Biodiversity Suffers as Climate Change Warms!

| Share |

Home >
Our Actions >
Ambassador report

8
Comments

ambassador Report View
Biodiversity Suffers as Climate Change Warms!
by Rosa Domingos \| 30-05-2018 09:01 0
A simplified ecological landscape—with substantial biodiversity loss—might be the output result if a global temperature increase does not remain at 1.5 ?C above historical pre-industrial levels. Currently, our planet's temperature increases by 2 ?C, has taken the world into a temperature state that it hasn't seen in several million years. This is in response to a report from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom. It showed that unless the global temperature increase is not limited to 1.5 degrees C, but is allowed to rise with 2 degrees C, it roughly doubles the risks associated with warming for plants, animals and insects. Even though many countries set pledges towards limiting climate change, scientists predict a corresponding warming of about 3.2 degrees C. If this happens, we could see 47 % of insect species, 26 % of vertebrate and 16 % of plant species standing to lose at least half of their geographic ranges. What does this all mean? Well it would mean that high levels of warming will bring forth Systemic Ecological Simplification, a process where many "climate losers" are replaced by far fewer "climate winners." Such a simplified ecological landscape could have impacts on ecosystem services such as water quality, soil conservation, flood prevention, all of which are important for human well-being. Fewer insects also mean fewer pollinators and hence concomitant implications for many plant species, and related food production. But even if governments and industry manage to limit warming to 1.5 degrees C, recent research shows that large hectares of land would have to be made available for capturing and storing carbon. Some estimates are for up to 18 percent of the land surface or 24-36 percent of current arable cropland by the end of this century. Either way, biodiversity may get the worst end of the bargain, because the expanding land use itself could threaten remaining habitats. So in essence, the only way we can stay as close to 1.5 degrees as possible is by damaging many of the habitats that support biodiversity in order to achieve a target that will save biodiversity. Which is quite ironic. There is a dire need to find the combination of options that minimise battle between these competing demands. If success is found in solving the nexus between climate security, land use and biodiversity conservation, will the assurance of a sustainable future in the long-term be plausible. References: Reference-webpage: https://phys.org/news/2018-05-biodiversity-climate.html "Narrowing pathways to a sustainable future," by G. Midgley, Science (2018). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi ? 1126/science.aat6671 "The projected effect on insects, vertebrates, and plants of limiting global warming to 1.5?C rather than 2?C," R. Warren el al., Science (2018). science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi ? 1126/science.aar3646 Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-05-biodiversity-climate.html#jCp

Dormant user Rosa Domingos

8 Comments

Rosa Domingos says :
Hi Gyeongrin!

True,we need to be dedicated like the fellow others that strive to protect wildlife and its diversity.

Posted 31-05-2018 20:43

Gyeongrin mentor says :
Hello Rosa
Every problem that we face seems to be about finding the right balance. And in this case, as the report says, it seems to be about bringing the right nexus of climate security, land use and biodiversity conservation. To define the status quo of the problem, mathematical, statistical and scientific knowledge would be needed but to actually make a progress about it, we will be needing our own devotion!
Thanks for the report :)
Posted 31-05-2018 19:01

Rosa Domingos says :
@ Joon: I try :)

I have not been active for a while so I am making sure that I respond to my fellow members and mentors as soon as possible.

I do agree with what you have written, wise use of land and bio-resources will help sustain the life of the Earth for much longer, if we only keep at it and show concern for our biodiversity. If we don't, then who will?
Posted 31-05-2018 01:42

Joon Ho Mentor says :
Fast feedback, Rosa :)
And yeah, there are food that twice as the whole population of the Earth can have : food for 13 billion people do already exist. However, it is apparent and still ongoing issue for the ones who are starving to death, suffering more and more from desertification, poor infrastructure of countries, degraded biodiversity, and especially widespread effect of climate change.
We need to keep ourselves about this problem, so we would not waste our land and bio-resources thoughtlessly though we already have plenty of cropland and food!

Thanks for writing your feedback!
Posted 31-05-2018 01:08

Rosa Domingos says :
Hi Joon! I do hope that instead of maintaining the 1.5 degrees C temperature increase, that we should instead initiate more flora-orientated planting strategies. From what we know and from what our fellow members have written about, plants have the capability to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen.

Thus, the more flora species we plant, the more carbon dioxide will be taken away from the atmosphere and the less carbon will be present in the atmosphere and thus result in a lower global temperature.

I do not believe that we need to cut out more cropland, I believe we need to stop creating new cropland and promote urban-vegetation, such as sun-roofs.
Posted 30-05-2018 15:04

Joon Ho Mentor says :
Hello Rosa, global warming along with climate change issues have made the degradation of biodiversity really fast. Adoption is one of the main options for UNFCCC, UNEP, UNDP and other relative UN-led conferences and agenda, but as you may already know, this does not mean positive for 'reaction against climate change', just 'compliance and surrender to it'.
1.5'c was just the prime objective and ceiling that biodiversity and ecosystem can 'endure' at most, so this means that we are already facing 'severe danger' in this field.
Hope our sincere feelings and thoughts about biodiversity can lead to our actions against climate change and global warming!
Posted 30-05-2018 14:18