It’s not easy being a tiny willow on the wind-and snow-blasted islands of the Norwegian territory of Svalbard.
It turns out that Salix polaris, the polar willow, handles these tough conditions by growing as best it can in response to July temperatures — a response that researchers recorded all over the archipelago.
The polar willow (Salix polaris) may not seem like much when you look at it — just a jumble of tiny green leaves in a dense mat that pokes out of the tundra. But beyond its humble appearance, this little shrub plays an outsized role when it comes to the creatures living in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
It’s not just that Svalbard’s reindeer depend on it for food. It’s also that how it grows reflects what happens with the growth of all other plants across the whole of Svalbard. Now, researchers have found that the polar willow and other plants grow in synchrony across Svalbard, in direct response to July temperatures.
Continue reading at Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Image via Norwegian University of Science and Technology
