Ecosystem Health and Dynamics: An Indicator of Global Climate Change

Abstract

Climate change is perhaps one of the major critical problems of recent times. It has become a subject of international concern since its increase at an alarming speed. Although atmospheric gases, surface solar radiations, volcanic activity, cosmic rays and alterations in earth’s orbit are targeted as the potential causes of climate change, their consequences or impacts are not well documented. Sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather patterns, heat waves and drought are some of the pronounced consequences of climate change. Changes in biodiversity, ecosystem and ecosystem services and health caused by climate change have received minimal attention. A healthy ecosystem requires a wide diversity of microorganisms, plants and animals at different trophic levels. Removal of a single species from the niche or introduction of an invasive species might lead to ecosystem destruction. Abnormal changes in the climate pattern can alter the ecosystem health through loss of species, extinction of species, migration of species and changes in behavioural pattern. However, these changes are invisible till a species get extinct or endangered. Further the change in ecosystem health due to alterations in climate is difficult to record unlike other impacts. Sustainable practices that can reduce, sequester or capture the greenhouse gas emissions may halt the biodiversity loss, protect the ecosystem from further destruction and restore them. This chapter comprehensively describes the impacts of climate change on the health of various aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The detrimental effects, short- and long-term responses like changes in physiology, phenology and life cycle of organisms, loss of productivity and loss or migration of species have also been elaborated in detail for every single ecosystem.