Ecosystem Collapse and Climate Change

364 Pages·2021·15.85 MB·English

by  Josep G. Canadell (editor), Robert B. Jackson (editor)

Ecological Studies 241
Josep G. Canadell
Robert B. Jackson Editors
Ecosystem
Collapse
and Climate
Change
Ecological Studies
Analysis and Synthesis
Volume 241
SeriesEditors
JosepG.Canadell
CSIROOceansandAtmosphere,Canberra,ACT,Australia
SandraDíaz
NationalUniversityofCórdoba,Córdoba,Argentina
GerhardHeldmaier
UniversityofMarburg,Marburg,Germany
RobertB.Jackson
StanfordUniversity,Stanford,CA,USA
DelphisF.Levia
UniversityofDelaware,Newark,DE,USA
Ernst-DetlefSchulze
MaxPlanckInstituteforBiogeochemistry,Jena,Germany
UlrichSommer
GEOMAR|HelmholtzCentreforOceanResearchKiel,Kiel,Germany
DavidA.Wardle
NanyangTechnologicalUniversity,Singapore,Singapore
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(cid:129)
Josep G. Canadell Robert B. Jackson
Editors
Ecosystem Collapse
and Climate Change
Editors
JosepG.Canadell RobertB.Jackson
CSIROOceansandAtmosphere StanfordUniversity
Canberra,Australia Stanford,CA,USA
ISSN0070-8356 ISSN2196-971X (electronic)
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Preface
Concerns about climate-related “collapse” of ecosystems are increasing, including
thepotentialirreversiblelossofhabitatsandspecies.California’srecordfireyearof
2020 and high-intensity fires caused unusual mortality among giant sequoias
(Sequoiadendron giganteum), raising questions about the preservation of these
ancient organisms. Likewise, diverse and unconnected terrestrial and marine
ecosystems in Australia experienced simultaneous and abrupt collapse in response
to the strong El Niño in 2015–2016, on top of long-term warming trends.
Thosechangestriggeredthequestionastowhetherwewereseeingpredictedfuture
climate impacts now with the rapid transformation and loss of ecosystems as we
knowthem.
In this volume, we, and the contributing authors, document cases of ecosystem
collapse around the world. In each case, the authors believe that climate change is
playingadominantor,atleast,contributingroleintheecosystem’sapparentdemise,
sometimes interacting with other pressures. The word “collapse” is challenging to
applybecauseinmany caseswe donotknow(i.e.,itistooearlytotell)whether a
givenecosystemmayrecoverthroughtime.Inothercases,however,theecosystem’s
prognosis is poor and the chance of recovery to its initial state appears unlikely,
particularlysointhefaceofthecontinuingintensificationofclimatechange.
Ourbookcoversthreebroadlatitudinalregionsencompassingmanybiometypes,
including(1) polar and boreal ecosystems, (2) temperate and semiarid ecosystems,
and(3)tropicalandtemperatecoastalecosystems.Examplesofecosystemcollapse
inpolarandborealsystemsincludeanalpineecosystemonsub-AntarcticMacquarie
Island,approximately650kmsouthwestofNewZealand,wherewaterstressfroma
changing climate is interacting with a novel pathogen. The volume also examines
forestcollapseinsouthernSiberia,wherewarmingandalengtheningfireseasonare
leading to post-fire recruitment failure and the large-scale replacement of boreal
forestswithgrasslands.
Studies in temperate and semiarid ecosystems include the rapid transition of a
relict alpine ecosystem in Tasmania. There, fire killed a paleo-endemic ecosystem
characterizedbytheslow-growingconifer,Athrotaxiscupressoides.Otherchapters
examine forest dieback and forest transitions to grassland and shrublands, with
interactions among droughts, heatwaves, and insect outbreaks contributing to the
v
vi Preface
observedtransitionsinplaceslikewesternUSA,NorthenAfricaandtheMediterra-
neanregion.
Examplesofcoastalecosystemcollapsesincludesynchronousmangrovedieback
along a 1500-km coastal mangrove ecosystem in northeastern Australia; mass
bleaching and mortality in coral reefs of the Great Barrier Reef and Mediterranean
Sea; the local extinction of 100 km of kelp forest in western Australia and its
replacement by turf algae, attributable to marine heat waves and elevated back-
groundoceantemperatures; andthecollapseof~1300km2ofseagrassecosystems
attributabletoamarineheatwavein2010–2011.
The changes observed by the authors often go far beyond the biotic shifts
described here. Seagrass and mangrove ecosystem experienced sediment erosion
and depleted carbon stocks, and permafrost-driven changes in high latitude
ecosystems are rapidly changing emissions of greenhouse gases and carbon stores
insoilsandvegetation.
One goal of this book is to raise awareness of the transitions that are already
occurringthroughclimatechangetoday,andparticularlythosetransitionsassociated
with abrupt dynamics in response to one of the most important manifestations of
climate change: the increasing intensity and sometimes frequency of climate
variability and extremes. Some of the transitions might be critical, in so far that
theymaybeirreversibleorsignalthebeginningofanewlevelofabruptchangesthat
will ultimately lead to an irreversible outcome. Finally, we hope that by
documenting such changes, increased awareness will help scientists and managers
restorelostordegradedecosystems,andwherepossible,theirspeciesandecosystem
functioning. In other instances, there may be opportunities to assist in a guided
transitiontowardmoreresilientecosystemsinthefaceofrapidchanges.
Canberra,Australia JosepG.Canadell
Stanford,CA RobertB.Jackson
Contents
1 EcosystemCollapseandClimateChange:AnIntroduction. . . . . . . 1
JosepG.CanadellandRobertB.Jackson
PartI PolarandBorealEcosystems
2 EcosystemCollapseonaSub-AntarcticIsland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
DanaM.Bergstrom,CatherineR.Dickson,DavidJ.Baker,
JennieWinham,PatriciaM.Selkirk,andMelodieA.McGeoch
3 PermafrostThawinNorthernPeatlands:RapidChanges
inEcosystemandLandscapeFunctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 27
DavidOlefeldt,LiamHeffernan,MiriamC.Jones,
A.BrittaK.Sannel,ClaireC.Treat,andMerrittR.Turetsky
4 Post-fireRecruitmentFailureasaDriverofForest
toNon-forestEcosystemShiftsinBorealRegions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
ArdenBurrell,ElenaKukavskaya,RobertBaxter,QiaoqiSun,
andKirstenBarrett
5 APaleo-perspectiveonEcosystemCollapseinBorealNorth
America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
SergePayette
PartII TemperateandSemi-aridEcosystems
6 The2016TasmanianWildernessFires:FireRegimeShiftsand
ClimateChangeinaGondwananBiogeographicRefugium. . . . . . 133
DavidM.J.S.Bowman,DarioRodriguez-Cubillo,
andLyndaD.Prior
7 Climate-InducedGlobalForestShiftsduetoHeatwave-Drought. . . 155
FranciscoLloretandEnricBatllori
vviiii
viii Contents
8 ExtremeEventsTriggerTerrestrialandMarineEcosystemCollapses
intheSouthwesternUSAandSouthwesternAustralia. . . . . . . . . . 187
KatinkaX.Ruthrof,JosephB.Fontaine,DavidD.Breshears,
JasonP.Field,andCraigD.Allen
PartIII TropicalandTemperateCoastalEcosystems
9 ProcessesandFactorsDrivingChangeinMangroveForests:
AnEvaluationBasedontheMassDiebackEventinAustralia’s
GulfofCarpentaria. .. . . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . .. . 221
NormanC.Duke,LindsayB.Hutley,JockR.Mackenzie,
andDamienBurrows
10 RecurrentMass-BleachingandthePotentialforEcosystem
CollapseonAustralia’sGreatBarrierReef. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265
MorganS.Pratchett,ScottF.Heron,CamilleMellin,
andGraemeS.Cumming
11 SlidingTowardtheCollapseofMediterraneanCoastalMarine
RockyEcosystems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
JoaquimGarrabou,Jean-BaptisteLedoux,NathanielBensoussan,
DanielGómez-Gras,andCristinaLinares
12 MarineHeatwaveDrivesCollapseofKelpForestsinWestern
Australia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325
ThomasWernberg
13 ImpactofMarineHeatwavesonSeagrassEcosystems. . . . . .. . . . . 345
OscarSerrano,ArianeArias-Ortiz,CarlosM.Duarte,
GaryA.Kendrick,andPaulS.Lavery
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365
1
Ecosystem Collapse and Climate Change:
An Introduction
Josep G. Canadell and Robert B. Jackson
Abstract
Concernsaboutclimate-related“collapse”ofecosystemsaregrowing,including
theirreversiblelossofhabitats,species,andcriticalecosystemfunctions.Diverse
terrestrial and marine ecosystems have experienced collapse-like dynamics
throughout the world, particularly over the past decade. This book addresses
the over-arching question: “Are we seeing predicted “future” climate impacts
now,withtherapidtransformationandlossofecosystemsasweknowthem?”
Ineachcaseofecosystemcollapsedocumentedhere,theauthorsbelievethat
climate change is playing a dominant or contributing role to the ecosystem’s
apparent demise, often interacting with other pressures. The book covers three
latitudinalregions:(1)polarandborealecosystems,suchastheimpactsofwater
stresswithanovelpathogenonalpinevegetationmosaicsinAntarcticMacquarie
Island,foresttransitionstoshrublandsandgrasslandsduetointeractionsbetween
temperatureandfireinSouthernSiberiaandNorthAmerica,andrapidchangesin
vegetationandecosystemfunctionsinthepermafrostregionasthawingisrapidly
taking place; (2) temperate and semi-arid ecosystems, including the impacts of
fire on a paleo-endemic alpine ecosystem in Tasmania, and the interactions
between drought and heatwaves in forests in the Mediterranean, Western USA,
and elsewhere; (3) tropical and temperate coastal ecosystems, including the
J.G.Canadell(*)
GlobalCarbonProject,ClimateScienceCentre,CSIROOceansandAtmosphere,Canberra,ACT,
Australia
e-mail:[email protected]
R.B.Jackson(*)
DepartmentofEarthSystemScience,WoodsInstitutefortheEnvironment,andPrecourtInstitute
forEnergy,StanfordUniversity,Stanford,CA,USA
e-mail:[email protected]
#SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2021 1
J.G.Canadell,R.B.Jackson(eds.),EcosystemCollapseandClimateChange,
EcologicalStudies241,https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71330-0_1