Climate change is thought to be especially relevant to ecosystems in the cold biomes. Observed warming has been higher in cold climates through various positive feedbacks, especially declining snow and ice cover, and climate projections indicate further rapid warming in the decades to come. Temperature change can have profound impacts in cold biome ecosystems, either directly in terms of impacts on physiology or growing season length, or indirectly via changes in nutrient cycling. The regions focused on here are the (sub)arctic and the (sub)alpine areas, both characterized by short growing seasons and low annual temperatures, but with different radiation environments depending on latitude. Climate change can have impacts in all seasons. Increased spring temperatures can accelerate snowmelt, leading to an earlier onset of the growing season, while warmer summers may stimulate primary productivity through temperatures closer to metabolic optima and/or increased mineralization rates. Winter warming can lead to the vegetation being damaged because of exposure to harsh frost without insulating snow cover. In all of this, concurrent changes in precipitation also play an important role: increased snowfall can buffer warming-induced advances in snowmelt, a higher ratio of rain to snow can greatly accelerate snowmelt in winter and spring, and summer drought may reverse growth-stimulation by warming directly (drought stress) or indirectly (e.g. impaired nutrient uptake). Micro-climate is crucial in these systems and requires particular attention as it can vary widely across the landscape, creating different growing environments in the space of a few meters or even less. Interest in cold region responses to climate change does not only arise from the fact that they harbor unique ecosystems that may be endangered, but also because they store large amounts of carbon that may be released under climate change. However, research is challenging because of the remoteness of many of these areas and the harsh conditions during much of the year. In spite of this, some studies have been carried out over an extensive period, spanning decades and yielding information on for example plant community reorganization (including invasions), and changes in phenology above- and/or belowground. Other studies focus on shorter term effects, such as impacts of heat waves, late frosts or other anomalous weather, including longer term (after-) effects that may differ drastically from other regions because of the short growing season in cold climates. Ultimately, models are used to predict future changes in vegetation along latitudinal or elevational gradients, although phenology and microclimatic variation may pose particular challenges. Contributions to this Research Topic focus on climate change, encompassing both changes in the mean (gradual warming) and variability (heat waves, altered precipitation distribution) in cold biomes. The Topic contains reports on observed changes or events, but also research making use of experimentally imposed environmental changes. The focus is varied, including phenology, physiology, soil and vegetation science and biogeochemistry, with the aim of providing a comprehensive overview of observed and expected responses to climate change in cold biome ecosystems.

This book focuses on how climate affects or affected the biosphere and vice versa both in the present and in the past. The chapters describe how ecosystems from the Antarctic and Arctic, and from other latitudes, respond to global climate change. The papers highlight plant responses to atmospheric CO2 increase, to global warming and to increased ultraviolet-B radiation as a result of stratospheric ozone depletion.

The goal of this book is to provide a current overview of the impacts of climate change on tropical forests, to investigate past, present, and future climatic influences on the ecosystems with the highest biodiversity on the planet.Tropical Rainforest Responses to Climatic Change will be the first book to examine how tropical rain forest ecology is altered by climate change, rather than simply seeing how plant communities were altered. Shifting the emphasis onto ecological processes e.g. how diversity is structured by climate and the subsequent impact on tropical forest ecology, provides the reader with a more comprehensive coverage. A major theme of this book that emerges progressively is the interaction between humans, climate and forest ecology. While numerous books have appeared dealing with forest fragmentation and conservation, none have explicitly explored the long term occupation of tropical systems, the influence of fire and the future climatic effects of deforestation, coupled with anthropogenic emissions. Incorporating modelling of past and future systems paves the way for a discussion of conservation from a climatic perspective, rather than the usual plea to stop logging.

Global Climate Change presents both practical and theoretical aspects of global climate change from across geological periods. It addresses holistic issues related to climate change and its contribution in triggering the temperature increase with a multitude of impacts on natural processes. As a result, it helps to identify the gaps between policies that have been put in place and the continuously increasing emissions. The challenges presented include habitability, biodiversity, natural resources, and human health. It is organized into information on the past, present, and future of climate change to lead to a more complete understanding and therefore effective solutions.Placing an emphasis on recent climate change research, Global Climate Change helps to bring researchers and graduate students in climate science, environmental science, and sustainability up to date on the science of climate change so far and presents a baseline for how to move into the future effectively. - Addresses the variety of challenges associated with climate change, along with possible solutions - Includes suggestions for future research on climate change - Covers climate change holistically, including global and regional scales, ecosystems, agriculture, energy, and sustainability - Presents both practical and theoretical research, including coverage of climate change over various geological periods

Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press, 1998.

This book provides a general survey of Geocryology, which is the study of frozen ground called permafrost. Frozen ground is the product of cold climates as well as a variety of environmental factors. Its major characteristic is the accumulation of large quantities of ice which may exceed 90% by volume. Soil water changing to ice results in ground heaving, while thawing of this ice produces ground subsidence often accompanied by soil flowage. Permafrost is very susceptible to changes in weather and climate as well as to changes in the microenvironment. Cold weather produces contraction of the ground, resulting in cracking of the soil as well as breakup of concrete, rock, etc. Thus permafrost regions have unique landforms and processes not found in warmer lands. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 provides an introduction to the characteristics of permafrost. Four chapters deal with its definition and characteristics, the unique processes operating there, the factors affecting it, and its general distribution. Part 2 consists of seven chapters describing the characteristic landforms unique to these areas and the processes involved in their formation. Part 3 discusses the special problems encountered by engineers in construction projects including settlements, roads and railways, the oil and gas industry, mining, and the agricultural and forest industries. The three authors represent three countries and three language groups, and together have over 120 years of experience of working in permafrost areas throughout the world. The book contains over 300 illustrations and photographs, and includes an extensive bibliography in order to introduce the interested reader to the large current literature. Finalist of the 2019 PROSE Awards.

Encyclopedia of the World’s Biomes is a unique, five volume reference that provides a global synthesis of biomes, including the latest science. All of the book's chapters follow a common thematic order that spans biodiversity importance, principal anthropogenic stressors and trends, changing climatic conditions, and conservation strategies for maintaining biomes in an increasingly human-dominated world. This work is a one-stop shop that gives users access to up-to-date, informative articles that go deeper in content than any currently available publication. Offers students and researchers a one-stop shop for information currently only available in scattered or non-technical sources Authored and edited by top scientists in the field Concisely written to guide the reader though the topic Includes meaningful illustrations and suggests further reading for those needing more specific information

In this edition of the Long Term Ecological Research Network series, editors John Hobbie and George Kling and 58 co-authors synthesize the findings from the NSF-funded Arctic LTER project based at Toolik Lake, Alaska, a site that has been active since the mid-1970s. The book presents research on the core issues of climate-change science in the treeless arctic region of Alaska. As a whole, it examines both terrestrial and freshwater-aquatic ecosystems, and their three typical habitats: tundra, streams, and lakes. The book provides a history of the Toolik Lake LTER site, and discusses its present condition and future outlook. It features contributions from top scientists from many fields, creating a multidisciplinary survey of the Alaskan arctic ecosystem. Chapter topics include glacial history, climatology, land-water interactions, mercury found in the Alaskan arctic, and the response of these habitats to environmental change. The final chapter predicts the consequences that arctic Alaska faces due to global warming and climate change, and discusses the future ecology of the LTER site in the region. Alaska's Changing Arctic is the definitive scientific survey of the past, present, and future of the ecology of the Alaskan arctic.

With one volume each year, this series keeps scientists and advanced students informed of the latest developments and results in all areas of the plant sciences. The present volume includes reviews on plant physiology, biochemistry, genetics and genomics, forests, and ecosystems.