Interpretation of IPCC AR6: terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services

doi:10.12006/j.issn.1673-1719.2022.071

Abstract

Abstract:

Chapter 2 of Working Group II's IPCC Sixth Assessment Report suggests that prior reports underestimated impacts of climate change on terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems due to complex biological responses to climate system. Anthropogenic climate change has led to deterioration of ecosystem structure, function and resilience, biome shifts and structural changes within ecosystem, increased wildlife diseases, increased area burned by wildfire, localized species extinctions and more extreme events. Under the scenario of temperature rise of 2-4℃ in the future, the percentage of species at high risk of extinction will be 10% to 13%, the wildfire burned area will increase by 35% to 40%, risks of tree mortality will exceed 50% in forest area, biome shifts on 15% to 35% and carbon loss continues to increase. The continuous increase of global temperature will aggravate the severe and irreversible impacts of these risks. The resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem services to climate change can be increased by human adaptation actions and mitigation measures including ecosystem protection and restoration. Aggravated climate change hinders the development and implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation. The long-term impacts of climate change need to be considered and the deployment of adaptation should be accelerated to ensure their effectiveness.

Key words: IPCC, Terrestrial ecosystems, Freshwater ecosystems, Ecosystem services, Risk assessment, Adaptation

HU Yi-Lun, JI Guo-Xu, LI Ji-Hong, HASBAGAN Ganjurjav, HU Guo-Zheng, GAO Qing-Zhu. Interpretation of IPCC AR6: terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services[J]. Climate Change Research, 2022, 18(4): 395-404.

Figures/Tables 4

Fig. 1 Observed global trends in lake (a, 1970-2010) and river (b, 1901-2010) surface water temperature and temperature trends along a latitudinal gradient

Fig. 2 Observed changes in the distribution of plant functional types that are caused by climate change or combination of land use and climate change

Fig. 3 Impact of changes in the frequency, duration and magnitude of extreme weather or climate events on extinction risk

Fig. 4 Key risks to terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems from climate change

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