Just in case we needed it, another nail in the coffin of denial about global warming arrives in the form of a brand new scholarly paper. This month in Global Ecology and Biogeography A Journal of Macroecology, a report was published in which researchers present compelling evidence of shifting biomes.
Patrick Gonzales–visiting scholar at the Center for Forestry, UC Berkeley’s College of
Natural Resources–states that this paper is “the first global view of observed biome shifts due to climate change” and that “it’s not just a case of one or two plant species moving to another area. To change the biome of an ecosystem, a whole suite of plants must change.” In other words, intelligent plant-life is actually shifting to more comfortable digs.
Providing insight into this bellwether report Science Daily relates that over the past century vegetation has
been gradually shifting toward the poles, where temperatures are cooler, toward the equator, where rainfall
is greater.
The gravity of this paper rests in its apparent utility as a planning tool. “Scientists had not quantified this risk before,” said Gonzalez. “We developed a simple classification system that natural resource management agencies can use to identify regions in greatest need of attention and planning. We have worked with the U.S.D.A. Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to explore the application of our results to adaptation of natural resource management.”
The paper clearly implies that the speed of these biome changes will depend on our efforts to curtail global warming and that shifting vegetation is sure to have a massive impact upon world economies.
(Photo credit:andreas photography, Super Eco group on flickr)
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