Ecosystems & Global Climate Change: A Review of Potential Impacts on U.S. Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biodiversity

Foreword        ii

Executive Summary       iii

I. Introduction   1

II. Background   3
        A. The Role of Climate in Biological Systems   3
        B. Global Climate Change   6

III. The Responses of Biological Systems to Global Warming   7
         A. Impacts of Global Warming on the Geographic Distributions of
                     Vegetation Types   7
        B. Impacts of Climate Change on Ecosystem Processes   13
        C. Effects on Species and Communities   21
        D. Climate Change Caught in the Act?   24
        E. Interactions between Climate Change and Other Human Pressures   27

IV. Social Implications of Ecosystem Change     29

V. Adaptation     32

VI. Conclusions     34

Endnotes     36

References    37