Climate change and biodiversity

Climate change and biodiversity

Outline
1. What is biodiversity?

2. Climate Change

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in

mountain and arctic areas in general)
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

• Species diversity All species on earth, including

single celled bacteria and protists as well as the
species of the multicelluar kingdoms (plants,
fungi, and animals)

• Genetic diversity The genetic variation within

species, both among geographically separate
populations and among individuals within
single populations

• Ecosystem diversity The different biological

communities and their associations with the
chemical and physical environment (the
ecosystem)

3
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

What is a species?
A species is generally defined in one of three ways:
1. Morphological definition of a species
A species can be defined as a group of individuals that is morphologically,
physiologically, or biochemically distinct from other groups in some
important characteristic
2. Biological definition of a species
A species can be defined as a group of individuals that can potentially breed
among themselves in the wild and that do not breed with individuals of
other groups
3. Evolutionary definition of a species
A group of individuals that share unique similarities of their DNA. 4
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

What is the problem of having different definitions

of a species?

One species: Within this species Two species: The

there are several varieties that Eurasian beaver and the
have observable morphological North American beaver
differences have no observable
morphological
differences 5
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

How do we measure species diversity?

At its simplest level, species diversity has been
defined as the number of species found in a
community, a measure often called species
richness

6
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

Difference between species richness and species diversity

Habitat 1 Habitat 2

7
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

Species diversity

Species richness  simply a count of species (does not take

into account the abundances)

Species diversity  both species richness and species

evenness (takes abundances into account)

8
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

Three diversity measurements that are based on species richness:

1. Alpha diversity
2. Beta diversity
3. Gamma diversity

9
 Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

Alpha-, beta-, gamma diversity

Within community diversity

Between community diversity

(Gamma / Alpha)

Total diversity
(area, region or globe)

10
Climate change and biodiversity
1. What is biodiversity?

11
 Climate change and biodiversity

Outline
1. What is biodiversity?

2. Climate Change

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in

mountain and arctic areas in general)
 Climate change and biodiversity

2. Climate Change

Observed changes in the climate system

• The atmosphere and ocean have warmed

• The amounts of snow and ice have diminished
• Sea level has risen
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change

Observed changes in the climate system

• The atmosphere and ocean have warmed
• The amounts of snow and ice have diminished
• Sea level has risen

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change
Observed changes in the climate system
• The atmosphere and ocean have warmed
• The amounts of snow and ice have diminished
• Sea level has risen - Glaciers are
retreating (e.g.
Pasterze Glacier
in Austria)

- Northern
Hemisphere Spring
snow cover
decreases

- Permafrost
- Greenland and Antarctic ice temperatures
sheets have been losing mass. increase
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change

Observed changes in the climate system

• The atmosphere and ocean have warmed
• The amounts of snow and ice have diminished
• Sea level has risen

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change

Expected changes in
the climate system

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change

Expected changes in the climate system

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity

2. Climate change

Expected changes in the climate system

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change

Causes of climate change

Greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and laughing gass (the major
anthropogenic greenhouse gases)  transparent to sunshine, but ”prevent”
heat to radiate back into space
 Climate change and biodiversity

2. Climate change

Causes of climate change

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity
2. Climate change

Causes of climate change

(IPCC 2014)
 Climate change and biodiversity

Outline
1. What is biodiversity?

2. Climate Change

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in

mountain and arctic areas in general)
 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

Global climate change

Millions of years

Ice ages
Millions of years
Myhre 2015 after Mangerud 1989
No ice

• Global climate change is not a new phenomenon; during the past 2 million years,
there have been at least 10 cycles of global warming and cooling
• While many species undoubtedly went extinct during these repeated episodes of
changes, the species we have today are survivors of global climate change

If species could adjust to changes in global climate in the past, will species
be able to adjust to the predicted changes in global climate caused by
human alteration of the atmosphere?
 Climate change and biodiversity

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

• Change behaviour
• Move
• Adapt
• Extinct
 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

 change behaviour

Walther et al., 2002, Nature

 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

 change behaviour

Walther et al., 2002, Nature

 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

 move
• heading south

• heading north

Sturm et al. 2001, Nature

 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

 move up

Walther et al., 2002, Nature

 Climate change and biodiversity

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

 change behaviour and move

Global coherence:

• systematic trend
• range shifts: 6.1 km per decade towards the poles (or meteres upwards)
• spring 2.3 days earlier per decade
• impacts on every continent, every ocean, most taxonomic groups

 climate change is affecting living systems

Parmesan and Yohe 2003, Nature

 Climate change and biodiversity

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

• Change behaviour
• Move

So what’s the problem??

