In a ten year study unlike any previous analysis, Eric Post, a Penn State University professor of biology, has determined that the best hope for Arctic plant diversity to survive the ongoing increases in temperature are large herbivores. The research was published in the Feb. 20, 2013, issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London.
Unlike previous climate studies, Post included the contribution of large herbivores like caribou and musk ox to the mix of factors that may determine if plant diversity can persist in the Arctic in the ages of global warming that promise as much as a three degree Celsius increase in Arctic temperature.
In a uniquely designed experiment, Post simulated global warming in a small low-Arctic plant community near Kangerlussuaq, Greenland, with and without the contribution of herbivores.
Post determined that herbivore grazing acts as a buffer against the effects of climate change on plant species diversity. Ungrazed shrubs produce a physical cover and leaf litter than prevents smaller species of plants from receiving proper nutrition and sunlight. Animal grazing eliminated the problem and maintained plant diversity.
This work is the first long term study to include the animal contribution to the problem of global warming and climate change in the Arctic.