This chapter discusses how climate change affects agriculture, which plays a major role in providing food for a growing global population. Climate has an impact on agriculture through the effects of such variables as solar radiation, temperature, and rainfall. Moreover, extreme events such as heatwaves, frosts, wind storms, floods, and droughts can have catastrophic effects on agriculture. The chapter also looks into the process of achieving optimal climatic conditions for crops and livestock. It provides an overview of the impacts of climate change in line with the development of climate change adaptation strategies dedicated to agriculture, particularly the wine sector.
Chapter
Climate Change and Agriculture
Chapter
Climate Change and Patterns in Nature
This chapter focuses on climate change and patterns in nature. It explores how patterns and processes in nature are influenced by climate. Evidence gathered from individuals, species, and communities looks at the global impacts of climate change. This climate change has impacted on over 90 per cent of known ecological processes. However, if we were to assume that climate change is the sole inflence in species development, range expansions in many species are not as large as expected. This means that biological processes are likely to be important influences. The chapter then argues that there is a concern that biological responses may be lagging behind climate impacts and, in some cases, may be leading to a hidden extinction debt.
Chapter
Climate Change
Paul Behrens and Meredith T. Niles
This chapter discusses how the human food systems contributes to climate change and some solutions to reduce its impact. The discussion starts with an explanation of the climate processes, reviewing the concepts of the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, and the global warming potential. Then it looks at how humans are impacting these processes, resulting in anthropogenic climate change. The chapter explains that the presence of extra greenhouse gases in the atmosphere results in the trapping of more energy (in the form of heat) in the Earth's different systems, predominantly the oceans and the atmosphere. This, in turn, results in changes in our climate, including more extreme weather events such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, and fires. Furthermore, the chapter presents case studies to show how complicated some food choices are. Lastly, it tackles how climate change will impact food systems as the environment changes.
Chapter
Climate Change
This chapter reviews how modern anthropogenic climate change impacts biodiversity and how conservation biologists can mitigate these effects. Anthropogenic climate change is a general term that refers to a suite of abiotic variables that are changing simultaneously across the planet as a result of human activities. Each year, thousands of scientific papers are published that advance our understanding of how the averages, ranges, variability, frequency, predictability, and seasonality of the abiotic variables that regulate Earth's climate are changing across the globe. The main governing body charged with summarizing this literature is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The chapter then considers the predicted impacts of climate change on biodiversity, the impacts that have been documented to date, and the management strategies available to practitioners to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Chapter
Fact Not Fiction—Building the Evidence Base
This chapter explores how biologists and scientists build enormous amounts of data, techniques, and models to address the recent patterns in nature occurring in the UK. Most of the data being used in climate change research has been collected by volunteers, with increasing contributions from citizen science projects. The reliance on volunteers continues due to the lack of funding for wide-scale and long-term climate change research. Moreover, the UK is one of the best-studied and data-rich parts of the world. This is because of its database of phenological observations and species distribution records which span back over three centuries. The chapter shows that the emergence of new equipment and experimental approaches have transformed climate change science.
Chapter
Approaches to Regional and Local Downscaling
This chapter explains the methodological approaches to downscaling global climate models to the regional and local scales. Similar to weather forecasting models, global climate models (GCMs) attempt to represent the processes that operate in the atmosphere through the application of the fundamental equations of atmospheric physics. There are many sources of uncertainty in climate change modelling as the models do not perfectly represent all of the complex processes that operate in the atmosphere. Also, input data are not exactly free from error. The chapter then explains the importance of investigating climate variability across different spatial scales. It discusses the knowledge needed to develop sound adaptation strategies.
Chapter
Landscape Ecology and Management
This chapter discusses the management of species over space. It looks at elements of landscapes ranging from patches, background matrix, linear features, and boundaries. The chapter notes study patterns in landscape ecology. It includes the spatial patterns of species and individuals by listing the terms of mapping range, species range, species distribution, home range, and movement. The chapter notes the impact of landscape processes such as habitat loss and fragmentation. It also includes the effects of non-landscape processes like climate change. The chapter expounds on the management of landscape ecology by referring to heterogeneity, connectivity, preventing species movement, and ecoregions. In addition, it presents an interview with applied ecologist Peter Fretwell.
