April 16, 2012
Climate Change and the Importance of Biodiversity
As humans burn more fossil fuels, we emit more greenhouse gases, and bring ourselves closer and closer to the impending doom of global warming. It may seem dramatic and over-played when portrayed in the media, but the consequences are real. Climate can affect global water supplies, increasing our need to conserve water and find more reliable sources especially in desert and temperate environments where water is already scarce. Continuous population growth only aggravates the problem. The problem, however, is not only a matter of water resources for our consumption; water allows for all forms of life on earth. With ever changing water and precipitation patterns in the midst of climate change, fauna and flora globally too will have to reestablish themselves or make other adaptations to be able to survive such a tumultuous time.
Changes in climate will also affect plants worldwide, thereby influencing the distribution of most other forms of life. As plants are at the first trophic level, they convert sunlight into chemical bonds of energy that are made available for next trophic level to use. If climate change stresses water supplies of plants, these effects will easily carry on to all the species that rely on those plants for survival. The natural ecosystems and biomes, or those that remain, will be hard-hit with this accelerating climate change. Plants are adapted to the regions they live in right now, but climate variations can disturb these native plants as well as crops. In this way, climate change has potential to make long lasting and calamitous effects on wildlife all over the world. As humans, we naturally first think of our own food needs, largely coming from agricultural crop and livestock production. Climate change has the potential to cause havoc not just for natural systems but for our industrial farming systems as well. As industrialized as our farming has become, humans still rely on the weather to stay stable and within a temperate range so that their crops can grow. Monoculture planting found in agricultural landscape are especially susceptible to failure under extreme conditions. A few of the possible effects of these climate changes are shown in the graphic below.
These are just some of the effects of global climate change on agriculture. Full effects are hard to predict with the earth’s complex feedback systems.
Scientific models have attempted to predict how the locations of the earth’s biomes, including agricultural lands, would change. At the rate that carbon dioxide is being released into the atmosphere, plants have little time to be able to evolve to better fit their new habitats. Instead of evolving, the dispersed seeds of flora will now germinate in places where they previously have not been able to because conditions were not compatible with their needs. Plants, biomes, and whole ecosystems will move towards the poles where conditions are more favorable for their growth and they have better access to water, while places closer to the equator will be become hotter and drier. Times like these prove the importance of biodiversity and species richness. The more diverse a certain species, the greater the chance that they will be able to survive a set of extreme conditions that climate change brings. Increased diversity means more alleles, and rare alleles can increase fitness of a species. The benefits of this are only often realized during disturbances. Consider the following graphics that demonstrate such a trend of drifting ecosystems and biomes.
Above show the “measured global vegetation biomes.” Below are the “future global vegetation biomes” showing biome locations if carbon dioxide levels doubled their present levels. Vegetation moves closer to the poles where conditions for growth will be more favorable. Places previously covered in ice will allow for lush forests, as deserts continue to get hotter and drier.
When species find it necessary to migrate, we discover the usefulness and practicality of diverse patches of natural areas even among the most developed urban areas. Connected patches and networks will allow for animals and, more passively, plants to find their way to more suitable environments. This movement also gives species opportunities to mate with other populations thereby increasing their gene diversity and chances to share rare alleles. Biodiversity and allele diversity within species makes those plant or animal populations more stable and resilient following a time of disturbance, like extreme temperatures and precipitation that climate change brings.
Scientists have tried their best with the latest technology to try to incorporate each of the variables and feedback systems to predict specific consequences on various species. For instance, it may be that plants prosper with the excess of carbon dioxide, maximizing plant growth potential and mitigating climate changes. Or, on the other hand, it may turn out that the extirpation of animal species around the world may release 15-20% as much carbon as that coming from anthropogenic causes. Two possible effects are shown below. It is difficult to incorporate the complexities and diverse state of the natural world into a computer model, as well as include slow vegetation responses and species and population interactions. Specific effects of climate change are questionable, but we need to ask ourselves if we are really willing to risk our current systems (agricultural and otherwise) that have been working so well for us.
Specific consequences of climate change on our agricultural supplies are unknown. Shown here are two different possibilities.
Of course, this is all assuming that global climate change is inevitable. Scientists are predicting what would happen if we continue to emit at current rates. It is not inevitable; we can help change the projections. We all need to realize the gravity of our choices and actions, especially in regards to energy sources. In the process of preparing for such a series of events, we need to allow for a diverse amount of species to flourish so that disastrous events will not lead to extirpation, or even extinction, of a species. Although indicator species and species that have a narrow range of tolerance will be the first hit, some plants and animals will be able to migrate as a means of adapting to the new set of environmental conditions. Before such dramatic possibilities are considered though, we should first reevaluate our lifestyles and reflect on the long term impacts of our actions on people and life in general all over the world. This way we might be more willing to make necessary adjustments to our lives in order to ensure food and water availability and presence of natural spaces for future generations to enjoy.
