The common frog. One of the species in the UK under threat from climate change.
Two very important reports have just been released that highlight the massive problems UK animal and plant species are experiencing in the face of urbanisation, changed farming practices and most importantly, climate change. The first report is the RSBG State of Nature Report. This report was compiled by 25 wildlife organisations using the latest information on animal and plant distribution, diversity and abundance. The major finding is that the UK’s biodiversity has declined by some 60%. From the report…
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We have quantitative assessments of the population or distribution trends of 3,148 species. Of these, 60% of species have declined over the last 50 yearsand 31% have declined strongly.
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Half of the species assessed have shown strong changes in abundance or distribution, indicating that recent environmental changes are having a dramatic impact on the nature of the UK’s land and seas. There is also evidence to suggest that species with specific habitat requirements are faring worse than generalist species that are better able to adapt to a changing environment.
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A new Watchlist Indicator has been developed to measure how conservation priority species are faring, based on 155 species for which we have suitable data. This group contains many of our most threatened and vulnerable species, and the indicator shows that their overall numbers have declined by 77% in the last 40 years, with little sign of recovery.
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Of more than 6,000 species that have been assessed using modern Red List criteria, more than one in ten are thought to be under threat of extinction in the UK. A further 885 species are listed as threatened using older Red List criteria or alternative methods to classify threat.
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Our assessment looks back over 50 years at most and over a considerably shorter period of time for many species groups. It is well accepted that there were considerable (albeit largely unquantified) declines in the UK’s wildlife prior to the last 50 years, linked to habitat loss.
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Although robust data are in short supply, it is clear that the UK’s Overseas Territories (UKOTs) hold a wealth of wildlife of huge international importance. However, over 90 of these species are at high risk of global extinction.
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Our ability to monitor the state of nature, and respond with appropriate conservation action, is hampered by a lack of knowledge on the trends of most of the UK’s plant and animal species. As a result, we can report quantitative trends for only 5% of the 59,000 or so terrestrial and freshwater species in the UK, and for very few of the 8,500 marine species. Our knowledge is strongly biased towards vertebrates and we know little about the fortunes of many invertebrates and fungi. Much needs to be done to improve our knowledge.
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What we do know about the state of the UK’s nature is often based upon the efforts of thousands of dedicated volunteer enthusiasts who contribute their time and expertise to species monitoring and recording schemes.
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The threats to the UK’s wildlife are many and varied, the most severe acting either to destroy valuable habitat or degrade the quality and value of what remains.
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Climate change is having an increasing impact on nature in the UK. Rising average temperatures are known to be driving range expansion in some species, but evidence for harmful impacts is also mounting.
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We should act to save nature both for its intrinsic value and for the benefits it brings to us that are essential to our well-being and prosperity.
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This report carries a message of hope: targeted conservation has produced a legacy of inspiring success stories and, with sufficient determination, resources and public support, we can, and will, turn the fortunes of our wildlife around. It also serves to illustrate that with shared resolve we can save nature.
What this report shows is that both our direct impacts (e.g. land use) and indirect impacts (climate change) are having a very adverse effects on ecosystem health and subsequent biodiversity. The full report can be found here.
The second report is the Living with Environmental Change (LWEC) “Terrestrial Biodiversity Climate Change Impacts Report Card 2012 -13. ” As the name implies, this report focuses solely on the impacts of Climate Change. The key points from this report are…
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There is strong evidence that climate change is already affecting UK biodiversity. Impacts are expected to increase as the magnitude of climate change increases.
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Many species are occurring further north and at higher altitudes than in previous decades, including some species which have colonised large parts of the UK from continental Europe.
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Recent rates of change in distributions differ between species. Some species, including many plants, are intrinsically slow to disperse and fragmentation of habitat may contribute to some species spreading more slowly than would be expected from climate change alone.
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Warmer springs in recent decades have caused a trend towards many biological events (e.g. flowering, budbreak, laying and hatching of eggs) occurring earlier in the year. The rates of change vary among species, which may alter the interactions between species.
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There is evidence of changes in the composition of plant and animal communities, consistent with different responses of different species to rising temperature.
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Species differ in their responses to variation in precipitation. The effects of climate change are less certain for precipitation than for temperature, but potential changes could lead to substantial changes in biodiversity and ecosystems.
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Some habitats are particularly vulnerable to climate change; the risks are clearest for montane habitats (to increased temperature), wetlands (to changes in water availability) and coastal habitats (to sea-level rise).
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Climate change exacerbates the risk that non-native species (including pests and pathogens) may establish and spread.
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We expect there to be regional differences in the impact of climate change on biodiversity, reflecting different species, climate, soils and patterns of land use and management.
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The protected area network, which includes Sites of Special Scientific Interest and National Nature Reserves, will continue to have a valuable role in conservation although there will be changes in populations, communities and ecosystems at individual sites.
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Climate change will interact with, and may exacerbate, the impact of other continuing pressures on biodiversity, such as land-use change and pollution.
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Extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, have clear impacts on ecosystems and the ecosystem services they provide; climate change may alter the frequency and severity of such events.
I recommend people check out the whole report. It makes for compulsory reading and will give an insight into the sort of biological and phenological changes occurring around the world. Full report here.
