Impact Of Global Change Research Articles

Does the metric matter? Climate change impacts of light-duty vehicle electrification in the US

Vehicle electrification is one of the most promising climate change mitigation strategies for light-duty vehicles (LDVs). But vehicle electrification shifts the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission profiles of conventional LDVs with emissions moving upstream from vehicle use to electricity generation and vehicle production. Electric vehicle (EV) deployment needs to be examined with life cycle assessment (LCA), both at vehicle and fleet levels. Climate change assessments of EVs are usually conducted using global warming potential (GWP), a normalized metric that aggregates GHG emissions. GWP suffers from some limitations as it ignores the emission timing over the product life cycle. In this study, we examine climate change impacts of four vehicle technologies (conventional, hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles) in the US at vehicle and fleet levels using four climate change metrics (GWP, dynamic global warming impact, radiative forcing impact and global temperature change impact). One of our key findings is that while the choices of the metric, the analytical time period, and some other key parameters, such as methane leakage rate, may have substantial influences on the results, partial and full electrification remain effective solutions to reduce climate change impacts of the US LDVs. However, the transient effects that exist between GHG emissions, radiative forcing, and global temperature changes imply that climate change impact reductions of vehicle electrification take time to materialize and are overestimated with GWP. It is therefore critical to evaluate large-scale implications of climate change mitigation strategies with multiple metrics to fully capture and assess the expected benefits. We nonetheless found that GWP is a robust metric for climate change mitigation targets of vehicle electrification and remains a good choice for most analysis.

Heightened storm activity drives late Holocene reef island formation in the central Pacific Ocean

The impact of global environmental change on coral reef islands is uncertain, with few studies having resolved the critical controls on island formation and change. Based on detailed, topographic surveys, sediment analysis and radiometric dating, we present a multi-phase model of the formation of two reef islands in Jaluit atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. The initial phase of island building occurred 1300 years ago, later than elsewhere in the Marshall Islands and during a period of relative sea level fall from the mid-Holocene sea level highstand . Initial accumulation occurred as a consequence of relative emergence of the reef flat that forced a transition in reef flat ecology and dominant foraminifera sediment producers that contributed to island building. Distinctive sets of progradational ridges and their coarse sediment character provide evidence for the importance of extreme wave events in island expansion from an initial core. Expansion occurred in two principle phases, 650–350 years ago and 200 years ago to the present, each coincident with known phases of increased storminess in the central Pacific. Results highlight the complexity of island formation and show that future change will depend not only on sea level but storm processes that have been a major influence on island development over the past 650 years. Anticipated reduction in cyclogenesis in the southern Marshall Islands region suggests a near-future period of geomorphic stasis of the islands of Jaluit. An increase in cyclogenesis in the central Pacific and higher latitudes may enhance opportunities for storm-driven island accumulation events over the next century where coral growth is able to be maintained. • Island formation in Jaluit atoll occurred over the past 1300 years, during relative sea level fall and subsequent stability. • Cyclonic events were critical in the episodic expansion of islands over the past 700 years. • Relative sea-level fall forced changes in reef ecology and sediment production and transport regimes for island accumulation. • Formation of islands in Jaluit atoll lagged other parts of the archipelago and post-date habitation of the Marshall Islands. • Reduced storm dynamics in the tropical western north Pacific suggests a future period of island geomorphic stasis.

Mechanisms to ensure the development of the economy of the future in the context of global change

The formation of effective mechanisms of development of the economy of the future has a number of barriers on its way, one of the most significant of which is the high degree of uncertainty of the modern economic and political environment, globalization processes, as well as the aggravation of crisis phenomena. Therefore, effective mechanisms of development of the economy of the future should, on the one hand, be in line with current global trends (such as the concept of sustainable development, digital transformation of the economy, business support), and, on the other hand, be as adaptable and flexible as possible in relation to unpredictable changes. The purpose of the study is to identify the main directions of the formation of mechanisms to ensure the development of the future of the economy, taking into account the impact of global economic changes and challenges. During the study, the following scientific methods were used: analysis and synthesis, economic and statistical analysis, graphical methods, the method of logical generalization. As a result of the study, the degree of achievement of sustainable development goals by Ukraine was determined, in particular, it was noted, the degree of fulfillment of which of them is closer to the desired values. The innovative development of Ukraine was characterized through the study of the values of the Global Innovation Index of Ukraine, as well as the percentage of Internet users in the country compared to the European Union. The main advantages of Ukraine in further development of innovations, as well as obstacles to such development, were established. Characterized the importance of small and medium-sized businesses for the economy, ensuring the level of employment, innovation development, and noted their adaptive potential under the changing conditions of the operating environment, in particular in times of martial law and military aggression of the neighboring country.

