Climate Management Issues

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Climate Change and Its Effect on Ecosystems

Overview

As previously stated, one of the most misunderstood aspects of climate change

is not the rise in air temperature by a few degrees—it is the sheer havoc that

those “few degrees” will wreak not only on human society, but on the natural

environment. One aspect of human nature is that if something is not directly

affecting us, it probably will not make a lasting impression. For instance, con-

sider this: Every time something upsets the balance in the Middle East and the

price of gas skyrockets at the pumps as a result, people complain and drive

less. They might put their SUVs up for sale, seriously consider buying a hybrid

and adopting a greener lifestyle, and talk about the environment and recy-

cling. Then, right after the prices fall again at the pump, people get comfort-

able in their “business as usual” ways and that is the end of it until the next

panic at the pumps. What percentage of the general public do you suppose

really takes it seriously and follows through for the environment?

If we had to trade places with someone or something that had to live with

the permanent consequences of climate change every day, perhaps that would

generate the interest and dedication necessary to make real and permanent

changes. Knowledge is power, and that is the purpose of this chapter: to pro-

vide a basic, fundamental understanding of exactly how climate change is

currently affecting—and will affect—the earth’s varied ecosystems.

This chapter will discuss six unique ecosystems and the effect that climate

change is currently having, what will happen as temperatures continue to rise,

and what the future will look like for the inhabitants of these areas. First it will

take a look at the world’s forests—the temperate, boreal (northern), and tropical—

so that you can get an idea of the destruction affecting these areas. Next it will

focus on the world’s grasslands and prairies. Following that, we will focus on the

earth’s most fragile ecosystem—the polar areas. Much of these areas are already

feeling the disastrous effects of the warming temperatures. From there, we will

travel to the world’s great deserts, then to mountain areas, and nally to the

diverse aquatic regions—lakes, oceans, and coastal areas—where many of the

world’s most heavily populated urban areas are located, so that you will see why

the problem is much more than just a few-degree rise in temperature.