El canvi climàtic altera i alterarà la vida als ecosistemes terrestres catalans

An increasing number of observational evidences on the biological effects of climate change are becoming available in Catalonia. Biological spring and winter have been advanced and delayed, respectively. Specifically, the vegetative period has extended about 5 days per decade during the last fifty years. In addition, Mediterranean plants and animals seem to move upwards in Catalan mountains. Many other changes have been observed in the last decades in response to this climatic change: more frequent and severe droughts, greater fire risks, greater biogenic volatile organic compound emissions from our ecosystems, etc. The warming and the precipitation decrease projected for the next decades, if they occur, will affect the physiology, phenology, growth, reproduction, establishment and, finally, the distribution of organisms, and therefore the structure and functioning (e.g., CO2 uptake or nitrate leaching) of the ecosystems. In fact, experimental studies simulating warming and drought in our forests and shrub lands verify these effects. These changes affect and will affect the multiple productive, environmental and social services provided by the terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, management policies of ecosystems have to consider these changes projected for the immediate future, such as the decrease of water availability.