Land-based measures

Land

It’s been a long time without rain in Arizona. Florence, United States.

Year: 2018

Photographer: Joshua Brown (edited by Frameworks)


Permafrost patterns of tundra soil, Northeast Greenland National Park

Ice wedges grow as the ice-rich frozen ground contracts during the winter and forms open cracks below the surface.

Year: 2015

Photographer: Peter Prokosch

Stabilizing permafrost by covering it

There have been several isolated suggestions to mitigate permafrost thaw or influence the thaw processes in the active layer by physically covering the surface with materials (see for example https://groups.google.com/g/geoengineering/c/u2b9Xb5B0C8/m/aXQia-nNDbcJ) in a similar way to how glaciers might be preserved (see Glacier Insulation, and Passive Radiative Cooling). Although different materials have been suggested, these have not been worked out further, and are likely to be a very costly, and impractical solution.

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Taiga landscape near Rovaniemi, Finland

The photo illustrates the environment around the capital of Finish Lapland, Rovaniemi.

Year: 2013

Photographer: Peter Prokosch

Afforestation, reforestation and forest management

Although the rate of deforestation has slowed over the last few decades, the world is still losing forest cover (FAO 2020). Adequate management, protection, and restoration of existing forests, and the planting of unforested areas, play a crucial role in climate mitigation scenarios (IPCC AR6 WG3), and many countries now include forests in their climate mitigation targets (NDCs).The Northern and Arctic regions are essential in this endeavor since they are home to large swaths of boreal forests that make up 27% of total global forest area (FAO 2020).

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Autumn at Mykland after forest fire 5 years ago

June 9-20, 2008, happened the largest forest fire since 100 years in Norway. In the area of Mykland 26 km2 of (mainly pine) forest burned. Now this is a unique area, where natural processes can be studied. Therefore some of this area will be kept untouched and protected. Several research projects have been developed.

Year: 2013

Photographer: Peter Prokosch

Wildfire management

Fire is important to the healthy functioning of boreal ecosystems. However, as wildfires increase, they release greater amounts of GHGs into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. While boreal fires typically contribute 10% of global CO2 emissions, in 2021, an extreme fire year, they accounted for 23% of global emissions (Zheng et al. 2023). Particulate matter in wildfire smoke (soot or black carbon, see also Black carbon mitigation) can also reduce albedo on sea ice and glaciers, enhancing ice melt (e.g., Aubry-Wake et al. 2022). Wildfires are projected to increase in both frequency and intensity over the coming decades (UNEP 2022). By 2050, wildfires in North American boreal forests alone could contribute close to 12 Gt CO2, almost 3% of the remaining global CO2 emissions to keep temperatures to below 1.5oC (Phillips et al. 2022a).

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