Growing Degree Days-Vuntut

Tundra is an important ecosystem in Vuntut National Park. It covers approximately 56% of the park and is used extensively by the Porcupine Caribou Herd during it’s spring and fall migrations. The Porcupine Caribou Herd is critically important to the Vuntut Gwitchin and protecting portions of the herd’s spring and fall migration habitat was one of the main reasons for the creation of Vuntut National Park. There is evidence that a warming climate is changing Arctic vegetation. These changes include an increase the cover and height of shrubs, changes the timing of vegetation green-up and senscense, and an incease in the number of growing degree days. A monitoring program is needed to determine if changes in tundra vegetation documented in other regions of the Arctic are taking place in Vuntut National Park.

Organization: Parks Canada | Parcs Canada

Last modified: 2024-12-09T17:14:39.100495