V12 Flashcards
Ecosystem effects on atmosphere and climate:
Ecosystem effects on atmosphere and climate:
Ecosystems and climate:
Environmental conditions:
Pollen abundance:
Ecosystems and climate:
Evergreen vs. deciduous trees:
Klimatische Einschränkungen:
Cultivation limits / boundaries of agricultural production:
Dry limits:
Agronomic dry limit:
- temperate latitudes 250 mm/a, tropics 500 mm/a
-
overcoming the dry limit:
- irrigation
-
livestock:
- considerably beyond agronomic dry limit (in tropics: incl. entire briar savanna)
- however: only mobile husbandry (nomadism, transhumance)
- strongly dependent on intra- and interannual variability of rainfall, soil conditions, …
- considerably beyond agronomic dry limit (in tropics: incl. entire briar savanna)
Agronomic polar limit:
Agronomic altitudinal limit:
Bioclimatic boundaries:
-
Distribution limits (plant/animal species) by combination of factors:
- Humidity
- Temperature
- Radiation
- Wind
Probability of occurrence:
Climate envelopes:
Climate envelopes – Norway spruce:
Climate envelopes – Silver fir:
Climate envelopes – Douglas fir:
Climate envelopes – European larch:
Climate envelopes – pine:
Climate envelopes – European beech and hornbeam:
Climate envelopes – chestnut and pedunculate oak:
Climate envelopes – sessile oak and downy oak:
Limitations of climate envelopes:
- only two parameters temperature and precipitation are considered
- extremes
- pests
- provenances
- other factors…
Effects of climate change to ecosystems:
Change in composition and structure:
Upward movement of species distributions (nowhere to go):
Maximum additional mitigation potential for natural pathways:
Ecosystems and climate change:
Biodiversity:
Climate change and forest pests:
- Simulation of bark beetle for climate change scenario (1.0°C by 2050, limited precipitation change)
- damage by bark beetles triples compared to 1990-2004
- particularly dramatic damage at low elevation sites
- drastic increase in alpine regions
Effects of temperature increase on plants:
-
positive effects (in the lower temperature range):
- general growth stimulation
- earlier start of the growing period
- prolongation of the duration of the vegetation period
- favorable e.g. for grassland, potato, sugar beet
Effects of temperature increase on plants:
-
negative effects (in the upper temperature range):
- shortening of development/growth phases (effects on fruit quality)
- impairment of heat-sensitive growth processes
- reduction of photosynthesis and increase of respiration
- more drought stress due to increase in evaporative demand of the atmosphere
-
other effects:
- shift of cultivation zones / suitability for cultivation
Impact of climate change on agriculture:
Impact of climate change on crop yields, livestock production, and forest productivity around 2050 (without adaptation):
Observed impacts to physical, biological and managed systems:
Changes in crop yields:
Food, fiber and products of the forest:
Transformation of the (urban) landscape - what should the cities and forests of the future look like?
What are climatological natural events?
- Wind: tropical, extratropical storms, tornadoes
- Precipitation: floods, droughts, hailstorms
- Temperature: heat waves, cold waves, frost events
- Sea level fluctuations, storm surges, groundwater salinization, ocean warming and acidification
- Landslides, landslides, rockfall (permafrost), avalanches
- Spread of vector-borne diseases
- Forest fire
What makes natural events climate risks?
Climate risks:
Climate risk = combination of the probability and consequences of a potentially hazardous climatological natural event
- Occurrence of natural events alone not a direct risk
- Vulnerability (degree of vulnerability of an individual, community, society, ecosystem) and exposure equally important
- Climate risk = natural hazard x vulnerability x exposure
Climate risks:
- socioeconomic risks (property, damage, agriculture)
- health risks (e.g., vector-borne diseases, heat stress, direct impacts from storms)
- existential risks (loss of habitat, loss of life, food, drinking water, loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services)
Climatological background:
- Natural climate variability (temperature, precipitation, …)
- Natural occurrence of extreme events
- Current and future changes of the climate
Observed change in extreme events:
Climatological natural disasters 1970 - 2012:
Sea level rise:
Summary:
- Climatological natural disasters are normal due to natural climate variability, although some are amplified and more frequent due to climate change
- Geographic distribution depends on the type of risk, but coastal and mountain regions are particularly affected
- Increase in climate-related risks and damages not only because of stronger or more frequent climatological events
- But also because more wealth and property exists, more is insured, population increases, risk areas become more widely and densely populated
- Great natural and social relevance, even more so in the future
