Evidence of current impact of climate change on life: a walk from genes to the biosphere
TL;DR: The evidence of how organisms and populations are currently responding to climate change through phenotypic plasticity, genotypic evolution, changes in distribution and, in some cases, local extinction is reviewed.
Abstract: We review the evidence of how organisms and populations are currently responding to climate change through phenotypic plasticity, genotypic evolution, changes in distribution and, in some cases, local extinction. Organisms alter their gene expression and metabolism to increase the concentrations of several antistress compounds and to change their physiology, phenology, growth and reproduction in response to climate change. Rapid adaptation and microevolution occur at the population level. Together with these phenotypic and genotypic adaptations, the movement of organisms and the turnover of populations can lead to migration toward habitats with better conditions unless hindered by barriers. Both migration and local extinction of populations have occurred. However, many unknowns for all these processes remain. The roles of phenotypic plasticity and genotypic evolution and their possible trade-offs and links with population structure warrant further research. The application of omic techniques to ecological studies will greatly favor this research. It remains poorly understood how climate change will result in asymmetrical responses of species and how it will interact with other increasing global impacts, such as N eutrophication, changes in environmental N : P ratios and species invasion, among many others. The biogeochemical and biophysical feedbacks on climate of all these changes in vegetation are also poorly understood. We here review the evidence of responses to climate change and discuss the perspectives for increasing our knowledge of the interactions between climate change and life.
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01 Dec 2010
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest a reduction in the global NPP of 0.55 petagrams of carbon, which would not only weaken the terrestrial carbon sink, but would also intensify future competition between food demand and biofuel production.
Abstract: Terrestrial net primary production (NPP) quantifies the amount of atmospheric carbon fixed by plants and accumulated as biomass. Previous studies have shown that climate constraints were relaxing with increasing temperature and solar radiation, allowing an upward trend in NPP from 1982 through 1999. The past decade (2000 to 2009) has been the warmest since instrumental measurements began, which could imply continued increases in NPP; however, our estimates suggest a reduction in the global NPP of 0.55 petagrams of carbon. Large-scale droughts have reduced regional NPP, and a drying trend in the Southern Hemisphere has decreased NPP in that area, counteracting the increased NPP over the Northern Hemisphere. A continued decline in NPP would not only weaken the terrestrial carbon sink, but it would also intensify future competition between food demand and proposed biofuel production.
1,780 citations
Aix-Marseille University1, Spanish National Research Council2, University of Paris3, Sciences Po4, Technical University of Madrid5, The Cyprus Institute6, University of Salento7, Central Maine Community College8, University of Barcelona9, University of Haifa10, City University of Hong Kong11, University of Giessen12
TL;DR: In this paper, a dedicated effort to synthesize existing scientific knowledge across disciplines is underway and aims to provide a better understanding of the combined risks posed in the Mediterranean Basin, where fewer systematic observations schemes and impact models are based.
Abstract: Recent accelerated climate change has exacerbated existing environmental problems in the Mediterranean Basin that are caused by the combination of changes in land use, increasing pollution and declining biodiversity. For five broad and interconnected impact domains (water, ecosystems, food, health and security), current change and future scenarios consistently point to significant and increasing risks during the coming decades. Policies for the sustainable development of Mediterranean countries need to mitigate these risks and consider adaptation options, but currently lack adequate information — particularly for the most vulnerable southern Mediterranean societies, where fewer systematic observations schemes and impact models are based. A dedicated effort to synthesize existing scientific knowledge across disciplines is underway and aims to provide a better understanding of the combined risks posed.
699 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of resource stoichiometry on soil microorganisms and decomposition, specifically on the structure and function of the soil food web, have been investigated, focusing on heterotrophic microbial communities.
Abstract: Elemental stoichiometry constitutes an inherent link between biogeochemistry and the structure and processes within food webs, and thus is at the core of ecosystem functioning. Stoichiometry allows for spanning different levels of biological organization, from cellular metabolism to ecosystem structure and nutrient cycling, and is therefore particularly useful for establishing links between different ecosystem compartments. We review elemental carbon : nitrogen : phosphorus (C:N:P) ratios in terrestrial ecosystems (from vegetation, leaf litter, woody debris, and dead roots, to soil microbes and organic matter). While the stoichiometry of the plant, litter, and soil compartments of ecosystems is well understood, heterotrophic microbial communities, which dominate the soil food web and drive nutrient cycling, have received increasing interest in recent years. This review highlights the effects of resource stoichiometry on soil microorganisms and decomposition, specifically on the structure and function of h...
660 citations
Cites background from "Evidence of current impact of clima..."
