Biodiversity and Climate Change

About The Book

The biophysical environment is affected by climatic changes including earlier springs and later autumns, melting glaciers, less ice in the Arctic, and higher seas. Already, we can see the effects of these shifts on biodiversity at the species level, in terms of phenology, distribution, and population size, as well as at the ecosystem level, in terms of distribution, composition, and function. The loss of biodiversity and the accompanying rise in global temperatures pose a threat to human security (e.g. a major change in the food chain upon which we depend, water sources may change, recede or disappear, medicines and other resources we rely on may be harder to obtain as the plants and forna they are derived from may reduce or disappear, etc.). Together with other aspects, environmental circumstances play a crucial role in determining how plants operate and where they may be found. Current plant diversity patterns are known to have been enormously impacted by changes in long term climatic circumstances that may be collectively dubbed climate change, and greater consequences are projected in the future. To a large extent, climate change is expected to continue being a primary factor in shaping patterns of biodiversity. This essential book provides a 360-degree panorama of the cutting-edge science and thought on climate change and biological variety, and is accessible to both experts and concerned laypeople.