Patterns of vegetation change in Yukon

Yukon has diverse vegetation communities ranging from closed-canopy forests in valleys, shrub and meadow communities high on mountains, cottongrass and heath tundras in the Arctic, to widespread grasslands

Through to 2090, projections suggest that there will be large shifts in the location and composition of Yukon’s vegetation communities. We can expect to see changes from boreal forest to grasslands, alpine tundra to forests, and Arctic tundra to shrublands

Yukon is divided into nine bioclimate zones based on regional climate, vegetation, and soil development. Changes to vegetation communities can be grouped based on bioclimate zones to understand regional and territory-wide patterns of change

These changes and others will influence ecosystem processes including nutrient cycling, decomposition, and carbon budgets

Many governance processes make decisions based on current and projected vegetation communities, including regional land use planning, carbon storage calculations, and fire mitigation planning

The location and composition of vegetation communities determine the distribution and quality of animal habitats, affecting the health of animals and their movements. This is of particular importance in Yukon where many communities rely on subsistence-based lifestyles

We reviewed the scientifically documented examples of vegetation change throughout Yukon. We summarized changes to vegetation communities that resulted from persistent trends in growing conditions (namely air temperature and moisture availability) and disturbance-driven abrupt changes to growing conditions

The main patterns that we found are summarized below and the complete review is available  here 

How should we respond to these changes?

Climate change, which is happening fastest in northern regions of the world, is rapidly reshaping Yukon landscapes and that will have impacts on both wild species and people. Changes to the abundance and distribution of species -- from caribou to trees -- could affect everything from food harvesting to fire threats

It’s time for Yukon people and governments to start considering what these changes will mean for life in the territory and whether – and how – to intervene.  Doing that, will require working through a  Resist-Accept-Direct Framework 

We might choose to resist changes by protecting landscapes where climate change is moving more slowly or having less impact to ensure we maintain places where current conditions may persist for a longer period and species can adapt more slowly.  For example, we might more aggressively fight fires that threaten mature and old growth forests in these climate refugia to help caribou and  reduce carbon emissions 

It will often be necessary to accept change given the scale and pace of change. In this case, we need to be aware of what changes mean for biodiversity and take other steps to lessen impacts (e.g., improve or protect connections between natural areas so species can move)

Or we might direct change by regenerating rare plant species in landscapes that have become more suitable for the plants’ required growing conditions, particularly when the plants cannot disperse fast enough by themselves

Given the sweeping impacts of climate changes, we almost certainly need to embrace resisting or directing impacts rather than simply accepting them if we want to conserve biodiversity in one of the wildest places in the world

Accepting the changes will often be a necessary or suitable solution. But there are other options for intervention when ecologically related values and biodiversity are at stake, following the  Resist-Accept-Direct Framework 

Check out our full paper online  here  (available to everyone for free)