It would be great if yu could provide examples and explanations for all impacts

Question

It would be great if yu could provide examples and explanations for all impacts so I could study off of them. Thank You

Some of the following have been suggested as possible consequences impacts) of climate change within the United States: increased heat stress, reduced streamflow, increased forest fires, increased crop productivity, rising sea level, greater hurricane intensity, and expanded geographic ranges of insects. At test time, I will select three of them for you to explain in terms of (1) their likely geographic extent (they will impact all of the country, or they will impact only some areas of the country and you will state which areas are impacted), (2) one likely impact on human life and/or human health, and (3) one potential economic impact.

Explanation / Answer

A) Effect on geographic extent:

Warming temperatures have led to effects as diverse as altered timing of bird migrations, increased evaporation, and longer growing seasons for wild and domestic plant species. Increased temperatures often lead to a complex mix of effects. Warmer summer temperatures in the western United States have led to longer forest growing seasons but have also increased summer drought stress, vulnerability to insect pests, and fire hazard.

IMPACT O. HUMAN HEALTH:

Changes to precipitation and the size of storms
affect plant-available moisture, snowpack and
snowmelt, streamflow, flood hazard, and water
quality.

Climate changes – temperature increases,
increasing CO2 levels, and altered patterns
of precipitation – are already affecting U.S.
water resources, agriculture, land resources,
and biodiversity (very likely). Many
examples of changes in these resources that are
the direct result of variability and changes in
the climate system, even after accounting for
other factors. The number and frequency of
forest fires and insect outbreaks are increasing
in the interior West, the Southwest, and Alaska.
Precipitation, streamflow, and stream tempera-
tures are increasing in most of the continental
United States. The western United States is ex-
periencing reduced snowpack and earlier peaks
in spring runoff. The growth of many crops and
weeds is being stimulated. Migration of plant
and animal species is changing the composition
and structure of arid, polar, aquatic, coastal, and
other ecosystems.

Climate change will continue to have significant effects on these resources over the
next few decades and beyond (very likely).
Warming is very likely to continue in the United
States during the next 25 to 50 years, regardless
of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, due
to emissions that have already occurred. U.S.
ecosystems and natural resources are already be-
ing affected by climate system changes and vari-
ability. It is very likely that the magnitude and
frequency of ecosystem changes will continue to
increase during this period, and it is possible that
they will accelerate. As temperature rises, crops
will increasingly experience temperatures above
the optimum for their reproductive development,
and animal production of meat or dairy products
will be impacted by temperature extremes. Management of Western reservoir systems is very likely to become more challenging as runoff
patterns continue to change. Arid areas are very
likely to experience increases erosion and fire
risk. In arid ecosystems that have not coevolved
with a fire cycle, the probability of loss of iconic,
charismatic megaflora such as Saguaro cacti and
Joshua trees will greatly increase.
Many other stresses and disturbances are
also affecting these resources (very likely).

C) ECONOMIC IMPACT:

THERE are multiple environmental drivers – land use change, nitrogen cycle changes,
point and nonpoint source pollution, wildfires,
invasive species – that are also changing. Atmospheric deposition of biologically available
nitrogen compounds continues to be an important issue, along with persistent ozone pollution in many parts of the country. It is very likely that these additional atmospheric effects cause biological and ecological changes that interact with changes in the physical climate system. In addition, land cover and land use patterns are changing, e.g., the increasing fragmentation of U.S. forests as exurban development spreads to previously undeveloped areas, further raising fire risk and compounding the effects of summer drought, pests, and warmer winters. There are several dramatic examples of extensive spread of invasive species throughout rangeland and semiarid ecosystems in western states, and indeed throughout the United States. It is likely that the spread of these invasive species, which often change ecosystem processes, will exacerbate the risks from climate change alone. For example, in some cases invasive species increase fire risk and decrease forage quality.

.

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse I
• Subjects

---

---

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.