Dynamics of vegetation in the tundra-taiga ecotone on the Kola Peninsula depending on climate fluctuations

The dynamics of northern forest boundary and the state of vegetation in the tundra-taiga ecotone in the northwestern Kola Peninsula have been evaluated using Landsat satellite images obtained in 1986 and 2005, the years encompassing the period of recent climate warming. Values of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in these years have been calculated to construct a differential index image reflecting changes in the vegetation. Its analysis has revealed an increase in the density of open forests and in the thickness of dwarf shrub vegetation, which has expanded to the lichen tundra.