Conservation of biological diversity in the face of climate change
Book Section
Justification
Global
We can infer how the biota might respond to climate change by observing present and past distributions of plants and animlas, which are largely determined by temperature and moisture patterns. For example, one race of dwarf birch (Betula nana) can grow only where the temperature never exceeds 22 C, suggesting that it would disappear from those areas where global warming causes temperatures to exceed 22 C. Recent historical observations of changes in range and species dominance, such as the gradual replacement spruce (Picea rubens ) by deciduous species during the past 180 years in the eastern United States, can also suggest future responses. Insight into long-term responses to large climatic changes can be gleaned from studies of fossil distributions of, particularly, pollen and small mammals. Such observations tell us that plants and animals are very sensitive to climate. Their ranges move when the climate patterns change - species die out in areas where they were once found and colonize new areas where the climate becomes newly suitable.
