Two recent peer-reviewed studies, one about forests and the other about oceans, predict that existing ecosystems will rearrange themselves over the next 70-plus years in response to global warming, reports Felicity Barringer at the New York Times. One study predicts that Ponderosa and lodgepole pine in the subalpine parts of northwestern forests will be replaced by firs and hemlocks, as the forests adapt to warmer, drier conditions. Most climate models predict a temperature rise of 4 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit there by 2080, with perhaps somewhat wetter winters and springs, and drier summers, the authors noted. A second study published in the journal Science suggests that temperatures and ecosystems are changing even faster offshore. “We should not be surprised when we see substantial change in the whereabouts of marine populations” said one study author William J. Sydeman. Study authors note that the changes will be more pronounced in some ocean regions, like the Gulf of Alaska, than others. Meanwhile, along the California coast, salmon populations have been trending downward while the tropical Humboldt squid, which can grow to 100 pounds, has been seen more frequently.
Source:
In changing ecosystems, winners and losers. Two new peer-reviewed studies, one about forests and the other about oceans, predict that existing ecosystems will rearrange themselves over the next 70-plus years in response to global warming. New York Times
