Study Reveals Accelerated Global Vegetation Growth Driven by Climate Change

A new study led by researchers from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has revealed significant increases in global vegetation growth under different climate scenarios. The findings were published in Global Change Biology.

The researchers developed an innovative modeling framework called GGMAOC (Grid-by-Grid; Multi-Algorithms; Optimal Combination) to analyze future vegetation changes with greater accuracy. This approach tackles key challenges in predicting global greening patterns by evaluating multiple algorithms at each individual grid cells.

Using this framework, the scientists projected changes in the leaf area index (LAI)—a key indicator of vegetation density—across the globe and four critical subregions. The results suggest that northern high-latitude areas could experience greening rates up to 2.25 times faster by the year 2100 compared to the period from 1982 to 2014.

Among the various algorithms tested, the Random Forest method demonstrated particularly strong performance, especially in models for the Northern Hemisphere. The study attributes the global increase in vegetation primarily to climate change, which appears to be fostering more favorable conditions for plant growth across diverse regions.

These insights are crucial for informing ecosystem management, conservation efforts, and climate adaptation strategies, providing a scientific basis for addressing the ongoing environmental transformations driven by global warming.

Read the full article: https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70126

Contact

LONG Huaping

Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography

E-mail: longhp@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Web: http://english.egi.cas.cn