Beneath Shifting Canopies
The study of Earth’s climate change and its impact on biodiversity reveals that many trees face potential extinction and decreased diversity, with uncertain consequences for ecosystems and human livelihoods.
Climate Change
Storms of Extinction
Entire populations of Antarctic seabirds are failing to breed due to extreme, climate-change-related snowstorms.
Gardeners of the Forest
If elephants, which are already critically endangered, become extinct, the Central and West African rain forest – the second largest on Earth – would lose 6-9% of its ability to capture atmospheric carbon, exacerbating planetary warming.
Unnecessary Deaths by Fire
Each year, 20,000 premature deaths in the United States are caused by the smoke from human-ignited fires.
Sunburnt Algae
Climate change threatens endangered marimo algae balls with extinction through deadly sunburn.
Deep-sea Soot
Up to one a half million tonnes of carbon, soot, and other particles from combustion end up in deep-sea trenches every year.
A Lethal Climate
For the first time, hotter days brought about by climate change have been linked to an increased risk of shootings in the United States.
Risky Resilience
In the Western United States, an increase in forest resilience has been linked with a higher mortality risk for trees.
Woody Infestation
Vines and climbing plants are more likely to infest smaller trees in Southeast Asian forests, with significant implications for global carbon storage and climate change.
Washed into Dust
The Salton Sea, California’s most polluted inland lake, is turning into toxic dust caused by a decline in Colorado River flow.