The 26-million-square-kilometer Arctic Boreal Zone, which includes wetlands, boreal forests, and tundra, has seen significant change. The Arctic Boreal Region becomes a carbon emitter, with forty percent of this area transitioning from being a carbon sink—absorbing more carbon than it emits—to a carbon source, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, according to a new study published in Nature Climate Change. Longer growing seasons increased microbial activity, and more frequent and severe wildfires are all blamed for this shift. It is thought that the change started before 1990.
Warming temperatures and increased wildfire activity have made the Arctic tundra a net carbon source, increasing the effects of climate change, according to NOAA’s 2024 Arctic Report Card. NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad noted that this development is another indication, as predicted by scientists, of the consequences of insufficient efforts to reduce fossil fuel pollution.
Patterns of Emissions and Contributing Factors
Between 1990 and 2020, data from 200 monitoring sites revealed changes in fire patterns and year-round carbon dynamics. Over 30% of the area contributed to net carbon emissions between 2001 and 2020; when fire emissions are considered, this number rises to 40%. The carbon source locations were spread over Siberia (13%), Canada (19%), northern Europe (25%), and Alaska (44%).
One important discovery was that the carbon absorbed during the brief summer months (June to August) was less than the carbon emissions during the extended non-summer season (September to May). The Arctic Boreal Region becomes a carbon emitter as source regions and fires are now offsetting much of the net uptake, reversing trends that have persisted for a long time, noted lead author Anna Virkkala.
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The Role of Permafrost and Regional Impacts
There has been considerable “greening” in the Arctic Boreal Zone, with longer growing seasons and more vegetation across 49% of the area. However, warmer temperatures that speed up the melting of permafrost balance the fact that just 12% of the region serves as a net carbon sink each year.
Global warming is made worse by permafrost, which stores enormous amounts of carbon trapped in ice and emits greenhouse gases when it thaws. This emphasizes how urgent it is to reduce pollution from fossil fuels to lessen climate change’s effects. According to research co-author Marguerite Mauritz, the growing seasons and more microbial activity in the winter are progressively changing carbon trajectories.
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