module 5

• <|>Changing temperatures due to climate change include warmer and colder temperatures

  <|>Biome shifts and species extinctions are effects of changing temperatures

  <|>Droughts, wildfires, and storms will increase in frequency and severity due to changing climate
• Global Climate Change (GCC) is not just about warming temperatures, but also diverse effects

  <|>Warming temperatures are the most obvious and well-known effect of GCC

  <|>Global temperatures are currently about one degree Celsius above pre-industrial averages

  <|>The last decade has set records for warmest years

  <|>Higher global temperatures are the root cause of various effects of GCC, including biome shifts, species extinctions, droughts, and wildfires
• Biomes are communities of plants and animals adapted to specific temperature and precipitation levels

  <|>Biomes will shift towards the poles as the Earth warms

  <|>Regions with vulnerable habitats are more likely to experience biome shifts due to warming temperatures
• Ecological sensitivity of different regions:

  • Vulnerable regions include the Arctic, Alaska, Canada, northern Europe, Russia, Siberia, deserts, the Himalayas, and the Tibetan Plateau
• Biomes vulnerable to warming:

  • Tundra and taiga are more vulnerable to warming
  • Taiga: large forests in cold weather systems in northern Canada and Russia
  • Tundra: farther north, unable to support trees due to lack of precipitation
• Shifts in planting zones:

  • Department of Agriculture sets out hardiness zones for gardening
  • Zones are based on temperature and rainfall
  • Shifts in planting zones due to climate change can impact gardening and agriculture
• Species extinctions:

  • Species unable to migrate may die and face extinction
  • At-risk species have limited geographical occurrence, narrow physiological tolerances, and live at the poles with nowhere to go
• Impact of climate change on species:

  • Mobile species may attempt to migrate but face barriers such as development and overlapping ranges
  • Sessile (stationary) species, like plants and corals, face challenges as mature plants may die, leading to habitat loss
• Terrestrial Effects of Climate Change

  • Changing temperatures (both warmer and colder)
  • Biome shifts and species extinctions
  • More (and more severe) droughts
  • More (and more severe) wildfires
  • More (and more severe) storms
• Remember we need to think globally - locations will experience different effects of climate change
• Some places will have multiple effects, some places will seem relatively unaffected
• Changing Temperatures


  Most obvious and well-known effect of Global Climate Change
• Used to be known as Global Warming, which is true but oversimplifies the problem and masks the diverse effects of GCC
• Higher global temperatures are the root cause of many other effects of GCC
• Biome


  A community of plants and animals that have evolved to live within certain ranges of temperature and precipitation
• Biome Shifts


  1. As Earth warms, biomes shift towards the poles

  2. Some biomes are more vulnerable to warming (tundra, taiga)
• Species Shifts


  1. Mobile species can attempt to migrate, but face barriers like overlapping ranges and habitat compression

  2. Sessile (stationary) species might be able to colonize new areas with their seeds/larvae, but adults would die
• Species unable to migrate will die - most at-risk are those with limited geographical occurrence, narrow physiological tolerances, and organisms at the poles