Ecosystem Effects of Climate Change Affect Everyone

Posted: August 28, 2022 10:07 am

Climate warming often has unexpected consequences, and the University of Michigan scientists conducted a 5-year study to explore the effects of greater heat, shifts in the level of precipitation on North American forests. The study duplicated conditions that represented changes in the environment on seedlings to observe the direct effects of climate change on forest growth patterns.

Northern Forest Environmental Factors

Northern forests represent one of the few ecosystems that remain relatively unspoiled, and these systems a large part of the planet’s terrestrial carbon. Known as boreal forests, these environments consist mostly of conifers like fir, pine and spruce trees. Found primarily in northeastern Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, northern Maine, Canada and Alaska, boreal forests exist in an area bordered by the frozen tundra to the north and temperate zones in the south.

The experiment consisted of warming the sites for seedlings around the clock to determine the possible effects of global warming without using greenhouses or growing chambers that would introduce more variables into the experiment. Temperature increases of 1.6 degrees Celsius and 3.1 C were applied. In addition, tarps were used to collect rainwater and vary precipitation to mimic changes caused by climate change

Conclusions of the Study

The boreal species didn’t fare well in the experiments due to either increased heat or increased rainfall. Increased rain actually aggravated the growth problems when applied to saplings raised at higher temperature averages.

In addition, movable tarps were positioned above half the plots before some storms to capture rainwater and mimic precipitation shifts under a changing climate. As a control, some of the trees were grown at ambient temperatures and moisture levels. Problems included growth retardation and mortality of several species.

The results proved that global warming and climate change can seriously impact the health and survival of boreal forests. The forests might quickly reach a tipping point where forests die out first in southernmost areas and spread north. The questions the study raises include those aimed at determining health of the ecosphere in an otherwise untampered environment.

Impact of Climate Changes

The results of climate change of the southern boreal forest include possible reductions in the forest’s ability to produce lumber, host symbiont plants, resist flooding and support animal diversity in the wild. It’s also important whether climate changes compromise the ability of trees to produce to clean the air of free carbon and hold the chemical in the ground and wood. Even small changes in temperature and rainfall seem capable of making extensive environmental changes that could change the whole aspect of how the ecosystem works.

Scientists expect that climate changes would introduce both negative and positive results on plants and the greater ecosystem like boosting tree growth when rainfall is plentiful. Extended droughts would likely cause declining growth and survival rates, but even positive developments could prove harmful to other species that might fail to survive due to healthier competition. Ecosystems are delicate and depend on checks and balances to keep most species healthy.

As the most important plants in boreal forests, scientists can already detect signs that the trees in boreal forests are beginning to change. Temperatures have risen 1.5 degrees Celsius on average, and scientists predict that temperatures will rise by 11 degrees Celsius in forested areas by the end of the century.

Boreal Forest Facts Subject to Change

Boreal forests comprise 30% of the world’s forested areas, and the ecosystems have forest-specific values of average uses for the wood, harvesting operations, carbon content of wood and soil and other ecosystem service values. The forested areas include Canada, Alaska, Russia and parts of the United States, and due to cold and remote locations, the forest hasn’t been clear cut or exploited nearly so extensively as other forested areas around the world

The variety of tree species includes mostly conifers based on 6 to 8 months of freezing weather. The forests haven’t been managed as closely as other wooded land resources, and trees grow undisturbed to replenish the planet’s oxygen, carbon and other organic resources. These protected biomes rank as the most susceptible to climate change, and warming temperatures threaten biomes that have evolved for survival in cooler temperatures.

Threats to boreal forests based on global warming include the following situations:

• Wildfire Increases
  Climate change makes wildfires increasingly common. Although boreal forests depend on fires to remove old growth and replenish the land, too many fires can turn a forested area into a desert.
  
• Finding Ways to Extract Carbon
  Most of the carbon stored by boreal forests exists in the layer of permafrost, and scientists may need to find ways of extracting the carbon and the boreal forests produce increasingly less of the critical chemical.
  
• Cold Forests Growing Warmer
  Boreal forests are rapidly growing warmer due to temperature increases and shorter, milder winters. Even small changes in average daily temperatures can upset a biome’s balance and cause incredible environmental changes like the death of a species or support of a dangerous species without any natural predators.
  
• Stunted Growth of Foliage
  As temperatures rise, plants that make up ground cover lose their water at higher rates. This results in plants closing their leaves, which puts foliage at greater stress. The results can be stunted growth, ambient moisture shortages and long-term drought conditions.
  
  Severe droughts in the forests hasten climate changes in an enormous feedback loop. Droughts have struck northern Alberta since 2002.
  
• Greater Pest Problems
  Warmer climates are ideal breeding grounds for many types of insects and anim;al pests. Warmer winters generate larger numbers of insect pests that further damage vegetation and attract other pathogens. Other animal pests can breed out of control.
  
