Climate Change Ecosystems

Climate change affects every living entity on Earth. Climate change can increase or decrease rainfall and temperature. It can cause animals to breed and migrate earlier. It affects the seasons. Climate change can influence crop yields and affect ecosystems. Climate change has increased the amount of wildfires and raised the sea levels substantially (Shah, 2015).

According to scientists, there is an estimate of the average temperature rising by 1.4 to 5.8°C by the end of the 21st century (Ramachandran, Jayakumar, Haroon, Bhaskaran and Arockiasamy, 2007). The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the level of carbon dioxide in today’s atmosphere in comparison to the time of the Industrial Revolution (2 centuries and

(2015) is “Meeting human needs by manipulating a forest” through establishment, growth, health and quality. Both terms are similar except the latter, explains that the growth of trees are for human needs predominantly. Forests are considered to be Climax Communities which means that ecological succession has been long-standing (Cole and Nguyen, 2009). Forests range in different compositions according to latitude worldwide. By utilizing processes such as clear-cutting and deforestation, living organisms that depend on these trees branches and roots have to migrate or die, other effects on climate, soil and water are also influenced (Cole and Nguyen, 2009).

3. The importance of biodiversity

Plant richness is highest in areas of high productivity where moisture and thermal conditions are favorable for plant growth and are environmentally heterogeneous in South Africa (Richardson, Rouget, Ralston, Cowling, Van Rensburg and Thuiller, 2005). The areas with most plant diversity also included the most alien species. Alien species were found to spawn most in areas with high human activity (Richardson, et al. 2005).

In the case of the South African silvicultural programme in Buffelsdraai, indigenous species were randomly selected and less knowledge of these trees are known due to lack of human resources such as specialists in ecology. Building up the Forest Margins with Canopy, understory and shrub layers will also assist in developing the forest to grow independently and into a healthy forest. This will increase biodiversity and attract animals to add to ecosystem services. Biodiversity is currently being stunted by the programme being seen as an economic upliftment programme. Forest structures are also absent. Silvicultural Programmes in developing countries such as South Africa needs to be evaluated based off mortality rate and natural growth indicators to encourage