Ecosystems are being Impacted by Climate Change

Ecosystems are being impacted by climate change, including the water cycle, soil processes, nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and pollination.

Ecosystem Services Impacts
Declining Biodiversity
Depleting Surface & Groundwater Supplies
Depleting Soils
Increasing Pests & Disease
Increasing Zoonotic Diseases

Ecosystem Services Impacts

Climate change is impacting various ecosystem services, including the water cycle, soil microbial processes nutrient cycling, biodiversity, and pollination – all essential for food production.

And as our climates change, many of our ecosystem services are changing.

As an example, the United Nations advises that food systems account for 80% of deforestation.

However, crop production and yield depend on various ecosystem and biodiversity resources.

For more information, please refer to Education.

Declining Biodiversity

Climate change, land-use change, and pollution are all causing biodiversity loss.

And the United Nations advises that food systems account for up to 80% of biodiversity loss.

Hence, a loss of pollinators, and a loss of insects in general has major consequences for entire ecosystems including agro-ecosystems.

For example, the decline in specific monarch butterfly colonies has been well documented. And many organizations are now providing services to counter declines.

Moreover, the phenology or timing of life cycle events is changing.

In review, crop production and yield depend on various biodiversity services.

For more information, please refer to UNEPFI.org.

Depleting Surface & Groundwater Supplies

Globally, approximately 70% of freshwater is used for agriculture / food systems, and many freshwater supplies are declining.

And increasing temperatures result in increasing evaporation rates and in turn lower water levels. Moreover, changing rainfall patterns may decrease annual precipitation rates in specific areas. Further, increasing frequency of droughts may result in insufficient water supplies crop growing areas.

Runoff from glacial melt peaks during the summer months.

And decreasing glaciers result in decreasing meltwater volumes – impacting future water supplies in downstream ecosystems, habitats, and agricultural watersheds.

Groundwater depletion is primarily caused by sustained groundwater withdrawals or over pumping. And the result of unsustainable lowering of groundwater supplies includes increasing costs for pumping, reducing surface water supplies, and land subsidence.

Additional concerns are water quality and water contamination issues. One example is saltwater intrusion and contamination of the water supply.

Depleting Soils

Soil erosion and runoff of nutrients to water reservoirs increases with more extreme downpours, extensive droughts, and damagingly high winds.

And increasing temperatures impact soil organisms & microbial networks, and result in more soil organic carbon being released from soils.

Increasing Pests & Diseases

Both pests and disease are expected to increase as temperatures warm, impacting both crop and livestock production.

And worldwide, pests currently eat an alarming percentage of crops each year.

For example, in warmer temperatures insect metabolism increases, their life cycles get faster, and they reproduce more quickly. Without changes, pests will be consuming yet more of our crops in the future.

Increasing Zoonotic Diseases

Zoonosis or a Zoonotic disease is an infectious disease caused by a pathogen that has jumped from a non-human animal to a human. An infectious agent may be a bacterium, virus, parasite, or prion. An example is COVID-19: a novel zoonotic disease caused by a coronavirus.

In a mid 2020 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) indicates experts that land degradation, wildlife exploitation, intensive farming and climate change are all contributing factors to the rise in zoonotic diseases like COVID-19.

Examples of areas that drive the risk include demand for animal protein, extraction of natural resources, urbanization, intensive. unsustainable farming, exploitation of wildlife, increased travel, and climate change.

Environmental Contamination in Ecosystems

Fertilizer application in agricultural operations is responsible for excess nitrogen in the environment, excess phosphorus discharges to watercourses.

Further, application of fertilizer and pesticide is responsible for excess sulfur in croplands.

And application of pesticide and fungicide to crops may harm pollinators and other beneficial insects.

Last Modified: May 17, 2024

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