Virve Ravolainen

TL;DR: This article used repeat photography, long-term ecological monitoring and dendrochronology to document shrub expansion in arctic, high-latitude and alpine tundra.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors analyzed circumpolar data from 37 Arctic and alpine sites in 9 countries, including 25 species, and ∼42,000 annual growth records from 1,821 individuals, and demonstrated that the sensitivity of shrub growth to climate was heterogeneous, with European sites showing greater summer temperature sensitivity than North American sites, and higher at sites with greater soil moisture and for taller shrubs (for example, alders and willows) growing at their northern or upper elevational range edges.

TL;DR: It is concluded that thermal variability within 1-km(2) units strongly increases local spatial buffering of future climate warming across Northern Europe, even in the flattest terrains.

TL;DR: It is indicated that most Arctic endemic species in Svalbard are experiencing negative consequences induced by the warming environment, and the tight relationships between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems in this High Arctic archipelago are emphasized.

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a review of existing and developing methods to measure radial and axial growth, estimate age, and assess growth dynamics in relation to environmental variables in arctic and alpine regions.