[PCA] Fwd: Special issue of ESA Frontiers assesses the impacts of climate change on people and ecosystems, and strategies for adaptation

[De Angelis, Patricia]

Interesting special issue...

Patricia S. De Angelis, Ph.D.
Botanist, Division of Scientific Authority-US Fish & Wildlife
Service-International Affairs
Chair, Medicinal Plant Working Group-Plant Conservation Alliance
4401 N. Fairfax Dr., Suite 110
Arlington, VA  22203
703-358-1708 x1753
FAX: 703-358-2276

Promoting sustainable use and conservation of our native medicinal plants.
<www.nps.gov/plants/medicinal>

Follow International Affairs
> on Twitter  http://twitter.com/USFWSInternatl
> on Facebook   http://www.facebook.com/USFWS_InternationalAffairs


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: David Inouye <inouye at umd.edu>
Date: Mon, Nov 11, 2013 at 6:12 PM
Subject: Special issue of ESA Frontiers assesses the impacts of climate
change on people and ecosystems, and strategies for adaptation
To: ESANEWS at listserv.umd.edu


Special issue of ESA Frontiers assesses the impacts of climate change
on people and ecosystems, and strategies for adaptation
For Immediate Release: Monday, 4 November, 2013


The coming century will bring many changes for natural systems and
for the human societies that depend on them, as changing climate
conditions ripple outward to changing rainfall patterns, soil
nutrient cycles, species ranges, seasonal timing, and a multitude of
other interconnected factors. Many of these changes have already
begun. Preparing for a future of unpredictable change will require
the coordinated action of people across all sectors of society, as
well as good information from the research community.

The November 2013 issue of the Ecological Society of America's
journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment is devoted to an
assessment of climate change effects on ecosystems, and the
consequences for people.

Read more:
http://goo.gl/8n0fSw

Special Issue: Impacts of climate change on biodiversity, ecosystems,
and ecosystem services.
Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 11(9) November, 2013
http://www.esajournals.org/toc/fron/11/9


The Special Issue tackles five major topics of concern:


Biodiversity
Ecologists have predicted that species will move out of their
historic ranges as climate changes and their old territories become
inhospitable. This is already occurring. Past predictions that
species would seek out historic temperature conditions by moving up
latitudes, uphill, or into deeper waters have turned out to be too
simple, as species movements have proven to be
idiosyncratic.  Because some species can move and cope with change
more easily than others, relationships between species are changing,
sometimes in ways that threaten viability, as interdependent species
are separated in time and space.

Ecosystem functionality
Living things have powerful influences on the lands and waters they
occupy. As existing ecosystems unravel, we are seeing the chemistry
and hydrology of the physical environment change, with further
feedback effects on the ecosystem.  Ecosystem changes, in turn, feed
back to climate.

Ecosystem Services
Impacts on natural systems have direct consequences for crop and
seafood production, water quality and availability, storm damage, and
fire intensity. Working with rather than against, ecosystems may help
society to adapt to changes, like sea-level rise and storm surge,
that threaten lives and property.

Combined effects of climate and other pressures
Species will be hard pressed to adapt to rapidly changing physical
conditions without room to move. Ecosystems are already stressed by
habitat loss and fragmentation, pollution, and natural resource extraction.

Preparation for change
Adaptation efforts may need to think beyond the preservation of
current or historic natural communities. Existing relationships
between species and the landscapes they inhabit will inevitably
change. We may need to consider managing the changing landscapes to
maintain biodiversity and the functional attributes of ecosystems,
rather than specific species.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.plantconservation.org/pipermail/native-plants_lists.plantconservation.org/attachments/20131112/ea56ce84/attachment.html>