...This potentially alters the species composition of communities, reduces the community of N2 fixers in the soil, and reduces species diversity (Sardans et al. 2012a, Peñuelas et al. 2013a)....
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...:P ratios will be favored in the medium to long term, with further consequences on soil trophic webs (Peñuelas et al. 2012, 2013a, Sardans et al. 2012a)....
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...:P ratios from the populated temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere into tropical regions (Lamarque et al. 2010, Hietz et al. 2011, Peñuelas et al. 2013a)....
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...…are also frequently associated with SOPHIE ZECHMEISTER-BOLTENSTERN ET AL.148 Ecological Monographs Vol. 85, No. 2 R E V IE W S reduced water uptake by plants (Peñuelas et al. 2013b), with decreased activity of soil enzymes, and with reduced availability of N and P (Sardans and Peñuelas 2012)....
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...:P ratios (Peñuelas et al. 2012, 2013a)....
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King Juan Carlos University1, University of Sydney2, University of New South Wales3, University of Córdoba (Spain)4, Technical University of Madrid5, Pablo de Olavide University6, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń7, Northern Arizona University8, Instituto Potosino de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica9, University of La Serena10, Central University of Venezuela11, University of Chile12, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad13, Ohio State University14, Northeast Normal University15, Agricultural Research Organization, Volcani Center16
TL;DR: It is suggested that changes in aridity, such as those predicted by climate-change models, may reduce microbial abundance and diversity, a response that will likely impact the provision of key ecosystem services by global drylands.
Abstract: Soil bacteria and fungi play key roles in the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, yet our understanding of their responses to climate change lags significantly behind that of other organisms. This gap in our understanding is particularly true for drylands, which occupy ∼41% of Earth´s surface, because no global, systematic assessments of the joint diversity of soil bacteria and fungi have been conducted in these environments to date. Here we present results from a study conducted across 80 dryland sites from all continents, except Antarctica, to assess how changes in aridity affect the composition, abundance, and diversity of soil bacteria and fungi. The diversity and abundance of soil bacteria and fungi was reduced as aridity increased. These results were largely driven by the negative impacts of aridity on soil organic carbon content, which positively affected the abundance and diversity of both bacteria and fungi. Aridity promoted shifts in the composition of soil bacteria, with increases in the relative abundance of Chloroflexi and α-Proteobacteria and decreases in Acidobacteria and Verrucomicrobia. Contrary to what has been reported by previous continental and global-scale studies, soil pH was not a major driver of bacterial diversity, and fungal communities were dominated by Ascomycota. Our results fill a critical gap in our understanding of soil microbial communities in terrestrial ecosystems. They suggest that changes in aridity, such as those predicted by climate-change models, may reduce microbial abundance and diversity, a response that will likely impact the provision of key ecosystem services by global drylands.
641 citations
Max Planck Society1, University of Innsbruck2, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research3, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research4, University of Aberdeen5, International Institute of Minnesota6, University of Antwerp7, University of Arizona8, Stockholm University9, ETH Zurich10, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation11, Centre national de la recherche scientifique12, Aix-Marseille University13, Technical University of Denmark14, University of Potsdam15, University of Alcalá16
TL;DR: It is found that ecosystem responses can exceed the duration of the climate impacts via lagged effects on the carbon cycle, and forests are expected to exhibit the largest net effect of extremes due to their large carbon pools and fluxes, potentially large indirect and lagged impacts, and long recovery time to regain previous stocks.
Abstract: Extreme droughts, heat waves, frosts, precipitation, wind storms and other climate extremes may impact the structure, composition and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, and thus carbon cycling and its feedbacks to the climate system. Yet, the interconnected avenues through which climate extremes drive ecological and physiological processes and alter the carbon balance are poorly understood. Here, we review the literature on carbon cycle relevant responses of ecosystems to extreme climatic events. Given that impacts of climate extremes are considered disturbances, we assume the respective general disturbance-induced mechanisms and processes to also operate in an extreme context. The paucity of well-defined studies currently renders a quantitative meta-analysis impossible, but permits us to develop a deductive framework for identifying the main mechanisms (and coupling thereof) through which climate extremes may act on the carbon cycle. We find that ecosystem responses can exceed the duration of the climate impacts via lagged effects on the carbon cycle. The expected regional impacts of future climate extremes will depend on changes in the probability and severity of their occurrence, on the compound effects and timing of different climate extremes, and on the vulnerability of each land-cover type modulated by management. Although processes and sensitivities differ among biomes, based on expert opinion, we expect forests to exhibit the largest net effect of extremes due to their large carbon pools and fluxes, potentially large indirect and lagged impacts, and long recovery time to regain previous stocks. At the global scale, we presume that droughts have the strongest and most widespread effects on terrestrial carbon cycling. Comparing impacts of climate extremes identified via remote sensing vs. ground-based observational case studies reveals that many regions in the (sub-)tropics are understudied. Hence, regional investigations are needed to allow a global upscaling of the impacts of climate extremes on global carbon-climate feedbacks.
