GEOG 315 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Biome, Hypothesis

• School: Simon Fraser University
• Department: Geography
• Course: GEOG 315
• Professor: Lance Lesack

Document Summary

Scenarios of changes in biodiversity for the year 2100 can now be developed based on scenarios of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, climate, vegetation, and land use and the known sensitivity of biodiversity to these changes. Mediterranean climate and grassland ecosystems: greatest proportional change in biodiversity because of substantial influence of all drivers of biodiversity change. Northern temperate ecosystems: least proportional change because major land-use change has already occurred. Plausible changes in biodiversity in other biomes depend on interactions among the causes of biodiversity change. These interactions represent one of the largest uncertainties in projections of future biodiversity change. Global biodiversity is changing at an unprecedented rate as a response to human-induced changes in the global environment. Strongly linked to ecosystem processes and society"s use of natural resources. Biodiversity change is considered an important global change in its own right. Biodiversity = terrestrial & freshwater organisms, excludes exotic organisms and marine organisms.