Chapter
The Problems We Must Solve
This chapter provides an overview of the issues surrounding the environment, human actions, and quality of life. It considers how to develop solutions to environmental and social problems by presenting the interdisciplinary background needed to understand many complex problems. Since climate change is directly linked to our resource use and most environmental issues, any approach to environmental problem solving must be done so within the context of global climate change. The chapter then explores the interplay between humans and the environment. It argues that environmental, economic, and social issues need to be considered in tandem to solve the problems of the people and the world.
Chapter
Stress Responses and The Changing Cell Environment
This chapter analyses the importance of perceiving the environment and describes what happens when cells undergo a pathogen challenge, in both animals and plants. It discusses how organisms adapt to changing environments and talks about the impact of human activity and how organisms respond. It also mentions the necessity for organisms to sense their environment, noting how humans have easily evolved to be able to see the surroundings, to hear what is around, and to sense the presence of chemicals. The chapter reviews the ability of cells to survive, sense aspects of their environment, and mount the appropriate response when required. It cites climate change as one of the biggest challenges facing the world in present times and notes that the unprecedented rise in global temperature forces organisms to adapt to the changing environment to survive.
Chapter
Environmental Hazards and Climate Change
This chapter provides an overview of the interplay of environmental hazards and climate change. It focuses on the relationship between environmental hazards, natural disasters, and anthropogenic climate change. The nature and causes of the increased occurrence and intensity of environmental hazards provide further understanding for developing effective adaptation strategies. The chapter also considers how communities can respond to the increased frequency and intensity of extreme events across a range of different areas. Moreover, adaptation to the effects of climate change on the occurrence and intensity of environmental hazards requires detailed knowledge of the underlying processes responsible for their occurrence.
Chapter
Climate, Plants, and Climate Change
This chapter concentrates on the underlying climatic factors that control not just vegetation patterns but all life on Earth. It looks at the physical factors determining seasons, intermediate-scale cycles of climate change lasting years to decades, and much longer-term cycles. Any attempt to determine the causes of large-scale vegetation patterns must start with climate. Climate refers to the long-term averages and statistical distribution of the weather at any scale from local to global, while weather refers to the immediate or short-term conditions at local scales. The chapter then describes the patterns of climatic variation around the world (with special attention to North America), then explains the mechanisms responsible for those patterns. It also considers the role of plants as they respond to and influence climate, then discusses how humans are changing Earth's climate, as well as some of the impacts of these changes.
Chapter
The UK Climate
This chapter provides an overview of the UK climate. As a result of human activities, the current pace of climate change in the UK is extremely rapid. However, we are trying to find ways to stop or reverse the ongoing climate trends in the UK. Research evidence pointing to climate change in the UK is particularly strong as a result of access to an extensive network of monitoring stations and the availability of historical archives and data. The chapter explains the complexities of modelling future climate changes in the UK. It also looks at what scientists are saying about human-induced climate change and the impact of this on a range of climate variables on terrestrial, freshwater, and marine locations throughout the UK.
Chapter
Climate Change
This chapter reviews the mechanisms that have resulted in climate change and looks at the evidence for this change, with a focus on the oceans. This is then followed by examples of how the marine environment has responded to these changes. In particular, the chapter focuses on the impacts of temperature change, ocean acidification, and sea-level rise. It also looks at how natural climatic cycles can both show much about the likely future impact of increasing temperatures and exacerbate the impacts of longer-term warming. However, the main purpose of the chapter is to provide the evidence of what is known about climate change and its impact on the marine environment rather than predicting what may happen in the future.
Chapter
Terrestrial Communities
This chapter discusses the impact of climate change on terrestrial communities. Since the 1970s, the abundance of terrestrial species has declined by nearly one fifth in the UK. However, the impact of climate change has risen to become the second-most important driver of biodiversity change. The chapter explains that in low-emission scenarios, most taxonomic groups will face a mix of risks and opportunities, but the balance will rapidly become more negative if emissions continue to rise uncontrollably. It provides an overview of the evidence from shifting ranges and phenology in three taxonomic groups, which range between flowering plants, insects, and birds.
