: 1-8
Impacts of permafrost degradation on infrastructure

Permafrost thaw and degradation threaten circumpolar infrastructure. This Review documents observed and projected infrastructure impacts, as well as the mitigation strategies available to minimize them.

Jan Hjort
Dmitry Streletskiy
Miska Luoto
Reviews11 Jan 2022
Nature Reviews Earth & Environment

Volume: 3, P: 24-38
Cryogenic land surface processes shape vegetation biomass patterns in northern European tundra

Vegetation in tundra ecosystems is constrained by cryogenic land surface processes, despite the fact that models of future biomass changes rarely take these into account, according to field and remote sensing data from northern Europe.

Juha Aalto
Pekka Niittynen
Miska Luoto
ResearchOpen Access19 Oct 2021
Communications Earth & Environment

Volume: 2, P: 1-10
Machine-learning based reconstructions of primary and secondary climate variables from North American and European fossil pollen data

J. Sakari Salonen
Mikko Korpela
Miska Luoto
ResearchOpen Access01 Nov 2019
Scientific Reports

Volume: 9, P: 1-13
The mossy north: an inverse latitudinal diversity gradient in European bryophytes

Rubén G. Mateo
Olivier Broennimann
Alain Vanderpoorten
ResearchOpen Access06 May 2016
Scientific Reports

Volume: 6, P: 1-9
The Arctic Plant Aboveground Biomass Synthesis Dataset

Logan T. Berner
Kathleen M. Orndahl
Scott J. Goetz
ResearchOpen Access20 Mar 2024
Scientific Data

Volume: 11, P: 1-13
Bioclimatic atlas of the terrestrial Arctic

Mika Rantanen
Matti Kämäräinen
Juha Aalto
ResearchOpen Access19 Jan 2023
Scientific Data

Volume: 10, P: 1-11
Circumpolar permafrost maps and geohazard indices for near-future infrastructure risk assessments

Olli Karjalainen
Juha Aalto
Jan Hjort
ResearchOpen Access12 Mar 2019
Scientific Data

Volume: 6, P: 1-16

Search

Filter By:

Search

Quick links