Sealing Arctic plants in ice all winter might seem redundant, but researchers in Svalbard, Norway, did it anyway over five years.
Over five winters, the research team iced the plants and then slowly warmed it in the spring and summer months to observe the impact of slow warming on the tundra.
The slowly warmed plants grew sluggishly in spring.
The good news, though: They did eventually catch up.
However, the plants that had been covered in ice also often failed to flower, sometimes producing half as many flowers as those not iced over the winter. Fewer flowers equals lower reproduction.
The research, published in the Journal of Ecology concluded that while Arctic plants are incredibly resilient, the icy winter that results from Arctic warming comes at a cost and could reshape the tundra.
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