The Mitogenome Relationships and Phylogeography of Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica).

The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) poses a number of fascinating scientific questions, including the taxonomic status of postulated subspecies. Here, we obtained and assessed the sequence variation of 411 complete mitogenomes, mainly from the European H. r. rustica, but other subspecies as well. In almost every case, we observed subspecies-specific haplogroups, which we employed together with estimated radiation times to postulate a model for the geographical and temporal worldwide spread of the species. The female barn swallow carrying the Hirundo rustica ancestral mitogenome left Africa (or its vicinity) around 280 thousand years ago (kya), and her descendants expanded first into Eurasia and then, at least 51 kya, into the Americas, from where a relatively recent (<20 kya) back migration to Asia took place. The exception to the haplogroup subspecies specificity is represented by the sedentary Levantine H. r. transitiva that extensively shares haplogroup A with the migratory European H. r. rustica and, to a lesser extent, haplogroup B with the Egyptian H. r. savignii. Our data indicate that rustica and transitiva most likely derive from a sedentary Levantine population source that split at the end of the Younger Dryas (YD) (11.7 kya). Since then, however, transitiva received genetic inputs from and admixed with both the closely related rustica and the adjacent savignii. Demographic analyses confirm this species’ strong link with climate fluctuations and human activities making it an excellent indicator for monitoring and assessing the impact of current global changes on wildlife.

On the combined impact of local, regional, and global climatic changes on the urban energy performance and indoor thermal comfort—The energy potential of adaptation measures

The rapidly growing urban population, along with the increasing urban energy needs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, poses a serious threat to the global climate. Local, regional, and global climatic conditions synergistically interact and affect urban energy performance and thermal comfort. The combined impact of such local, regional and global climatic change on the buildings' thermal performance has never been studied. In the present study, the combined impact of urban overheating (UO) and heatwaves (HWs) on building thermal performance have been investigated by employing the urban building energy model (UBEM). Further, the sensitivity analyses were performed using various adaptive measures to evaluate the impact on cooling needs and indoor comfort. Under the synergistic impact of UO and HWs, the cooling penalties were recorded up to 650%, the increase in mean indoor temperature was up to 5.8 °C, and the deterioration in passive survivability was registered up to 31%. Under the combined impact of various adaptive measures, the cooling savings were recorded up to 97%, the drop in mean indoor temperature was up to 2.34 °C, and the improvement in passive survivability was up to 20% during HWs. The present study might assist in revising the building codes to counteract the global climatic change and improve building resilience during extreme heat conditions.

New challenges in the study of coastal aquifers from numerical modeling. The case of the Motril-Salobreña aquifer

Coastal aquifers are frequently complex systems with highly heterogeneous geological characteristics, specific flow patterns, presence of fluids with different densities, high risk of contamination both by salinization and by other pollutants, and highly modified by anthropic activity. Given this situation, numerical modeling becomes the most appropriate tool to determine the potential impact of global change on marine intrusion in this kind of aquifers. The mathematical models traditionally used in coastal aquifers have been those of flow and mass transport with variable density, which allow obtaining a distribution of salinities in the aquifer and reproducing the flow pattern in the area of discharge to the sea. In addition to these models, another type of numerical modeling can be applied that could also provide information on specific aspects of this type of aquifers. The study of the Motril-Salobreña coastal aquifer shows, for example, how heat transport models allow quantifying the recharge that occurs from rivers that frequently interact with coastal aquifers; as well as the age transport models provide data on the preferential groundwater circulation paths and its residence time, very relevant information in these frequently heterogeneous and anisotropic aquifers. Future challenges are directed towards determining the effects of sea level rise on marine intrusion and establishing the degree of equilibrium of the freshwater-saltwater contact with the current situation.

Herbaria preserve plant microbiota responses to environmental changes.

