Impact of Climate Change on Plant and Animal - Term Paper Example

Climate Change Insert Name Institution Introduction Climate change refers to the lasting and significant change in the distribution of weather patterns statistically, over a long period and this period of time ranges from decades to millions of years. The change includes changes in the weather conditions and the distribution of the weather around average conditions (Gillett, Zwiers & Weaver, 2003). Oceanic processes for instance the oceanic circulation, solar radiation variations received by the earth, volcanic eruptions and plate tectonics and human induced changes of the natural wound. Scientists use observations and theoretical models to understand and predict future climate. Physical evidence has been documented as proof for climate change and these include examples for the change in the climate (Grabher, Pauli & Gottfried, 2002). These include; temperature measurements and proxies, historical and archeological evidence, glaciers, arctic sea ice loss, vegetation, pollen analysis, precipitation, dendroclimatology, ice cores, animals and sea level change. This evidence of climate change occurs in different parts of the world and world leaders have the common problem of climate change, which can be solved in isolation. The leaders need to come together and ensure that proper mechanisms and strategies are being taken to understand the climate change. The vegetation and animals are some of the examples of impacts of climate change, which directly touch human beings (Roy & Sparks, 2000). Impact of climate change on plant and animal A change in the climate can cause a change in the distribution, coverage and type of vegetation in an area. Some changes in the climate may lead to increased precipitation and warmth, which will lead to the improved plant growth which further leads to the sequestration of CO2. The gradual increase in the warmth in a region will lead to plans flowering earlier which will then affect the life cycle timing of the organism, which are dependent on organisms. On the other hand, a cold climate will lead to a lag in the bio cycles of the plants. Radical persistent changes in the climate will lead to vegetation stress, desertification and rapid plant loss depending on the extent of the change. An example of this is the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse, an extinction that happened 300 million years ago (Roy & Sparks, 2000). During the time, the equatorial region of Europe and America were covered by vast rainforests. However, climate change devastated the rainforests, which resulted to fragmentation of the habitat into isolated islands and this led to plant and animal communities’ extinction. One of the most important findings in ecology over the decades has been the role of climate in the determination of geographical distribution of the ecological communities. Climate variability can affect the distribution, population sizes, metabolism and the behavior of the plant communities. The following are the potential climate change impacts on the ecosystems (Grabher, Pauli, & Gottfried, 2002). Coral reefs The bulk volume and the normally complex architecture of coral reefs are maintained and increases by the natural processes of accretion i.e. reef building and dissolution i.e. reef breakdown. Currently, the balance is being faced on a threat by two elements. First, heat waves are stressing and bleaching the coral reef causing its death. Secondly, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is causing detrimental changes in the chemistry in the seawater. Studies have illustrated that a mild warming changes the coral dominance to algal dominance. Therefore, it is expected that global warming, will have major impacts in the population of coral reefs due to its dependency on the ecosystem (Grabher, Pauli, & Gottfried, 2002). Rangeland Biodiversity in Australia Global climate changes, which have been caused by the increased rates of green house gas emissions, are a recent development in global climate. The Australian rangelands have been on the exposure of global warming and the cooling events for several; ten thousands of years. As Australia drifted to the equator, it was thrown under different climatic zones, which were characterized with dynamic wind patterns, and oceanic currents, which led to the fluctuations in the temperatures. These changes caused the extinction of less adapted species as well as major changes in the existing environments and species within them (Grace, Frank, & Laszlo, 2002). Climate changes are also attributed to the hydrological cycles, which affected the faunal biodiversity. The biodiversity in the rangelands have survived the fluctuations in the global climate in the past but have experienced the present day changes. The present day changes, which are characterized, by rapid changes are predicted to increase the rate of extinction rates of the climate sensitive biota over time (Gillett, Zwiers & Weaver, 2003). Tropical Rainforests The tropical forests in the north Queensland are very sensitive to the climate changes to the expected changes expected in the next three decades. The high rainfalls favor