625 citations
References
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01 Jan 2007
TL;DR: The first volume of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report as mentioned in this paper was published in 2007 and covers several topics including the extensive range of observations now available for the atmosphere and surface, changes in sea level, assesses the paleoclimatic perspective, climate change causes both natural and anthropogenic, and climate models for projections of global climate.
Abstract: This report is the first volume of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report. It covers several topics including the extensive range of observations now available for the atmosphere and surface, changes in sea level, assesses the paleoclimatic perspective, climate change causes both natural and anthropogenic, and climate models for projections of global climate.
32,826 citations
TL;DR: A diagnostic fingerprint of temporal and spatial ‘sign-switching’ responses uniquely predicted by twentieth century climate trends is defined and generates ‘very high confidence’ (as laid down by the IPCC) that climate change is already affecting living systems.
Abstract: Causal attribution of recent biological trends to climate change is complicated because non-climatic influences dominate local, short-term biological changes. Any underlying signal from climate change is likely to be revealed by analyses that seek systematic trends across diverse species and geographic regions; however, debates within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveal several definitions of a 'systematic trend'. Here, we explore these differences, apply diverse analyses to more than 1,700 species, and show that recent biological trends match climate change predictions. Global meta-analyses documented significant range shifts averaging 6.1 km per decade towards the poles (or metres per decade upward), and significant mean advancement of spring events by 2.3 days per decade. We define a diagnostic fingerprint of temporal and spatial 'sign-switching' responses uniquely predicted by twentieth century climate trends. Among appropriate long-term/large-scale/multi-species data sets, this diagnostic fingerprint was found for 279 species. This suite of analyses generates 'very high confidence' (as laid down by the IPCC) that climate change is already affecting living systems.
9,761 citations
"Evidence of current impact of clima..." refers background in this paper
...Parmesan & Yohe (2003), in a review of available global data, reported an advance in leaf unfolding of 2.3 days per decade....
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TL;DR: In this article, Chen et al. present a survey of the state of the art in the field of computer vision and artificial intelligence, including a discussion of the role of the human brain in computer vision.
Abstract: S. Solomon, D. Qin, M. Manning, M. Marquis, K. Averyt, M.M.B. Tignor, H. LeRoy Miller, Jr. and Z. Chen, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2007, 996 pp. (paperback), ISBN-978-1-57718-033-3 This...
6,121 citations
United States Geological Survey1, University of Arizona2, University of Batna3, Oregon State University4, Los Alamos National Laboratory5, Centre national de la recherche scientifique6, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research7, Natural Resources Canada8, University of California, Berkeley9, University of Granada10, Northern Research Institute11, Forest Research Institute12, Food and Agriculture Organization13, University of Montana14, Northern Arizona University15
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the first global assessment of recent tree mortality attributed to drought and heat stress and identify key information gaps and scientific uncertainties that currently hinder our ability to predict tree mortality in response to climate change and emphasizes the need for a globally coordinated observation system.
5,811 citations
"Evidence of current impact of clima..." refers background in this paper
...PE ~NUELAS et al. et al., 2007a,b, 2008b; Allen et al., 2010; Carnicer et al., 2011)....
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...Several studies, however, have observed that the responses of organisms are unable to prevent defoliation, decreases in growth, mortality, migration and shifts in the distributions of species (Pe~ nuelas & Boada, 2003; Pe~ nuelas et al., 2007a,b, 2008b; Allen et al., 2010; Carnicer et al., 2011)....
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...These dieback events by extreme climate changes are occurring with increasing frequency worldwide (Allen, 2009; Allen et al., 2010)....
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...These dieback events by extreme climate changes are occurring with increasing frequency worldwide (Allen, 2009; Allen et al., 2010)....
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: The recent completion of drilling at Vostok station in East Antarctica has allowed the extension of the ice record of atmospheric composition and climate to the past four glacial-interglacial cycles.
Abstract: The recent completion of drilling at Vostok station in East Antarctica has allowed the extension of the ice record of atmospheric composition and climate to the past four glacial–interglacial cycles. The succession of changes through each climate cycle and termination was similar, and atmospheric and climate properties oscillated between stable bounds. Interglacial periods differed in temporal evolution and duration. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane correlate well with Antarctic air-temperature throughout the record. Present-day atmospheric burdens of these two important greenhouse gases seem to have been unprecedented during the past 420,000 years.
5,469 citations