“Impact of climate change on biodiversity”

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land,    purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people. ― Franklin D. Roosevelt

Since the life appeared on this dear planet earth, its infinite number of life diversity is responsible for the withstanding of human beings who own the planet as only kings of this kingdom. However, present life on this earth is a consequence of the prevailing climatic changes and life on this earth can only be proliferated if its environment is suitable enough for its inhabitants and any change in it if applied can put them in serious detrimental situations.

What is climate change?

Climate change is a substantial change in global weather patterns occurring for a longer period of time. There are several reasons that affect the quality of environment but the significant cause is the activities of mankind over the vista making it an approaching calamity and putting the world into real jeopardy by hitting it both socially and economically.

History:

Importantly climatic change is a mean state. It is a noticeable change in the temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind patterns that last longer than a decade or more. For example, about 20,000 years ago, glaciers were the main part of the United States but now it has few glaciers and is warmer than before. We all live under the blanket of atmospheric greenhouse gases and water vapours responsible for maintaining life on this globe.CO2 is one of the greenhouse gases. Over the past 3 million years our environment is highly vulnerable to be collapsed. The record of CO2 trapped in the arctic region exposed that over the last 80,000 years, during the dramatic resonation between ice ages and warmer ages, CO2 has resonated between 180 and 280 ppm.  CO2 level has raised its level 260 ppm and then resonated around 275 ppm during the last rapid warm-up from the most recent glacial period. Since that day, for about 9,000 years, our climate has been relatively stable. In 1850, Agriculture, industrialization, civilization and various states emerged and the global population rose up from a few million to 1.2 billion at the end of last ice age.

Since 1850, industrialization and globalization has boosted up the level of CO2 from 280 to 410ppm.the level of CO2, when measured first at Mauna Loa observatory, lied at 315 ppm and then its concentration reached up to 410ppm steadily. Industrial emission is increasing the temperature of the earth day by day by putting serious threat to the lives of organisms of the earth. It is much easier to manuscript the evidence of climate changeability which is influenced by several factors which are the leading cause of the today’s dramatic climate change that resonates in time chart ranging from hours to millions of years. These causes are because of the interaction between various components of the earth system and atmosphere affecting climate from organisms to biome level and are of two types, human causes and natural causes.

Natural causes:

Natural causes include volcanic eruption, ocean currents, continental drift and solar variations. 

Volcanic eruption:

Volcanic eruption occurs when molten rocks, steam or ashes come out of the mountain through vents releasing a massive amount of SO2 in the atmosphere resulting in the drastic climatic changes by increasing the temperature and thus causing global warming.

Continental drift:

Continental drift results in both long and short term climate variations when a gradual change in the direction of earth axis occurs usually known as precession.

Solar variations:

Variation in solar cycle where the sun is a predominant input of energy to the earth is responsible for maintaining climate over the horizon. In addition to all previously mentioned causes geological thermal energy from earth’s core, energy from decaying organic bodies and radioactive matters also aiding to the mechanism that brings a significant change in the environment putting both detrimental effects on the biodiversity and atmosphere.

Human causes:

Industrialization, urbanization, deforestation and population explosion is the toxic root of the tree of drastic climatic change that is shadowing the beauty of that planet by injecting harmful entities in the environment.

Genetic diversity:

Basically, climate variability brings the decrease in genetic diversity of species due to natural selection which directly depends upon the energy source of environment and rapid migration affecting both ecosystem flexibility and functioning. Higher organizational levels are facing destruction due to loss of habitat; a direct result of deforestation in tropical regions such as Amazon forest famed for its biodiversity being vulnerable to generic drift speeded up in the 21^st century. 

Phonological shift:

The act of some specific species on climate change may indirectly affect the specie that is dependent upon them. Climate change is causing a prolific change in phonological shift of flowering plants and insect pollinators due to mismatching of the plant and pollinators population resulting in destruction of species of both organisms. 9650 interspecific system’s study reveals that about 6300 species of parasites and pollinators can face extinction if associated species are removed. In this way, other symbiotic associations of both fauna and flora on earth including predator and prey relation can be subjected to demolition. Low precipitation and deforestation is also marking the low biomass productivity thus causing famines. Soil erosion due to floods as a result of rapid change in geological weather patterns decreasing the vegetation around the globe.

Conclusion:

Despite of all this mess, the point of concern is that we are still unable to understand the all alarming situations that climate is putting in the front line. This fact is quite enough for taking the present climatic situations in account for the future of our planet. Average temperature of earth has risen up 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit during the last century and is expected to rise as much as 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit over the next. This figure is not much promising for stimulating the act of biodiversity conservation from severe climatic changes but its 4 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the last ice age

What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another. ― Chris Maser