Ecological and Evolutionary Responses to Recent Climate Change. The Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics

Parmesan, Camille. Ecological and Evolutionary  Responses to Recent Climate Change. The Annual  Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics  2006. 37:637-69.   Brief excerpt:   “In summary, the history of biological research  is rich in both mechanistic and observational  studies of the impacts of extreme weather and  climate change on wild species: Research  encompasses impacts of single extreme weather  events; experimental studies of physiological  tolerances; snapshot correlations between  climatic variables and species’ distributions;  and correlations through time between climatic  trends and changes in distributions, phenologies,  genetics, and behaviors of wild plants and  animals.” Continue reading

Climate Changes Creating Green And Flowering Mountains

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“The changes are so rapid that plants like 

fireweed (rose bay) and rowan have even taken 

root in the gravel upon melting glaciers. Even 

wood anemones are appearing higher up the 

mountain,” says Leif Kullman.

 

“More and more plants are migrating to the high 

mountains since the warmer climate is conducive 

to them, including contorta pine and cembra pine, 

which are not native to Scandinavia.”

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<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516121650.htm>

Climate Changes Creating Green And Flowering Mountains

 

ScienceDaily (May 16, 2008) – Our mountains are 

growing greener. At the border between woods and 

bare mountain, trees that require warm 

temperatures, such as oak, elm, maple, and black 

alder, have become established for the first time 

in 8,000 years. This is shown in current studies 

led by Leif Kullman, professor of physical 

geography at Umeå University in Sweden.

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RTNA Statement: Indigenous Peoples Critical of Position on Carbon Trading Protest at UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

So it has recently come to RTNA’s attention that-once again-the United Nations has turned a deaf ear to serious issues and concerns formally raised in recent weeks by many of the world’s Indigenous Peoples. True to a 60-plus year-long pattern of denial, high-handedness, and self-serving conflicts of interest-the UN consciously acted to invalidate the legitimate concerns raised by many Indigenous groups when it presented its new adopted position regarding international carbon trading schemes at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII).

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Boreal Forests Shift North, Exacerbate Warming

Science News
May 15th, 2008
<http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/32207/title/Boreal_forests_shift_north>

Boreal forests shift north
By Janet Raloff

Advancing greenery could further heat the already warming climate

For the Arctic, green is the new black.

People frequently say “green” to mean
“environmentally friendly.” But conifer forests –
really big greens – encroaching on Arctic tundra
threaten to further accelerate warming in the far
North.

Temperatures at these high latitudes already are
climbing “at about twice the global average,”
notes F. Stuart Chapin of the University of
Alaska in Fairbanks.

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