Interaction between plants and their microbiota is a central theme to understand adaptation of plants to their environment. Considering herbaria as repositories of holobionts that preserved traces of ancient plant-associated microbial communities, we propose to explore these historical collections to evaluate the impact of long-lasting global changes on plant-microbiota interactions.

Impacts of global change on the phyllosphere microbiome.

SummaryPlants form complex interaction networks with diverse microbiomes in the environment, and the intricate interplay between plants and their associated microbiomes can greatly influence ecosystem processes and functions. The phyllosphere, the aerial part of the plant, provides a unique habitat for diverse microbes, and in return the phyllosphere microbiome greatly affects plant performance. As an open system, the phyllosphere is subjected to environmental perturbations, including global change, which will impact the crosstalk between plants and their microbiomes. In this review, we aim to provide a synthesis of current knowledge of the complex interactions between plants and the phyllosphere microbiome under global changes and to identify future priority areas of research on this topic.

Department of economic security of the state in the conditions of globalization: methodology and trends

This article is devoted to the problem of managing the economic security of the state, which is relevant in the modern world. Various factors of global importance affect the economy of all states directly or indirectly, therefore, it is necessary to take them into account in order to increase the level of economic security. The strategy of managing the economic security of the state should be sufficiently flexible and long-term, which will smooth out the impact of global changes and follow the preset strategic goals. At the same time, it is proposed to implement digital technologies to constantly monitor the impact of global factors on the country’s economy.

Contribution of geomatics tools to the study of the spatio-temporal evolution of forest stands of the Maamora forest in the face of global changes

A better knowledge of the land use of an environment is based on the establishment and comparison of various spatio-temporal situations of the different components of this space. This work is part of a research on the dynamics of the Maamora forest. It aims to show the contribution of the use of geomatics tools in the evaluation of dynamics of forest cover and therefore the evaluation of the impact of global changes and previous forest management methods. The approach followed for the assessment of forest cover in 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014 and 2019, was based on satellite images of Landsat 5 and Landsat 8, with a spatial resolution of 30 m. The classification supervised by the “Support Vector Machine” (SVM) algorithm made it possible to develop forest cover maps for the dates selected and subsequently to evaluate the changes. The classification evaluation showed a Kappa coefficient over 87% and an overall accuracy over 90% for all the selected dates. The results showed a great dynamic of the forest cover between 1984 and 2019 with two significant periods. The first one is 1984-1994 when areas of cork oak and acacia fell respectively by 20% and 39% in favor of other introduced forest species, mainly eucalyptus and pines, which increased respectively by 28% and 74%. For the second period 1994-2019, there was a reversal trend of regression of cork oak’s area towards an increase of 11%, while the area of eucalyptus plantations was generally stabilized and that of pines and acacia stands fell by 37% and 33% respectively. These results make it possible to provide decision-makers with tools for the future management of the space.

Uticaj globalizacije i konvergencije na razvoj medijskih industrija

Globalization and convergence, as two phenomena that change the image of the media world and affect the development of media industries due to their ambiguity, are a consequence not only of technological development, but can also be interpreted from political, economic and cultural aspects. Analyzed within such context, media industries are becoming one of the most important factors that have an active impact on people's lives by striving to change and run them. This paper deals with the impact of convergence and global change on the development of media industries, given the fact that the media, on the one hand, as part of the act of communication, constitute intermediaries transmitting information, while, on the other hand, they produce and market their goods just as any other industry does. It is stated in the conclusion that these two phenomena of the digital era are crucial both to the development of the media industry and the work of the media as intermediaries transmitting information, create it and distribute content that has long since acquired the features of goods that are marketed. Without media convergence, in global society it would not be possible for each individual who has become a player in international/global communication to independently organize the media culture content and thus actively participate in the political and social life of the digital era.

An updated checklist to the biodiversity data of ladybeetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) of the Azores Archipelago (Portugal).