Chapter
Extinction
This chapter addresses global patterns of species endangerment and provides an overview of the primary drivers of extinction. It also describes local patterns of biodiversity change and details the key factors that control extinction risk. In order to track rates of global extinction, it is necessary to keep track of species that are known to have already gone extinct, along with the species that are presently threatened with extinction. The primary tool that conservation biologists use to keep track of the global status of extinct, threatened, and endangered species is the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List. The drivers of extinction include habitat loss, overexploitation, invasive alien species, and climate change.
Chapter
The Human Population and Its Food Supply in the 21st Century
Maarten J. Chrispeels and Hanya E. Chrispeels
This chapter discusses the past, present, and future of the human population and its relationship to food production. In the past, the uncertainties of food production too often have led to food insecurity, and the future holds further uncertainties posed by climate change. Rapid urbanization in developing countries is changing where vegetables are grown and how they are made available to consumers. The depopulation of the land means that farming will have to become more efficient and less labour intensive. There is agreement among agricultural scientists that the way forward is to increase the productivity of farmland everywhere and to do this sustainably, reducing the impact of agriculture on the environment. The chapter then looks at how government policies play pivotal roles in global food production, as well as the importance of agricultural research and biotechnology.
Book
Michel J. Kaiser, Martin J. Attrill, Simon Jennings, David N. Thomas, David K. A. Barnes, Andrew S. Brierley, Nicholas A. J. Graham, Jan Geert Hiddink, Kerry L. Howell, and Hermanni Kaartokallio
Marine Ecology introduces key processes and systems that form the marine environment and considers the issues and challenges that surround its future. After providing a general overview of marine ecology, it delves into the diverse systems that compose the marine environment, such as seabeds and the polar regions, and case studies. The book starts by looking at patterns in the marine environment before considering primary production processes. It also looks at microbial production and the decomposition of organic material, secondary production, estuaries, and rocky and sandy shores. After that, the text moves on to consider pelagic ecosystems, the continental shelf seabed, the deep sea, and mangrove forests and seagrass meadows. Coral reefs, polar regions, and fisheries are also covered. The text also considers aquaculture, pollution, disturbance, and environmental monitoring. Finally, the text finishes with a discussion on conservation, climate change, and sea and society.
Book
Bradley J. Cardinale, Richard B. Primack, and James D. Murdoch
Conservation Biology is composed of four parts. Part I presents the foundations of conservation biology which includes the rise of this topic. It looks also at global patterns and diversity. Part II is about the importance of biodiversity and includes an examination of ecological economics. The next part is about threats to biodiversity and includes extinction, habitat loss, fragmentation, degradation, overexploitation, alien species, and climate change. The final part looks at approaches to conservation including species-level conservation, community and ecosystem conservation, landscape-scale conservation, ex situ conservation, and conservation and sustainable development.
Book
Paul Behrens, Thijs Bosker, and David Ehrhardt
Food and Sustainability is composed of three parts. It starts off with an introduction to the topic. Part I, food and the environment, looks at biodiversity, pollution, water, soils, climate change, and energy. The next part looks at food and society. Chapters in this part cover nutrition, food security, food aid, and consumption. The final part, food and governance, is about food systems, governance, and collective action, with the text concluding by summarizing and looking to the future.
Chapter
Geography and Ecology of the Cenozoic
This chapter explores the geography and ecology of the Cenozoic era. It cites how changes in continental positions have affected Earth's climates and the ability of vertebrates to disperse between its regions. By the late Mesozoic era, continental separation and epicontinental seas had isolated populations of terrestrial tetrapods and freshwater vertebrates, which limited possibilities for their migration between continents. While the best-known Cenozoic extinction took place at the end of the Pleistocene era, and this mainly affected only larger land animals. The chapter also considers debates on whether Pleistocene extinctions were mainly caused by climate changes or the spread of humans across the globe.
