Royal Mail Climate Change Challenge Pack:
Station Information Sheets
Station 5: Effects on vegetation and animals
As the climate warms and some places become
hotter and drier with less predictable rainfall patterns,
species of flora and fauna will experience stress as
the environment on which they depend changes.
Some may gradually migrate (e.g. move north as the
once cool latitudes heat up) and vacate the habitats
they once formed part of. However, not all species
can move or migrate indefinitely.
• Physical barriers such as mountain ranges or
extensive human settlement may prevent some
species from shifting to a more suitable habitat.
• In the case of isolated mountain top species,
there may be no new habitat at higher elevations
to colonize. Even in cases where no barriers are
present, other limiting factors such as nutrient
or food availability, soil type, and the presence
of adequate breeding sites may prevent a
range shift.
• Although the tree line will probably increase in
elevation as the climate warms, for example,
soils at higher elevations are often thin and of
poor quality and could be inadequate to sustain
species from lower elevation sites.
• In coastal areas, the loss of wetlands and
beaches due to sea level rise could destroy sites
used by turtles, birds, and marine mammals
for breeding and raising their young.
UNIT 1 STATION 5
Forests
Forests are essential for consuming atmospheric
carbon dioxide and converting it into breathable
oxygen by the process of photosynthesis. It is
predicted that global warming will cause tropical
forests to decline, with a major loss of species.
This is even before the effects of deforestation for
farming, logging and development are taken into
account. Some estimates say that around two-thirds
of all species on earth live in the African rainforests,
so their decline is of great concern. This is especially
so when one considers that rainforests cover only
6% of our planet.
On the other hand, temperate and boreal (northern)
forests are predicted to increase in terms of cover.
Boreal forests, which occur in North America and
Eurasia, cover 27% of the earth’s surface and consist
of such species as spruce, birch and fir. They grow
where the yearly average temperature ranges
between –5 to +3°C. Unfortunately they do not absorb
as much carbon dioxide as the tropical rainforests.
Atmospheric warming of as little as 1°C would affect
many tree species as they can exist only within
narrow temperature ranges. Some trees whose seeds
are spread by birds may be more mobile being better
able to colonize new areas. This increases their
chance of survival. Scots pines in Britain move only
about 4km per century as their cones do not travel
very far.
Royal Mail Climate Change Challenge Pack: UNIT 1 STATION 5

Grasslands and desertification

It is likely that tropical grasslands will decline.
Again this will result from drier and hotter weather
particularly in continental interiors. The implications
for grazing and agriculture are significant as these
areas often support relatively high human populations
who will increasingly find their livelihoods threatened.
For example, arid or semi-arid areas in northern,
western, eastern and parts of southern Africa are
becoming drier. The continent is, on average, 0.5°C
warmer than it was 100 years ago, but some areas
have suffered more, such as a part of Kenya which Animals
has become 3.5°C hotter in the past 20 years. Migratory animals are under threat as they must
depend on several different ecosystems. Birds may
Andrew Simms, from the New Economics Foundation, fly from one continent to another, perhaps stopping
said: “Global warming is set to make many of the at feeding grounds on the way. Whales and turtles
problems which Africa already deals with, much, cover vast tracts of ocean. Species under threat
much worse. In the last year alone, 25 million people include:
in Sub-Saharan Africa have faced food crisis.”
• turtles, which are particularly affected with
If these trends continue there will be increased risk rising temperatures changing the ratio of males
of desertification. Desert sand dunes currently cover to females
5% of the global land surface, and up to 30% of Africa.
• the North Atlantic right whale, whose main
Changed rainfall patterns could mean new deserts food of plankton is disturbed by shifting ocean
in Africa and dustbowls in Mid-Western states currents
of America, and perhaps the densely populated • several bird species in the Caribbean, which may
Nile delta. literally be blown off course during migration by
more intense spring storms
Scientists from Oxford University believe the Kalahari
sand dunes in south-east Africa will undergo • the white-beaked dolphin, which is out-competed
widespread reactivation during the 21st century by other dolphin species in warmer waters
as a result of declining rainfall, increasing droughts, • the Baikal teal (a type of duck), whose habitat is
and rising wind strengths. The Kalahari region threatened by drought.
covers an area of 2.5 million km2, stretching
from northern South Africa to Zambia and beyond.
They feel it is very likely to expand as surrounding
vegetation is inundated by sand.
Royal Mail Climate Change Challenge Pack: UNIT 1 STATION 5

Spreading disease
Warmer temperatures allow mosquitoes that transmit
diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to extend
their ranges and increase both their biting rate and
their ability to infect humans. The map highlights
locations of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks in
previously unexposed highland communities where
temperatures have risen during the past century,
and other indicators of health impacts.

FIG 1 Map illustrating expansion of malarial regions

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Royal Mail Climate Change Challenge Pack:
Earlier spring arrival – late winter
Spring now arrives earlier in many parts of the world.
Evidence of this comes from earlier thaw dates for
rivers and lakes; earlier dates for plant blooming and
leafing; and earlier animal egg-laying, spawning
and migration. An earlier spring may disrupt animal
migrations, alter competitive balances among species,
and cause other unforeseen problems.
e.g. The average first flowering date of 385
British plant species has advanced by 4.5
days during the past decade. Plants that
flower and animals that attempt to breed too
early in the year are vulnerable to late frosts.
For example, in Northumberland, UK, people
have been picking a summer/autumn fruit
like raspberries outdoors in December.
UNIT 1 STATION 5
Plant and animal range shifts
and population changes
Plants and animals generally react to consistently
warmer temperatures by moving to higher latitudes
and elevations. Recent studies reveal that some
species have already started to shift their ranges,
consistent with warming trends. Many populations
and species may become more vulnerable to declining
numbers or extinction if warming occurs faster than
they can respond or if human development presents
barriers to their migration.
e.g. In the UK there are fears that species such as
the ptarmigan and the Arctic hare may be lost
for ever as their habitat is changing. The cold
and snow in the winter highlands of Scotland
are becoming less common and animals such
as these that have white winter plumage or
fur will not be camouflaged as before.
e.g. In the Monteverde Cloud Forest, Costa Rica,
disappearing frogs and toads are a concern.
A reduction in dry-season mists due to
warmer Pacific Ocean temperatures has
been linked to disappearances of 20 species
of frogs and toads, upward shifts in the
ranges of mountain birds, and declines in
lizard populations.
Coral reef bleaching
Reefs in 32 countries experienced dramatic
bleaching in 1997–8. Bleaching results from the
loss of microscopic algae that both colour and
nourish living corals. Water that is warmer than
normal by only 2 to 3°F (1.1–1.6°C) has been
linked to bleaching.