BackgroundA recently-published review from 2021 presents a comprehensive checklist of ladybeetles of Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira Archipelagos. Until then, the available information was very scattered and based on a single revision dating back to 1986, a few international catalogues and databases, individual records and studies on communities of agroecosystems. However, no information was available on faunal composition across the Azorean islands and their habitats, using standardised inventories. Here, we present data about the biodiversity of ladybeetles and their distribution and abundance in five Islands of the Azores (Faial, Graciosa, Pico, São Jorge and São Miguel). Surveys included herbaceous and arboreal habitats from native to anthropogenic-managed habitats: ruderal road vegetation, vegetable garden, mixed forest of endemic and non-native host plants, coastal prairies, coastal mixed vegetation, cornfields and urban areas. We aimed to contribute to the ongoing effort to document the terrestrial biodiversity of Portugal, including the Archipelago of the Azores, within the research project AZORESBIOPORTAL–PORBIOTA (ACORES-01-0145-FEDER-000072).New informationIn this study, a total of 1,487 specimens of Coccinellidae belonging to 19 species are reported for several habitats. The listed species are from one single sub-familiy (Coccinellinae) and six tribes; Chilocorini (one species), Coccidulini (three species), Coccinellini (six species), Noviini (one species), Scymnini (seven species), Stethorini (one species). The number of species collected per island differed; Faial (10 species), Graciosa (four species), Pico (seven species), São Jorge (seven species) and São Miguel (12 species). For six species, new island records are given. Currently, the number of species known to occur in the Azores are 32, including two doubtful records. The majority of species are Scymnini, being Scymnus (Scymnus) interruptus (Goeze, 1777) and Scymnus (Scymnus) nubilus Mulsant, 1850, the most abundant species (relative abundance 71.1%). This database will be the baseline of a long-term monitoring project allowing assessment of the impact of ongoing global changes in the distribution and abundance of ladybeetles.

Biotic homogenisation in bird communities leads to large‐scale changes in species associations

The impact of global change on biodiversity is commonly assessed in terms of changes in species distributions, community richness and community composition. Whether and how much associations between species are also changing is much less documented. In this study, we quantify changes in large‐scale patterns of species associations in bird communities in relation to changes in species composition. We use network approaches to build three community‐aggregated indices reflecting complementary aspects of species association networks. We characterise the spatio–temporal dynamics of these indices using a large‐scale and high‐resolution dataset of bird co‐abundances of 109 species monitored for 17 years (2001–2017) from 1969 sites across France. We finally test whether spatial and temporal changes in species association networks are related to species homogenisation estimated as the spatio–temporal dynamics of species turnover (β‐diversity) and community generalism (community generalisation index). The consistency of these relationships is tested across three main habitats, namely woodland, grassland and human settlements. We document a directional change in association‐based indices in response to modifications in species turnover and community generalism in space and time. Weaker associations and sparser networks were related to lower spatial species turnover and higher community generalism, suggesting an overlooked aspect of biotic homogenisation affecting species associations and may also have an impact on species interactions. We report that this overall pattern is not constant across habitats, with opposite relationships between biotic homogenisation and change in species association networks in urban versus forest communities suggesting distinct homogenisation processes. Although species associations contain only partial signatures of species interactions, our study highlights that biotic homogenisation translates to finer changes in community structure by affecting the number, strength and type of species associations.

Impacts of global change on peak vegetation growth and its timing in terrestrial ecosystems of the continental US

Vegetation phenology and peak growth are important indicators reflecting the response of ecosystems to global changes, yet the trends in peak vegetation growth and its drivers have not been well analyzed across different ecosystems. Here, we used time series of satellite-derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) (1985–2015) to track recent changes in maximum vegetation growth (the maximum of NDVI (NDVImax) and the peak of growing season (POS)) in the continental US, and explored their responses to both climatic drivers (i.e. temperature, precipitation and cloud cover) and atmospheric changes (i.e. nitrogen (N) deposition and atmospheric CO2 concentration [CO2]). We found that precipitation had the greatest impact on NDVImax, accounting for 31.7% of vegetated area, followed by cloud cover (17.1%), temperature (16.4%), [CO2] (13.7%), and N deposition (10.4%), respectively. However, temperature showed the largest contribution to POS change in about 41.9% of vegetated areas, followed by precipitation (18.6%), cloud cover (15.0%), N deposition (6.7%) and [CO2] (5.9%), respectively. Interestingly, the effects of cloud cover highly depended on moisture regime, that is, more cloud cover was associated with a delayed POS and a decreased NDVImax in wetter regions, but could advance POS and increase NDVImax in dry areas. In addition, we also found that an earlier POS was accompanied by a higher NDVImax in most ecosystems, but with lower NDVImax in arid ecosystems. These results reveal the control of both climatic and atmospheric drivers on peak growth, and consequently are of great significance for understanding of the responses and feedbacks of vegetation to global change and improve models of terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle.

