Photo: Eberrhardgross/Pexels
Climate change over the past decades is reshaping ecosystems worldwide, from mountain grasslands in the United States to protected areas in Indonesia. Recent studies reveal that warming impacts are not only visible in vegetation cover but also affect soil functions and overall ecosystem dynamics.
A long-term study reported by EurekAlert! and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, February 2026 examined how nearly three decades of warming altered mountain grasslands in Colorado, USA.
Researchers artificially increased temperatures in experimental plots to simulate global warming. They observed that grass and flowering plant communities that initially dominated the landscape gradually gave way to woody shrubs in a process known as “shrubification.”
“These findings show that not only plant communities change, but the soils associated with them also undergo significant transformation,” said Lara Souza, University of Oklahoma, lead author of the study.
Changes Beneath the Surface
Souza and her team reported that above-ground vegetation changes were accompanied by significant shifts in soil microbial communities. Mycorrhizal fungi, which form symbiotic relationships with plant roots and aid nutrient absorption, declined, while saprotrophic fungi responsible for decomposing organic matter increased.
These changes influence how ecosystems store and cycle carbon and nutrients. Over time, the shift from productive grasslands to shrub-dominated landscapes may reduce soil fertility and forage availability for wildlife.
Stephanie Kivlin of the University of Tennessee, a co-researcher, noted that mycorrhizal fungi showed no signs of adapting even after 29 years of warming. “We expected the fungi to adjust, but they did not,” she said, emphasizing the long-term implications for soil function and ecosystem stability.
National-Scale Vegetation Monitoring in Indonesia
In Indonesia, research on climate change impacts relies largely on large-scale observational studies using satellite data. A study published in Scientific Reports by Nature Portfolio analyzed vegetation dynamics across 37 national parks between 2000 and 2022.
The research team, led by Fatwa Ramdani with Putri Setiani and Riswan Septriayadi Sianturi, used the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from MODIS satellites to map greening and browning trends in protected areas.
They found that most national parks showed increasing greenness over the two decades, particularly following the rainy season when vegetation reached peak growth. However, some areas experienced browning, mainly due to extreme droughts, forest fires, and land-use pressures.
According to Ramdani, deviations in seasonal vegetation patterns indicate that climate change is already affecting the natural growth rhythms in Indonesia’s protected areas. Temperature and rainfall variability play key roles in these dynamics.
From mountains to oceans, delivered to you. Follow us on Lingkar Bumi WhatsApp Channel.
Unlike the Colorado study, which was experimental and examined microbial-level changes, the Indonesian study is observational at a national scale. Satellite monitoring enables coverage of vast and diverse areas, from tropical rainforests to savannas and sub-alpine grasslands.
Both studies converge on a key point: vegetation is a sensitive indicator of climate change. Changes may not be dramatic seasonally, but cumulative effects over decades can fundamentally alter ecosystem structures.
If global warming continues, mountain and tropical national park ecosystems could see shifts in species composition, productivity, and ecological function. The shrubification observed in U.S. mountain grasslands provides a mechanistic model that may also be relevant for tropical ecosystems under climate stress.
Challenges for Adaptation and Conservation
Combining long-term experimental studies with satellite monitoring is crucial for a comprehensive understanding of ecosystem dynamics. Field experiments reveal the biological mechanisms behind changes, while satellite data show patterns and trends at landscape and national scales.
These findings highlight the urgent need for adaptive management of protected areas to respond to climate change. Without appropriate mitigation and adaptation strategies, observed trends could become permanent transformations in natural landscapes.
From mountain grasslands in the U.S. to national parks in Indonesia, one scientific message is clear: ecosystems are responding to global warming. How policy and environmental management respond will determine the resilience of these ecosystems in the future. (Wage Erlangga)
