It is likely that not all species in a community will respond to climate change in the same manner, or at the same rate. Some species may move readily across landscapes or habitats, as warming temperatures and changing ecological conditions alter their habitat. Less mobile species will change their distribution more slowly. Some, such as trees and other plants, will only be able to migrate through reproduction and seed distribution.
Differing rates of migration present a challenge for many species, which may have evolved to rely upon one another. For example, a pollinator and its preferred food plant may become separated. The problem of geographic separation is similar to the problem of temporal separation; in both cases, interdependent species may become separated as their environment changes.
Barriers to migration — urban development or unsuitable habitat, for example — may limit the ability of some species or populations to shift their distribution. In extreme cases, these isolated populations may decline or go extinct. Such isolation is a concern for many mountain-adapted species, which often have no option but to migrate further uphill, until they have populated the highest elevation in a particular mountain range.
Species shifts pose complex management questions. Some land trusts are already implementing conservation strategies to maintain native communities and control invasive species. These goals may become increasingly difficult to achieve as species adjust their distribution in response to climate change.
The consequences of species migration include:
Hurricane strength is influenced by sea surface temperature. Already, the sea surface temperature of the tropical Atlantic Ocean is approximately 1°F higher than it was a century ago, and current predictions suggest it could rise another 5°F by the end of this century. As a result, the number of intense hurricanes is also expected to increase over the course of this century. Some models indicate that the frequency of Category 4 and 5 storms could double by 2100.
Wind rain and storm surges from hurricanes and tropical storms present a significant threat to coastal and inland habitats, plants and wildlife. Species with specific habitat needs and/or limited distribution are especially vulnerable. For example, the red-cockaded woodpecker suffered a devastating blow in 1989, when Hurricane Hugo destroyed 87% of the species’ nesting trees in the Francis Marion National Forest.
The potential impacts of stronger and more frequent storms include:
Stronger and more frequent storms may also compound other climate change impacts, such as:
Many climate models predict that individual precipitation events will become larger and less frequent. The consequences of this can be severe. For example, an inch of rain that falls over the course of a week is less likely to cause flooding or erosion than an inch of rain that falls during a single storm event.
These changes are not limited to individual precipitation events. Many regions of the United States are expected to see an increase in precipitation during the winter months, and a decrease in precipitation during the summer months.
Warmer temperatures speed the rate of evaporation, which decreases soil moisture and water availability. As a result, drought conditions will become more common. This, in turn, stresses ecosystems and increases the likelihood of wildfire. Droughts also negatively impact agricultural production.
Changes in precipitation patterns will impact people and ecosystems by altering the availability of water throughout the year.
The predicted impacts of altered precipitation patterns include:
Changes in precipitation patterns may also compound other climate change impacts, such as:
Shifting seasons are directly linked to warmer global temperatures. A slight change in temperature is enough to push the spring thaw earlier, and delay the first frost until later in the fall. These environmental changes cause many trees and spring wildflowers to bloom earlier than typical. As a result, winters are shorter, spring is earlier, summers are longer and fall arrives later.
How do shifting seasons affect natural resources and conservation priorities?
The consequences of shifting seasons include:
Shifting seasons are also a trigger for other climate change impacts, such as:
Climate change accelerates sea level rise in two ways:
Melting glaciers and warming water contribute relatively equally to sea level rise. Additional factors may accelerate or slow regional sea level rise. For example, the subsidence of coastal land along the Chesapeake Bay — due partially to groundwater extraction — is accelerating the relative rate of sea level rise in the region.
The environmental and economic impacts of sea level rise are potentially devastating. In the United States, a sea level rise of 3-4 feet could drown 25-80% of coastal wetlands, depending upon the ability of the wetland species to adapt to deeper water and/or to migrate inland. The rising waters could also inundate 5,000-10,000 square miles of currently dry land. One recent study suggests that the impacts of sea level rise — erosion and dry-land inundation, for example — could threaten 9% of the land within 180 U.S. cities by 2100.
The impacts of sea level rise include:
Sea level rise may also compound other climate change impacts, such as:
Because spring is arriving earlier, snow packs are also melting earlier. This means that many streams and rivers are reaching their peak flows earlier in the season. This, in turn, affects the availability of spawning habitats for some fish species. The earlier arrival of spring floods may also contribute to worsening drought by mid-summer, stressing vegetation and wildlife, and increasing the risk of wildfire events.
Because rainfall is expected to come less frequently, and via more intense storms, floods are likely to become more common and extreme. Precipitation in the United States increased by 7% over the course of the past century, and is expected to increase even more in the coming decades. Most notable is that fact that the strongest 1% of rain storms increased by nearly 20% over the past decade.
The consequences of earlier and more frequent floods include:
Warmer water affects many things:
Rising water temperatures are also a trigger for many other climate change impacts, such as:
Learn more about climate change impacts: