Read more
Global warming is likely to have the greatest impact at high latitudes, making the Arctic an important region both for detecting global climate change and for studying its effects on terrestrial ecosystems. The chapters in this volume address current and anticipated impacts of global climate change on Arctic organisms, populations, ecosystem structure and function, biological diversity, and the atmosphere.
List of contents
Introduction: Challenges for the Future: Arctic and Alpine Ecosystems in a Changing World.- Section 1. Context for Global Change.- 1. Recent Climate Patterns in the Arctic.- 2. Quaternary Environmental Changes and Ecosystems of the European Arctic.- 3. The Impact of Hydrologic Perturbations on Arctic Ecosystems Induced by Climate Change.- 4. Global and Regional Patterns of Climate Change: Recent Predictions for the Arctic.- Section 2. Effects of Anticipated Global Change on Organisms and Populations.- 5. Photosynthesis and Respiration in Mosses and Lichens.- 6. Impacts of Climate Change on Demographic Processes and Population Dynamics in Arctic Plants.- 7. Phenology and Reproductive Success in Arctic Plants: Susceptibility to Climate Change.- 8. A Kinetic Approach to Microbial Ecology in Arctic and Boreal Ecosystems in Relation to Global Change.- 9. Responses of Caribou and Reindeer to Global Warming.- 10. Impacts of Global Change on Arctic-Breeding Bird Populations and Migration.- Section 3. Effects of Anticipated Global Change on Ecosystem Structure and Ecological Complexity.- 11. Impacts of Global Change on Composition of Arctic Communities: Implications for Ecosystem Functioning.- 12. Effect of Climate Change on Biodiversity of Arctic Plants.- 13. Climate Change and Future Position of Arctic Tree Line.- 14. The Role of Northern Ecosystems in the Global Methane Budget.- 15. The Responses of Vegetation to Past and Future Climate Changes.- 16. Modeling the Possible Impact of Climate Change on Broad-Scale Vegetation Structure: Examples from Northern Europe.- 17. Past, Present, and Future Potential Sources Contributing to Artificial Radionuclides in the Arctic Region.- Section 4. Effects of Anticipated Global Change on Ecosystem Function and Feedbacks to the Atmosphere.-18. Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Nutrient Cycling, Decomposition, and Productivity in Arctic Ecosystems.- 19. Buffering of Arctic Plant Responses in a Changing Climate.- 20. Climate Change in Northern Latitudes: Alterations in Ecosystem Structure and Function and Effects on Carbon Sequestration.- 21. Phenomenological Models of the Primary Productivity of Zonal Arctic Ecosystems.- 22. Analysis of CO2, Temperature, and Moisture Effects on Carbon Storage in Alaskan Arctic Tundra Using a General Ecosystem Model.- 23. Century Trends in the Volume Balance of Boreal Forests: Implications for Global CO2 Balance.- Section 5. Relationships Between Ecosystem Change and Land Use.- 24. Aboriginal Participation in Global Change Research in Northwest Territories of Canada.
