Download Free Climate Change And The Arctic Treeline Book in PDF and EPUB Free Download. You can read online Climate Change And The Arctic Treeline and write the review.

Alpine treelines mark the low-temperature limit of tree growth and occur in mountains world-wide. Presenting a companion to his book Alpine Plant Life, Christian Körner provides a global synthesis of the treeline phenomenon from sub-arctic to equatorial latitudes and a functional explanation based on the biology of trees. The comprehensive text approaches the subject in a multi-disciplinary way by exploring forest patterns at the edge of tree life, tree morphology, anatomy, climatology and, based on this, modelling treeline position, describing reproduction and population processes, development, phenology, evolutionary aspects, as well as summarizing evidence on the physiology of carbon, water and nutrient relations, and stress physiology. It closes with an account on treelines in the past (palaeo-ecology) and a section on global change effects on treelines, now and in the future. With more than 100 illustrations, many of them in colour, the book shows alpine treelines from around the globe and offers a wealth of scientific information in the form of diagrams and tables.
Concerns about the effects of global climate change have focused attention on the vulnerability of circumpolar regions. This book offers a synthesis of the spectrum of techniques available for generating long-term environmental records from circumpolar lakes.
Once ice-bound, difficult to access, and largely ignored by the rest of the world, the Arctic is now front and center in the midst of many important questions facing the world today. Our daily weather, what we eat, and coastal flooding are all interconnected with the future of the Arctic. The year 2012 was an astounding year for Arctic change. The summer sea ice volume smashed previous records, losing approximately 75 percent of its value since 1980 and half of its areal coverage. Multiple records were also broken when 97 percent of Greenland's surface experienced melt conditions in 2012, the largest melt extent in the satellite era. Receding ice caps in Arctic Canada are now exposing land surfaces that have been continuously ice covered for more than 40,000 years. What happens in the Arctic has far-reaching implications around the world. Loss of snow and ice exacerbates climate change and is the largest contributor to expected global sea level rise during the next century. Ten percent of the world's fish catches comes from Arctic and sub-Arctic waters. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated that up to 13 percent of the world's remaining oil reserves are in the Arctic. The geologic history of the Arctic may hold vital clues about massive volcanic eruptions and the consequent release of massive amount of coal fly ash that is thought to have caused mass extinctions in the distant past. How will these changes affect the rest of Earth? What research should we invest in to best understand this previously hidden land, manage impacts of change on Arctic communities, and cooperate with researchers from other nations? The Arctic in the Anthropocene reviews research questions previously identified by Arctic researchers, and then highlights the new questions that have emerged in the wake of and expectation of further rapid Arctic change, as well as new capabilities to address them. This report is meant to guide future directions in U.S. Arctic research so that research is targeted on critical scientific and societal questions and conducted as effectively as possible. The Arctic in the Anthropocene identifies both a disciplinary and a cross-cutting research strategy for the next 10 to 20 years, and evaluates infrastructure needs and collaboration opportunities. The climate, biology, and society in the Arctic are changing in rapid, complex, and interactive ways. Understanding the Arctic system has never been more critical; thus, Arctic research has never been more important. This report will be a resource for institutions, funders, policy makers, and students. Written in an engaging style, The Arctic in the Anthropocene paints a picture of one of the last unknown places on this planet, and communicates the excitement and importance of the discoveries and challenges that lie ahead.
The alpine treeline ecotone (ATE) is an area of transition high on mountains where closed canopy forests from lower elevations give way to the open alpine tundra and rocky expanses above. Alpine tundra is an island biome and its ecotone with forest is subject to change, and like oceanic islands, alpine tundra is subject to invasion – or the upward advance of treeline. The invasion of tundra by trees will have consequences for the tundra biome as invasion does for other island flora and fauna. To examine the invasibility of tundra we take a plant's-eye-view, wherein the local conditions become extremely important. Among these local conditions, we find geomorphology to be exceptionally important. We concentrate on aspects of microtopography (and microgeomorphology) and microclimate because these are the factors that matter: from the plant's-eye-view, but we pay attention to multiple scales. At coarse scales, snow avalanches and debris flows are widespread and create "disturbance treelines whose elevation is well below those controlled by climate. At medium scales, turf-banked terraces create tread-and-riser topography that is a difficult landscape for a tree seedling to survive upon because of exposure to wind, dryness, and impenetrable surfaces. At fine scales, turf exfoliation of the fronts of turf-banked risers, and boulders, offer microsites where tree seedlings may find shelter and are able to gain a foothold in the alpine tundra; conversely, however, surfaces of needle-ice pans and frost heaving associated with miniature patterned ground production are associated with sites inimical to seedling establishment or survival. We explicitly consider how local scale processes propagate across scales into landscape patterns. The objective of this book is to examine the controls on change at alpine treeline. All the papers are focused on work done in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Although any one place is limiting, we are able to examine the alpine treeline here in some detail – and an advantage is that the treeline ecotone in Glacier National Park is quite variable in itself due to the underlying variability in geomorphology at multiple scales. This book will provide insights into an important ecological phenomenon with a distinctly geomorphic perspective. The editors collectively have over 100 years of experience in working in geomorphology, biogeography, and ecology. They also have each worked on research in Glacier National Park for several decades. The book will be a reference for a variety of professionals and students, both graduate and undergraduate, with interests in Physical Geography, Geomorphology, Ecology, and Environmental Science. Because of the importance of the alpine treeline ecotone for recreation and aesthetic interests in mountain environments, wildland and park managers will also use this book.* Subject matter: geomorphology at alpine treeline* Expertise of contributors: each editor brings over 25 years of experience in studies of ecotones and geomorphology, and collectively over 100 years of experience in Glacier National Park* Changing alpine treeline examines climate change
Global warming is likely to have the greatest impact at high latitudes, making the Arctic an important region both for detecting global climate change and for studying its effects on terrestrial ecosystems. The chapters in this volume address current and anticipated impacts of global climate change on Arctic organisms, populations, ecosystem structure and function, biological diversity, and the atmosphere.