An Integrated CNN Model for Reconstructing and Predicting Land Use/Cover Change: A Case Study of the Baicheng Area, Northeast China

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) modeling has continuously been a major research theme in the field of land system science, which interprets the causes and consequences of land use dynamics. In particular, models that can obtain long-term land use data with high precision are of great value in research on global environmental change and climate impact, as land use data are important model input parameters for evaluating the effect of human activity on nature. However, the accuracy of existing reconstruction and prediction models is inadequate. In this context, this study proposes an integrated convolutional neural network (CNN) LUCC reconstruction and prediction model (CLRPM), which meets the demand for fine-scale LUCC reconstruction and prediction. This model applies the deep learning method, which far exceeds the performance of traditional machine learning methods, and uses CNN to extract spatial features and provide greater proximity information. Taking Baicheng city in Northeast China as an example, we verify that CLRPM achieved high-precision annual LUCC reconstruction and prediction, with an overall accuracy rate 9.38% higher than that of the existing models. Additionally, the error rate was reduced by 49.5%. Moreover, this model can perform multilevel LUCC classification category reconstructions and predictions. This study casts light on LUCC models within the high-precision and fine-grained LUCC categories, which will aid LUCC analyses and help decision-makers better understand complex land-use systems and develop better land management strategies.

Use of environmental DNA in assessment of fish functional and phylogenetic diversity.

Assessing the impact of global changes and protection effectiveness is a key step in monitoring marine fishes. Most traditional census methods are demanding or destructive. Nondisturbing and nonlethal approaches based on video and environmental DNA are alternatives to underwater visual census or fishing. However, their ability to detect multiple biodiversity factors beyond traditional taxonomic diversity is still unknown. For bony fishes and elasmobranchs, we compared the performance of eDNA metabarcoding and long-term remote video to assess species' phylogenetic and functional diversity. We used 10 eDNA samples from 30 L of water each and 25 hr of underwater videos over 4 days on Malpelo Island (pacific coast of Colombia), a remote marine protected area. Metabarcoding of eDNA detected 66% more molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) than species on video. We found 66 and 43 functional entities with a single eDNA marker and videos, respectively, and higher functional richness for eDNA than videos. Despite gaps in genetic reference databases, eDNA also detected a higher fish phylogenetic diversity than videos; accumulation curves showed how 1 eDNA transect detected as much phylogenetic diversity as 25 hr of video. Environmental DNA metabarcoding can be used to affordably, efficiently, and accurately census biodiversity factors in marine systems. Although taxonomic assignments are still limited by species coverage in genetic reference databases, use of MOTUs highlights the potential of eDNA metabarcoding once reference databases have expanded.

Potential risk to water resources under eco-restoration policy and global change in the Tibetan Plateau

Water shortage is a core problem that has hindered sustainable development worldwide. The Tibetan Plateau feeds ten main rivers on which almost 20% of the world’s population depends. However, the plateau has suffered serious environmental deterioration from global warming. Since the 1980s, the Chinese government has supported ecological restoration in the Tibetan Plateau, mainly by promoting large-scale afforestation and grassland conservation. To identify the impact of global change and ecological restoration policy on the plateau, we used geographic information system (GIS) methodologies to study changes to the water supplies in the region as a result of implemented restoration programs. Moreover, we also used GIS to assess the potential risks of these changes for the long-term sustainability of water supplies. Our findings show that the quantity of water supplies in the Tibetan Plateau has increased over the last 36 years; this was attributed to an increase in precipitation as well as increasing glacial meltwater due to global warming. We also found that the water consumption associated with afforestation projects reduced the water yield, in that it was altered by the artificial establishment of plant communities, with different afforestation projects variously impacting water consumption. The potential risk areas in the plateau were mainly distributed in areas with dense human populations and villages, and intensive human activities around forest shrubs where ecological restoration programs had been largely implemented. We highlight the need for ecosystem management and monitoring within larger afforestation programs, which should include the planting of vegetation with low rates of water consumption.