some rainforests types for example the lowland while the woodland and the reduced rainfall favors the forests, which are dominated by the Eucalyptus trees. The habitat for the high land rainforest may reduce by 50% due to only a 1oC warming (Grabher, Pauli, & Gottfried, 2002). An increase in the temperatures may lead to the disappearance of the environments, which are suitable for the highland rainforest. An increase in the temperatures by 1oC will lead to a predicted decrease in the bio-climatic ranges of the endemic species by 37%. Researchers have warned that 30-50 species will become extinct within the century and faunal species from the highlands will disappear if the average temperature rises by 1–5°C (Gibbs & Breisch, 2001). Greenhouse gas concentrations are rising and this will led to variations in the world climate. Research done shows that the climate change trends, are affecting the geographical distributions, phenology, and the physiology of various species. Life cycle events are set off by environmental clues such degree-days and the changes will lead to a break in the coupling of the life cycle interactions that occurs between species. For instance, the changes in phenology, physiology and distribution of the biota will lead to a change in the competitive interactions and relationships with other species. This will thus lead to the changes in the population of the population and composition of the communities of the species. The following are the example for the above impacts (Roy & Sparks, 2000). 1. Changes in the physiology, productivity and growth of plants The record for tree rings in both the southern and northern hemisphere has demonstrated century scales that are clear of the amount of wood, which is laid down every year. This is due to the increases in the temperatures, increases in the carbon dioxide levels and the level of nitrogen deposition in the environment. Another example is the increase of Basal area of trees and climbers in the Amazon with the lianas’ dominance increasing at a very high rate. 2. Changes in the life-cycle timing The International Phenological Garden from 1959-1993 have documented that spring events now occur 6 days earlier and that autumn occurs 4.8 later and these results to the growing season being 10.8 days more than it was in the 1950s. The monitoring of life cycles in Cardedeu, Spain from the year 1952 shows that there have been the following changes; plants fruit 9 days earlier, butterflies emerge earlier by 11 days, leaves unfold about 16 days earlier and fall after 13 days, and the migratory birds arrive later with 15 days. Predator prey and plant herbivore relationships and interactions are also being affected by the phenological mismatches. For example, the interactions between the winter moth, the oak and the great tit in Europe (Gillett, Zwiers & Weaver, 2003). 3. Changes in species distribution and abundance On several mountain ranges in Western North America, the tree line has reached its maximum in the 1920-1950. There was also recorded an increase in the plant species richness than earlier recorded in history in the European Alps due to colonization. A survey done on 35 non-migratory butterflies shifted to the south. Two thirds of the species also moved to the north while the southern boundaries remained stable and as such their geographical ranges were improved (Grace, Frank, & Laszlo, 2002). Conclusion Sufficient studies now exist to conclude the effects of climate change to plant and animal communities within Australia and parts of the world. Future climate changes effects on species could be major as already illustrated by what have been happening in Australia and globally. The species, which will not be able to tolerate the new conditions, will face extinction eventually. The most vulnerable of the species will be the ones that have low genetic variations, have highly specific host relationships and low mobility among others (Grace, Frank, & Laszlo, 2002). Remnant communities such as the coral reefs, Polar Regions, alpine zone, and coastal wetlands are most likely to be more vulnerable. The greenhouse effect on climate change is the recent development in the climate changes and is posing a serious threat as it is influenced by the activities of humans. Scientists have projected the effect of greenhouse emissions to be the most serious and are expected to cause major climate changes by the year 2100. Global warming has become a world phenomenon with world leaders coming up with strategies and mechanisms to control greenhouse gases quantities in the atmosphere (Grace, Frank, & Laszlo, 2002). References Gibbs, J., & Breisch, A. (2001). Climate warming and calling phenology of frogs near Ithaca, New York. Nature, 1134-1157. Gillett, N., . Zwiers, F., & Weaver, A. (2003). Detection of human influence on sea-level pressure. Nature, 292-297. Grabher, G., Pauli, .L, & Gottfried, M. (2002). “Climate effects on mountain plants. Nature, 537-566. Grace, J., Frank, B., & Laszlo, N. (2002). Impacts of climate change on the tree line. Annals of Botany, 537-544. Roy, D., & Sparks, T. (2000). Phenology of British butterflies and climate change. Global Change Biology, 407-416. Read More