  Outbreaks of bark beetles have developed as a major problem and source of forest damage. Spruce and pine trees have been damaged in multiple European forests over the past 4 decades. Estimates of damages are set at 2.2 million cubic meters.
  
• Wind Damage
  Surprisingly, global warming increases instances of wind damage based on tropical cyclone behavior. Strong winds accompany these storms when low pressure systems travel over the Atlantic Ocean. Winds can escalate to category 5 hurricane levels, but few hurricanes threaten boreal forests.
  
  However, high winds can easily result from climate changes, and these winds can devastate boreal forest ecosystems. Three windstorms followed one after the other in Central Europe in 1999. Named Anatol, Lothar and Martin, these storms caused $11.4 billion Euros in damages.

Other Global Ecosystems that Risk Unwelcome Changes

Ecosystems around the world face similar situations where unwelcome changes might upset the natural balance of nature. Increased runoff of rainfall causes flooding in areas of South America and Africa. Climate change and shortsighted cutting of vast areas of the Amazon rainforest threaten the ecology of the entire South American continent.

The Mideast risks ever-increasing periods of drought as do Central America, the U.S. eastern seaboard, southern Europe and interior China. Some of the most dramatic changes to existing ecosystems caused by climate change include:

• Habitat Destruction
  Habitat destruction ranks as one of the most dangerous effects of climate change. Deforestation, regardless of whether caused by drought, heat, pests or mankind’s carelessness, the loss of natural habitats threatens many species with extinction including animals, plants and insects. That increases existing pressures caused by air and water pollution and exploitation of natural resources.
  
• Increased Air And Water Pollution
  Air and water pollution increase the effects of climate change in various ways. For example, Mount Pinatubo of the Philippines erupted in 1991 spewing tons of ash, sulfur dioxide and water vapor into the atmosphere. Other gasses clustered into sulfate mists that generated worldwide clouds reduced and reduced temperatures.
  
  Although these sulfates consist of microscopic particles, citizens and companies around the world generate them consistently by burning fossil fuels. Aerosols generate negative effects on climate, air pollution and breathability regardless of whether generated by volcanic eruptions, burning fossil fuels or generating greenhouse gases.
  
• Invasive Species
  Climate change routinely causes paradigm shifts in ecological conditions that can affect biomes, human health, pathogen breeding, sea life and agricultural efforts. The oyster parasite called Perkinsus marinus can devastate oyster populations, and increased ocean temperatures increase the breeding capability of the pathogen.
  
• Extinction-level Events
  An incredible number of species are now at greater risk of extinction based on climate change. Examples include animals living in mountainous environments like the pika and animals living in oceans like seals and polar bears. Salmon have become threatened due to a combination of climate-related issues, overfishing and natural barriers to successful reproduction.
  
• Rising Ocean Temperatures
  Rising water temperatures affect marine life along with greater pollution and the rising acidification of water. These conditions make it harder for corals and shellfish to generate hard shells. Algae blooms, which are caused by rising heat, can destroy reef animal life.
  
• Tropical Forest Destruction
  Converting just one acre of tropical forest into farmland destroys one of nature’s hotspots for biodiversity. Tropical forests house many rare species like endangered orangutans, which formerly roamed freely in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo. Rising agricultural interests damage ecosystems around the world like orangutans that now survive mostly in private reserves.
  
• Arctic and Out-of-the-Way Ecosystems
  Arctic and out-of-the-way ecosystems face strong vulnerabilities to climate changes that disrupt life cycles like migration, animals returning to their birthplace to reproduce or plant life that needs to bloom to survive. Boreal forests are forced to invade areas of the tundra as their native environments become too hot because of global warming. That puts several species at risk of extinction including caribou, snowy owls and arctic foxes.
  
  Earlier springs force migratory birds to nest earlier in the season, and northeastern bird species that fly south for the winter are already returning an average of 13 days earlier. In California, 16 out of 23 common butterfly species now arrive for spring days earlier. Changes in migratory patterns can increase species’ vulnerabilities, threaten the food supply and interrupt breeding.
  
• Moving to Higher Elevations
  Increasing temperatures have forced many animals, plants and aquatic types of life to move to higher elevations in the mountains. Scientists have discovered an average of ecosystem life moving 36 feet higher each decade to compensate for the heat. This results in increased competition for the same resources, and the migrating species often suffer living in a less hospitable environment.

Determining an Approach

One of the major problems of dealing with migration based on climate change is whether to support natural selection, a.k.a. survival of the fittest, or help an endangered species based on support for the underdog. People often make these decisions based on how cute or cuddly a given species might be. Ideally, solutions should strive to protect all life forms and ecosystems with equal fervor.

Recent Posts