Typical Feature Extraction in Alpine Lake Area of Northern Tibet Based on Gaofen-1 Satellite

Satellite remote sensing is one of the indispensable means of natural resources monitoring and management. With the great improvement of the spatial resolution, spectral resolution, temporal resolution and data coverage capability of Chinese satellites, domestic satellites have been deeply and extensively applied in the natural resource management and geological survey. In recent years, the impact of global change on the ecological environment and biodiversity in the alpine region of northern Tibet has aroused great concern, among which the response to land degradation, desertification and plateau wetland protection are the important contents. In this paper, Gaofen-1 (hereinafter referred to as "GF-1") satellite data are used to conduct the research and experiment of wetland and saline-alkali land feature extraction, which provides guiding suggestions and scientific references for the wider and deeper application of domestic satellites in feature extraction.

The impact of global socio-economic changes on the regional role of universities

Economic and regional development and rapid, often unpredictable changes across the globe in technical fields have an effect on everything, including universities, training, research and services as well. Universities must find their place in this continuously changing environment, they need to continuously reinterpret themselves and their own roles, whilst ensuring that education and knowledge transfer take priority. The pace of change is increasingly accelerating with technological novelties and innovations by high-tech industries surpassing themselves at an astounding rate. Therefore, knowledge, as the facilitator and creator of these results, plays an increasingly important role for those who wish to rank among the winners of the competition both locally and globally. Today, the primary creators of knowledge are still educational institutions, and universities are the fundamental platforms of research. However, it is not enough to be «only» a university, they must educate and research and become part of the developed world alongside participants who would like to provide scientific answers to practical problems. In our paper we address the question of breaking points along which the role of universities can be transformed in order to remain open to the needs of both their narrower and wider environment while maintaining their fundamental mission, thus becoming successful players on the global stage. The development of high-tech industries has resulted in a science-driven period when economic development is unimaginable without the scientific results and the interconnection of individual disciplines. This development will presumably lead to the deterioration of certain individual knowledge and the deepening of others. Higher education must also adapt to this with the development of an education system that strengthens digital skills and serves regional expectations. Nowadays entrepreneurial universities have emerged, which are able to operate with an entrepreneurial approach, thereby responding independently to challenges from outside. The ability to co-operate must be a key aspect of university existence, and the deepening of educational, research and business partnerships is a prerequisite for success. In order to spread management approach and create an entrepreneurial ecosystem, successful R&amp;D work and innovation, it is also necessary to involve external, tender resources and grants, besides own resources. However, these resources need to be used well, but the lack of a pre-planned, conscious strategy results in less efficient use. Regional cooperation, common thinking, training and innovation, science workshops and science parks all contribute to the development of institutions and related regions.

Direct and indirect effects of global change on mycorrhizal associations of savanna plant communities

Mycorrhizal fungi are key components of whole‐plant adaptive strategies to cope with different abiotic and biotic constraints. Although they are particularly sensitive to different global change drivers, there are still many gaps on the mechanisms underpinning shifts in mycorrhizal associations under different climatic and management scenarios.We carried out a field manipulative experiment of rainfall exclusion and increased temperature aimed to evaluate the impact of forecasted warming and drying on mycorrhizal associations of savanna plant communities subjected to different grazing history. Additionally, we compiled detailed information on the abiotic and biotic environment with the final aim of disentangling the direct and indirect effects of climate change on this widespread mycorrhizal symbiosis.Our results suggest that climate change could induce relevant changes in mycorrhizal associations, primarily promoted by warming, which decreased the abundance of mycorrhizae but induced higher activity of nutrient exchange between the host–plant and the mycosymbiont. Temperature did not only affect this symbiosis in a direct way, but also exerted relevant indirect effects via changes in soil functioning and other root‐colonizing microorganisms such as dark septate endophytes. Grazing history influenced the allocation of fungal structures inside the host‐root, but its effect differed as a function of the climatic treatment.Results from this study suggest that mycorrhizal fungi might become less prevalent in plant communities inhabiting savanna ecosystems under future scenarios of increasing aridity. In agreement with this finding, higher temperatures also promoted the predominance of plants with root traits that favour efficient resource acquisition by themselves without the help of a mycorrhizal partner. Our results provide new insights into the interactive effects of the two main threats facing Mediterranean savanna ecosystems, as well as potentially useful information to be applied in ecologically‐based management strategies aimed at attenuating the potential impact of global change on mycorrhizal fungi.