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Another life-cycle change is a warmer winter which can lead to summer rainfall or summer drought. [26] Ultimately, climate change can affect the phenology and interactions of many plant species, and depending on its effect, can make it difficult for a plant to be productive. [35]
The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report concluded that over the last three decades human-induced warming had likely had an influence on many biological systems. [25] [26] [27] The Sixth Assessment Report found that half of all species with long-term data had shifted their ranges poleward (or upward for mountain species).
The surface salinity of the ocean is a key variable in the climate system when studying the global water cycle, ocean–atmosphere exchanges and ocean circulation, all vital components transporting heat, momentum, carbon and nutrients around the world. [84] Cold water is more dense than warm water and salty water is more dense than freshwater.
Climate change conditions such as increase in atmospheric temperature and carbon dioxide concentration directly affect availability of biomass energy, food, fiber and other ecosystem services. [119] Degradation of species supplying such products directly affect the livelihoods of people relying on them more so in Africa. [120]
The water cycle is essential to life on Earth and plays a large role in the global climate system and ocean circulation. The warming of our planet is expected to be accompanied by changes in the water cycle for various reasons. [3] For example, a warmer atmosphere can contain more water vapor which has effects on evaporation and rainfall.
An increase in water temperature can also affect ecosystems greatly because of a species' sensitivity to temperature, and also by inducing changes in a body of water's self-purification system from decreased amounts of dissolved oxygen in the water due to rises in temperature. [24]
The diversity of species and genes in ecological communities affects the functioning of these communities. These ecological effects of biodiversity in turn are affected by both climate change through enhanced greenhouse gases, aerosols and loss of land cover [citation needed], and biological diversity, causing a rapid loss of biodiversity and extinctions of species and local populations.
The effect of area on biodiversity patterns has been shown to be scale-dependent, having the strongest effect among species with small geographical ranges compared to those species with large ranges who are affected more so by other factors such as the mid-domain and/or temperature. [5]