Natural England - How is climate change affecting England’s natural environment?
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How is climate change affecting England's natural environment?
How is climate change affecting England’s natural environment?
Climate change is already affecting our wildlife, habitats and ecosystems in a number of ways, even though the amount of climate change has been relatively small, so far.
Changes in the timing of natural events
In England, we have a large number of long-term wildlife monitoring schemes that have provided crucial evidence for the effects of climate change.
Examples include:
- Earlier laying dates of many of our common birds and spawning dates of amphibians (frogs, toads and newts).
- Earlier arrival and later departure dates of migrant birds.
- Earlier appearance of butterflies in spring.
- Earlier leafing and flowering dates of many trees, shrubs and flowering plants.
- Later leaf-fall of many broadleaved trees in autumn.
- Earlier appearance of mushrooms and toadstools in the autumn.
Changes in the distribution of species
UK national projects that are mapping a range of wildlife have shown that many species are already shifting their distributions northwards. Birds, such as the Dartford warbler, and butterflies, such as the comma, have shown changes in distribution linked to climate change.
Some new species are beginning to colonise England, such as the little egret, but it is difficult to be sure that this is only because of climate change and not due to other environmental factors, such as changes in farming practice.
Changes are also evident around our shores, with an increase in the number of warm-water striped dolphins alongside a decline in the cold-water white-beaked dolphin.
Some non-native species may find it easier to survive in England as the climate warms. Their spread could be detrimental to native wildlife. A possible high-profile example of this has been the substantial increase in ring-necked parakeets and their spread from former sites in London to surrounding counties.
Why is it difficult to detect habitat change?
Although many species have shown clear changes in their behaviour at different times of year, and in their distributions in response to climate change, changes in UK land habitats and ecosystems as a result of climate change are less clear.
Partly, this may be because most habitats are composed largely of long-lived plants, including trees, grasses and herbs. This means that change may only occur slowly as the dominant plants come to the end of their natural lives.
A range of other changes affecting habitats have also occurred alongside climate change. For example, in the second half of the 20th century, land management methods changed and the major plant nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorous, increased in the soil at a rate similar to that of temperature rise. This makes it difficult to decide which ecological effect is actually due to climate change.
What changes in species and habitats have been detected?
Despite these difficulties, changes in the species of flowers in non-chalky grasslands and woodlands have been observed, that seem to be related to climate change . We suspect that similar changes may have occurred in other habitats, such as heathlands.
Insect communities in many habitats may already have undergone significant change. This is partly because most insects are short lived, so there is a rapid turnover of generations.
For example, in some butterfly communities across Britain there has been a 15 per cent change in species over 25 years. If this is typical of other insects, it represents a major shift in the biodiversity of Britain and in the ecology of our habitats. This is because insects make up the majority of land animals in terms of species and biomass (weight per square km).
Much more climate change has been seen on the coast as a consequence of sea level rise. At some sites, large areas of salt marsh habitat are lost each year, partly from sea-level rise and partly from land development. The flooding of coastal and freshwater marshes that occurred in East Anglia in 2007 may have resulted in long-term change to these habitats.
Effects of higher carbon dioxide levels
Satellite monitoring of North West Europe has shown a general increase in the growth of vegetation. This is partly due to the lengthening of the growing season (spring comes earlier and autumn later), but also the fertilising effect of extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The increased growth of more vigorous plants at the expense of species that cannot take advantage of the change in growing seasons and extra carbon dioxide could have a significant effect on habitats and ecosystems.
It might also be expected that higher temperatures would result in increased decomposition rates – and so a loss of carbon from soils, including peat. But studies into this have been inconclusive, and it seems unlikely that climate-induced loss of carbon from soil is happening to any significant degree. Other factors, such as lower emissions of sulphur into the atmosphere, may be causing faster rates of decay.