EEB255H1 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1-3: Cambrian Explosion, Habitat Fragmentation, Ecosystem Services
28 Apr 2016
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We should invest in detecting early warning signs to forecast this event (fig. 2 using land use as a driver causing global ecological state change, and tipping to an alternative lower-value state). A science objective is to predict the tipping point (e. g. , will it occur at 50%-60%-70% land conversion when we currently sit at 43%?) The goal of science and society is to steer the biosphere towards conditions we desire, rather than those that are thrust upon us unwittingly. Authors disagree with barnosky et al (2012) and suggest that drivers such as climate change, land-use change, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity loss are unlikely to induce planetary scale biospheric tipping points in the terrestrial realm . Their main argument is that terrestrial ecosystems are too diverse to respond in a similar manner across the globe. For example, as with climate change some areas will get hotter and some areas will get colder even if planetary average temperature increases.
