Ecological Impacts of Climate Change (2008) / Chapter Skim
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4 Lessons from the Distant Past
4 Lessons from the Distant Past
Pages 36-37
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From page 36... ...
Although climate changes over recent geological history were generally more modest and slower than the changes we currently face, studying the geologic record of climate and ecosystem change provides a valuable way to understand how large-scale climate change affects natural vegetation and ecosystems. Climatic records spanning the last 50,000 or so years can be generated from sediments, tree-rings, cave formations, corals, ice cores, and many other natural recorders of climate.
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From page 37... ...
Such rapid changes in conditions place greater stress on ecosystems, since not all of the individual species that make up the ecosystem will be able to adapt or migrate at the same speed. In addition to unprecedented rates of warming, species now face human-caused fragmentation of the landscape and other barriers to migration, invasive species, groundwater and stream flow reductions, pollution, and other pervasive human influences that will inhibit the natural ability of ecosystems to adjust to climate change.
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