This post was authored by Marisa Spinella ’12, who is majoring in Environmental Studies (BS) with a minor in Architecture.
Works referenced
http://ecosystems.wcp.muohio.edu/studentresearch/climatechange02/agriculture/agroproject.html
http://www.epa.gov/wed/pages/projects/globalclimatechange/Vegetationredistribution.pdf
Adams, Richard M., Brian H. Hurd, Stephanie Lenhart, and Neil Leary. “Effects of Global Climate Change on Agriculture: An Interpretive Review.” Climate Research 11 (1998): 19-30. Inter-Research Science Center. 17 Dec. 1998. Web. 9 Apr. 2012. <http://www.int-res.com/articles/cr/11/c011p019.pdf>.
Forman, R.T.T. Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions. New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1995
I find it interesting how you tied climate change to biodiversity, as we have been focusing mainly on water availability. I believe that the effects on biodiversity from climate change are not considered as much as they should when we discuss the negative implications of global warming. It is difficult to make people understand how losing biodiversity affects humans, as many people do not see how their lives correlate with specific species. Humans have found ways to adapt to live in almost all areas of the world, and we are generalist species because of that. However, specialist species will suffer a lot with climatic shifts, as they have very specific niches. Many of these specialist species could be keystone species or be valuable to humans later on (such as for medicine), so it may negatively impact us even if we are able to survive the climatic changes ourselves as a species.
Heat waves are scary!! Not only are they unpleasant and can cause deaths that should be avoided with this day’s and age’s technology, they bring up major issues of environmental justice. The people that are going to be most effected are those that can’t afford to stay cool, ill, elderly or very young people. The justice issues arise with that population of people that can’t afford to stay cool. These are the illegal immigrants that have no choice but to go to work on days where warnings on the news will tell people to stay inside. The people who will suffer are those who can’t afford to live in housing that has air conditioning. And the people that are hurt by heat waves again and are going to be the people that can move some place cooler. So these people that are being hurt by climate change most are going to be those that can’t even afford a car to get to work let alone share in the polluting and CO2 emitting legacy that is the United States.
Global warming is truly happening but sometimes we put it aside because it can be exaggerated in the media and outplayed. We also get discouraged when we see that the problem isn’t being resolved, not by the US government, not by the UN. And you’re right in saying that it is very real and that it is affecting plants, which in turn will affect the human population tremendously. It is also hard to predict how exactly the plant populations and species will be affected so it is hard to solve it. It is a very complicated dilemma and it can discourage us because there is no one clear answer, and especially because our well-being is in jeopardy and we can hardly do anything about it.
I think biodiversity is an important issue to highlight, especially in a giant city like Los Angeles that has become so removed from wildlife. It is easy to forget the far-reaching effects of industry and business that may take place in the city. Our actions that use fossil fuels and emit greenhouse gases within the city can certainly affect biodiversity in other reaches of the world, whether directly or indirectly through our economic choices. The choice to buy something sourced locally or overseas can affect the amount of pollution in the whole process or can affect the ecosystem of the area for production. For example, if a product were to be made in a vulnerable ecosystem, that could have harmful consequences versus purchasing that product from a local source.
Also, agricultural biodiversity is hugely important. Encouraging local farmers to preserve heirloom varieties and not buying GMO crops can help to maintain biodiversity in the food we grow and eat.
What would be interesting to consider would be the biodiversity of humans. This issue is not something that is talked about much in the main stream media. However, just as we talk about the biodiversity of different species of organisms in the biosphere, the human diversity will also be much affected. This diversity change will be in the sense of economic diversity. Those that live in the 1% of the world’s population will be largely unaffected by the global warming mainly because they will have the wealth to deter some of the negative impacts. However, we will see a huge die-off of the poorest people on Earth. As warming continues and we see more of the EVE’s, areas most affected will be those with extreme droughts and low economic infrastructure unable to ward off the impacts of warming. They will die of hunger from lack of crops and thirst from the lack of clean water. These people are inevitably going to perish because of how our current global economy keeps them in poverty and disallows them to improve themselves. These areas also, of course, hold a significant amount of the population on this planet.
As we see these people continue to die-off we will see a shift of human population. There will be an increase in the proportion of wealthy humans to those without. Looking down the timeline even further, money will be the major player in the world of survival. Those without will perish and those with money will be forced to help themselves from submitting to Earth’s warming and lack of resources as a result.