Last Updated:
February 28, 2007

GCRIO Program Overview

Library 
Our extensive collection of documents.

Privacy Policy

Archives of the
Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 5, NUMBER 7, JULY 1992

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS: ECOSYSTEMS

Item #d92jul62

"Assessing the Sensitivity of Canada's Ecosystems to Climatic Change," B. Rizzo (State of Environ. Reporting, Environ. Can., Ottawa, Ont. K1A OH3, Can.), E. Wiken, Clim. Change, 21(1), 37-55, May 1992.

Outlines potential ecological effects of a doubled CO₂ climate, which are applied to a classification model derived from the current ecological setting. Results show major shifts in ecological boundaries and changes in the character of Canada's broadly distributed ecosystems.

Item #d92jul63

"Climate Scenarios for Alpine Regions: A Collaborative Effort between ICALPE and ProClim," M. Beniston (ProClim--Swiss Nat. Clim. Prog., Hirschengraben 11, POB 7613, 3001 Bern, Switz.), M.F. Price, Environ. Conserv., 18(4), 360-363, Winter 1991-92.

Describes FUTURALP, a project coordinated by the International Center for Alpine Environments (ICALPE) within a program of the Commission of the European Communities, aimed at understanding the foreseeable impacts of climate change on Alpine ecosystems.

Item #d92jul64

"CO₂LT: An Automated, Null-Balance System for Studying the Effects of Elevated CO₂ and Global Climate Change on Unmanaged Ecosystems," W.C. Oechel (Dept. Biol., San Diego State Univ., San Diego CA 92182), G. Riechers et al., Functional Ecol., 6(1), 86-100, 1992.

Describes a greenhouse system developed for long-term, in situ greenhouse manipulation of atmospheric CO₂ concentration and temperature for intact plots of tussock tundra, and for measuring the instantaneous ecosystem-level CO₂ exchange rates within each of the plots under the treatments imposed. Gives preliminary results.

Item #d92jul65

"Human Impacts on Genetic Diversity in Forest Ecosystems," F.T. Ledig (U.S. For. Serv. Exp. Sta., POB 245, Berkeley CA 94701), Oikos, 63(1), 87-108, Feb. 1992. A review of general impacts, which includes some discussion of atmospheric pollution and global warming.

Item #d92jul66

"Using Biotic Interactions to Forecast the Consequences of Global Climate Change," A.M. Sugden, Trends Ecol. & Evol., 7(2), 35-36, Feb. 1992.

Item #d92jul67

"Differential Utilization of Summer Rains by Desert Plants," J.R. Ehleringer (Dept. Biol., Univ. Utah, Salt Lake City UT 84112), S.L. Phillips et al., Oecologia, 88(3), 430-434, 1991.

Seasonal changes in the hydrogen isotope ratios of xylem waters were measured to determine the seasonal dependence of water use by plants in southern Utah. Although precipitation there is currently evenly divided between winter and summer, increased summer precipitation is predicted from anticipated climate change. The differential responses of components within the plant community to this increase are examined.

Item #d92jul68

"Global Warming and Prairie Wetlands: Potential Consequences for Waterfowl Habitat," K.A. Poiani (USFWS Nat. Ecol. Res. Ctr., Fort Collins CO 80525), W.C. Johnson, Biosci., 41(9), 611-618, Oct. 1991.

Reviews wetland dynamics to establish the strong relationships among climate, wetland hydrology, vegetation patterns and waterfowl habitat. Discusses the potential effects of greenhouse warming and illustrates them using a simulation model, which predicts a significant decline in habitat quality on prairie wetlands.

Item #d92jul69

"Insects and Climate Change: Fossil Evidence from the Rocky Mountains," S.A. Elias (Inst. Arctic & Alpine Res., Univ. Colorado, Boulder CO 80309), ibid., 41(8), 552-559, Sep. 1991.

Describes some significant late glacial and Holocene changes that occurred in the Rocky Mountains, presenting fossil data that summarize what is known about regional insect responses to climate change in terms of species stability and distribution. Insect species can move great distances to satisfy their ecological requirements.