 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

If species simply can move or change their

behaviour, what’s the problem?
 Species cant move because of barriers, both natural and human made

● Natural barriers ● Human made

barriers
Habitat
fragmentation
 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity
If species simply can move or change their behaviour, what’s the
problem?
Major threats to biological diversity that result
from human activity:
1. Habitat destruction
2. Habitat fragmentation
3. Pollution
Interaction
4. Global climate change
5. Overexploitation of species
6. Introduction of invasive species
7. Disease
 Climate change and biodiversity

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

If species simply can move or change their

behaviour, what’s the problem?
 nowhere to go

• no higher mountain summits, no farther south

• habitat destruction
• suitable habitats are remote from current distribution
 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

If species simply can move or change their

behaviour, what’s the problem?

• Species form webs of interaction

• Not all species respond equally
 Temporal and spatial mismatches
Apropos mismatches:
 Climate change and biodiversity

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

• Change behaviour
• Move

 Adaption?
 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

Evolution to the rescue?

 Climate change and biodiversity

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

How can organisms respond to climate change?

• Change behaviour
• Move
• Adapt

 Extinction
 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

15-37% of species commited to extinction

(mid-range warming scenarios for 2050)

Climate change ecology is still in its infancy

 Climate change and biodiversity
3. Climate Change as a
threat to biodiversity
 Climate change and biodiversity
Outline
1. What is biodiversity?

2. Climate Change

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in

mountain and arctic areas in general)
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Changes in
temperatures (end of
21st century compared
to 1990, for a high
greenhouse gas
emission scenario)

43
Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway
(and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

 Climate change is
predicted to be the most
important driver of change
in alpine and arctic
biodiversity.

Sala et al 2000, Science

 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Scenarios for future climate in Norway (until 2099)

(compared to the 1961-1990 period):

Mean annual temperature: Increase by 2.3-4.6 oC

Annual precipitation: Increase by 5-30 %

Snow accumulation will start 3-4 weeks later and end 1-7 weeks earlier
(the change gets smaller with increasing altitude and distance from the
coast)

Growing season length (GSL) (5 °C threshold): Increase by 30-60 days 45

(Hanssen-Bauer 2009)
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Alpine and arctic plant

species
• Highly adapted species
• Low stature, light demanding
• Low competitive species

• Nowhere to escape.. Too low

mountains in Norway?

Or are there places to hide?

 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

• Lowland species often have to move greater distances (1)

• Mountains may be refugia (2 and 4)
• Traps leading to local extinction (3 and 5)
• Escape climate warming by topography effects (6) 47
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

 topographically induced mosaics of micro-climatic conditions in an

alpine landscape are associated with local plant species distribution
48
Scherrer and Körner 2011
Climate change
and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and
biodiversity in Norway (and in
mountain and arctic areas in
general)

49
Steinbauer et al., Nature 2018
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

exposed ridge

leeside

snowbed snow depth

 Climate change and biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Changes in winter precipitation

The duration of the snow cover period will be shorter everywhere in Norway (30-80
days shorter)

The date of snow melt: 1 to 7 weeks earlier than at present, with highest changes at
low altitudes

51
 Climate change and biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

SI = snow indicator value

 homogenisation of mountain vegetation?
 Climate change and biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

• Increase in low-land species and dwarf shrubs

 Increased competition from low-land species?

 Less highly adapted species: less snowbed species (mainly), less exposed
ridge species
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Shrubbification of alpine and arctic areas?

Meyers-Smith et al. 2011

Sturm et al. 2001, Nature
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

56
 Climate change and biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Husbandry and grazing!!! Aftenposten, August 2013 57

 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Changes in species richness on mountain summits (resampling)

58
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Sites with re-surveyed

summit flora-records
across Europe

59
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Piz Linard, 3410 m, south-eastern Switzerland, Wipf et al. 2013

 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway
(and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Pauli et al 1996
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

GLORIA http://www.gloria.ac.at/?a=2

Global Observation Research Initiative in Alpine Environments

• Long-term observation network (established 2000)
• Focusses on plants in high mountain regions
• Permanent plots: Species (vascular plants) recording in 16 1m x 1m quadrats:
• visual cover estimation
• Soil temperature is measured continously at all sites

63
 Climate change and biodiversity
4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)
The International Tundra Experiment (ITEX)
• Network of research sites started in 1990
• Arctic and alpine
• 11 countries (including all the Arctic nations)

Methodology:
• Monitoring
• Large-scale comparison
• Manipulating

Experimental warming with

open top chambers (OTCs)
 Climate change and biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in mountain and arctic areas in general)

Short summary

• Topographic effects may exceed global warming effects

• Mountain vegetation becomes more homogenous

• Treeline is climbing up (alpine area is decreasing)

• Vegetation in general is climbing up (Mountain top vegetation is changing)

• Long time monitoring is needed

65
 Climate change and biodiversity

Outline – sum up
1. What is biodiversity?

2. Climate Change

3. Climate Change as a threat to biodiversity

4. Cimate Change and biodiversity in Norway (and in

mountain and arctic areas in general)
Any questions?