Climate change due to warming by 2050 could move the border of the forest-tundra in Siberia more than 100 kilometers to the north. This was reported by the press service of the Krasnoyarsk Scientific Center (KSC) of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS).
Scientists noted that the change in climatic conditions in Siberia is faster than in Russia or the planet as a whole. If the average temperature in Russia for a hundred years has increased by 1.26 degrees, then for the Yenisei Siberia, within the Krasnoyarsk Territory, this figure is 1.44. The most intense warming is observed in the tundra and forest-tundra. At the same time, the annual amount of precipitation on average throughout the region increased by 8, 2 millimeters. If this trend continues, then by 2050 the average annual air temperature will increase by an additional 0.5, and the amount of precipitation will increase by 28 millimeters.
“The observed warming will push the boundaries of all natural zones to the north. The process of accumulation of humus, the main source of nutrients in the soil, will intensify in the forest-steppe, the press service reported, referring to the scientists of the Institute of Agriculture.
Thus, the area of agriculture in Siberia will increase. According to the deputy director for scientific affairs of the institute, Alexander Shpedt, such changes, on the one hand, can have a positive effect on the agricultural sector of the region, where there is not enough heat and moisture. Under the conditions of a changing climate, the duration of the growing season will increase, which opens up prospects for growing thermophilic crops in the north of the agricultural zone of Siberia - early ripening varieties of corn, lentils, soybeans.
"However, it should be borne in mind that at the same time in the south of Siberia, due to the rise in temperature and uneven precipitation, the soil will dry up. This will lead to their degradation. Additional irrigation and more active use of mineral fertilizers will be required, without which agriculture will become unstable. ", - said Spedt.
