Biophysical impacts of climate change on bird populations and migration in Lithuania

Abstract

This paper presents data obtained from studies of the dependence of different migratory processes - spring arrival, migratory take-off, spring and autumn en route migration–upon climate change in Lithuania. The article confirms the impact of global climate warming on different breeding bird species and populations, changes in their ranges and population state, and their staging and wintering areas. The list of bird species which are shifting their ranges north-eastward or eastward in the Baltic region under the influence of global warming is presented. It was established that the impact of global climate change upon birds of terrestrial and wetland complexes is more evident than upon waterfowl. Attention is focussed on the practical importance of the global climate change impact on environmental protection and different branches of the economy.