Climate And Land-Use Changes Combine To Drive Extinction

Scientists have demonstrated a link between climate change, land-use change and shifts in species distribution.

AsianScientist (Apr. 17, 2018) – Scientists in Hong Kong and France have discovered that species distribution is affected by both climate change and land-use. They published their findings in Nature Communications.

Climate change is altering where species live all over the planet. With global warming, species are moving towards the poles and to regions of higher elevation where temperatures are lower. However, along with global climate change, the world is also experiencing massive changes in land-use which may also impact where species live.

In the present study, graduate student Ms. Guo Fengyi, under the supervision of Dr. Timothy Bonebrake of the University of Hong Kong and Dr. Jonathan Lenoir of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) in France, demonstrated links between land-use, climate change and shifts in species distribution.

By analyzing data on 2,798 elevational range shifts of plants and animals across 43 sites globally, the researchers found that species shifts tend to be constrained by surrounding forest cover. In cooler regions of the world, species shift at lower rates with increasing forest loss. Conversely, in warmer regions like the tropics, the shift rate is accelerated with intensive deforestation.

The researchers also found that tropical species may be especially vulnerable to the dual effects of climate and land-use changes.

“While the importance of land-use change for climate-driven species shifts has long been recognized, how land-use change is important, or to what extent it affects species redistribution, was never fully appreciated,” noted Guo. “Most of the studies we reviewed in this work stated that land-use remained unchanged over time, whereas our data showed otherwise.”

“This work also sheds light on possible climate change impacts on the species of Hong Kong. While warming may be causing species to shift their distributions in Hong Kong, both forest recovery in country parks and forest loss from development in recent decades may hinder our ability to detect changes,” said Bonebrake.

Overall, the research emphasizes how species must contend with multiple human impacts on the natural world. While some species may be able to move (and do move) in response to climate change and land-use change, others may not. Those species that are unable to respond effectively to warming or habitat loss face a high risk of extinction.

The article can be found at: Guo et al. (2018) Land-use Change Interacts With Climate to Determine Elevational Species Redistribution.

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Source: University of Hong Kong; Photo: Shutterstock.
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