According to CNET report, a comprehensive satellite image study spanning more than 30 years (from 1984 to 2021 ) shows people the great impact of climate change on the European Alps** In recent years, not only the snow cover of these mountains has melted significantly, but also the mountains are rapidly "turning green" or growing a shocking amount of vegetation due to factors directly related to global warming. This phenomenon is mainly exacerbated by human activities (such as excessive burning of coal).
Published Thursday in Science 》The title of the paper in the magazine contains the phrase "from white to green".
As the world heats up and rainfall increases - both as a result of the climate crisis - plants begin to appear where they should not. This intrusion resulted in more dense and higher vegetation in surprising areas, similar to those in the Alps.
Sabine Rumpf of the University of Basel, the lead author of the study, said in a statement: "alpine plants adapt to harsh conditions, but they are not competitive." She added that as environmental conditions changed, these specialized species lost their advantages and were eliminated by competition. "Therefore, the unique biodiversity of the Alps is facing considerable pressure."
You might think that this extra green plant sounds like a positive thing. After all, vegetation is invaluable to the earth. But this is not necessarily beneficial, especially for the Alps.
"Greener mountains reflect less sunlight," says Rumpf. "This leads to further warming - which in turn leads to further shrinkage of the reflective snow layer." In other words, the overloading of new alpine green plants may greatly increase the amount of melted snow in the Alps.
In a statement, GR é goire Mari é thoz of the University of Lausanne and the study's co authors said: "over the years, local ground measurements have shown that snow depth in low altitude areas has decreased." Mari é thoz added: "this reduction has led to the basic absence of snow in some areas."
In addition, the study found that the plant biomass (the weight of living plant materials per unit surface area) increased by more than 77% in the area above the expected Alpine tree line, and the shape of this problem became the focus. It's a bit like an endless cycle.