Concerns have been raised with respect to the state of high-altitude and high-latitude treelines, as they are anticipated to undergo considerable modifications due to global changes, and especially due to climate warming. As high-elevation treelines are temperature-limited vegetation boundaries, they are considered to be sensitive to climate warming. As a consequence, in this future, warmer environment, an upward migration of treelines is expected because low air and root-zone temperatures constrain their regeneration and growth. Despite the ubiquity of climate warming, treeline advancement is not a worldwide phenomenon: some treelines have been advancing rapidly, others have responded sluggishly or have remained stable. This variation in responses is attributed to the potential interaction of a continuum of site-related factors that may lead to the occurrence of locally conditioned temperature patterns. Competition amongst species and below-ground resources have been suggested as additional factors explaining the variability in the movement of treelines. This Special Issue (book) is dedicated to the discussion of treeline responses to changing environmental conditions in different areas around the globe.
Traces the evolution of the global climate since the last period of glacial maximum approximately 18,000 years ago. Examines how changes in climate have transformed Earth's biomes in this period and how this change has influenced the evolution of life.
This timely book presents a wide-ranging review of Arctic environmental change in response to global warming, and gives a broad insight into the transformation of the Arctic which we can expect during the next century. It is in high northern latitudes that we can expect to observe global warming at its most powerful, making it a natural laboratory where climate changes and their impacts can be monitored and studied more readily than elsewhere in the world. Fourteen authoritative reviews cover the predictions of warming rates by General Circulation Models; variabilities in atmospheric circulation and moisture flux; the dynamics of the polar vortex in the Arctic and its role in ozone loss; the countervailing influence of air pollution in reducing solar irradiance; and the impact of climatic change on Arctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Also detailed are the thermohaline circulation of the ocean, the extent and thickness of sea ice, the sizes of glaciers and ice sheets, and the extent of permafrost. Moving to past changes, the records from Greenland ice cores and deep ocean drilling are reviewed for what they tell us about past climates and glaciation in the Arctic., The book paints a vivid and disturbing picture of the enhanced warming that can be expected in the Arctic relative to lower latitudes, and of the major impacts that this will have on the northern cryosphere. It will be an invaluable reference for anyone seeking a greater understanding of the factors and processes affecting the arctic environment, which may ultimately have a major impact on global climatic change.
Brash hustlers, sinister colonels, resilient refugees, and intrepid radio hosts: meet the future of Congo In this extraordinary debut – called ‘gripping’ by The Times of London – Ben Rawlence sets out to gather the news from a forgotten town deep in Congo’s ‘silent quarter’ where peace is finally being built after two decades of civil war and devastation. Ignoring the advice of locals, reporters, and mercenaries, he travels by foot, bike, and boat, introducing us to Colonel Ibrahim, a guerrilla turned army officer; Benjamin, the kindly father of the most terrifying Mai Mai warlord; the cousins Mohammed and Mohammed, young tin traders hoping to make their fortune; and talk show host Mama Christine, who dispenses counsel and courage in equal measure. From the ‘blood cheese’ of Goma to the decaying city of Manono, Rawlence uncovers the real stories of life during the war and finds hope for the future.
The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels. Arctic Climate Impact Assessment was prepared by an international team of over 300 scientists, experts, and knowledgeable members of indigenous communities. The report has been thoroughly researched, is fully referenced, and provides the first comprehensive evaluation of arctic climate change, changes in ultraviolet radiation and their impacts for the region and for the world. It is illustrated in full color throughout. The results provided the scientific foundations for the ACIA synthesis report - Impacts of a Warming Arctic - published by Cambridge University Press in 2004.