Biodiversity is affected by climate warming, - changes in growing seasons, - extreme weather conditions and storms, - ocean warming and ocean acidification, - greenhouse gases and pollutants, - nutrient load, wildfires, - changes in precipitation leading to drought and flooding, - unsustainable use of natural resources, - fragmentation of ecosystems, and land use, construction, - urbanisation and traffic. Global average surface temperature - has been increasing during the last decades - when compared to average temperature in the last century. And highest increases - are seen in the Northern latitudes of the globe, - with high impact on Arctic ecosystems.
Changes in precipitation are complex on a global scale. In general, dry is getting drier and wet is getting wetter. Expected changes are dependant on global warming.
Acclimation and adaptation of species is necessary - for changing conditions with impacts on biodiversity. Desertification is one example - of impacts of climate change in dry areas. And desertification is globally a big problem.
And it's well-known to affect negatively on biodiversity. In Africa, there is a good example of a large-scale action - against desertification and climate change, - the Great Green Wall, - which includes not only planting of trees, - but also development of sustainable agriculture. And the whole effort will enhance food and water security, - human health and well-being, - economic opportunities, peace and partnerships, - and gender equality.
Wildfires are more and more common and drastic nowadays. So, dry and hot weather causes wildfires - that can have a positive or negative effect on biodiversity - directly or indirectly. Small-scale fires can be a natural part - of the forest ecosystem dynamics in many parts of the globe.
For example, in tropical pine forest - with fire-tolerant plant species. On the other hand, large-scale and high-intensity fires - can be devastating - as seen lately, for example, in the Western part of the US, - Canada, Australia and also Siberia. Human actions cause also increase in greenhouse gases and pollutants, - which can have an impact on biodiversity, too.
About greenhouse gases. Increasing CO2 level - enhances global greening, - which is leading to higher plant biomass. But the direct impact on biodiversity is not well known.
Pollution of the environment - usually has a negative impact on ecosystems. And the main pollutants affecting biodiversity - are air pollutants like ozone, - land and soil pollutants like heavy metals, - and water pollutants like many chemicals. Also, light pollution, noise pollution and plastic pollution - are getting more and more important due to human actions.
Tropospheric ozone is an example of air pollutants - with a clear negative impact on biodiversity. Ozone is a secondary air pollutant caused by nitrogen oxides - and also volatile organic compounds. And these emissions are due to traffic, industry, many human actions - and also from vegetation.
And ozone is formed at the presence of sunlight, - and then it's deposited into the vegetation. Concerning the biodiversity, - ozone is known to affect the composition and diversity - of plant and insect communities - and competition and interactions - between plants, insects and soil microbiota. High ozone concentrations - cause also visible injuries in plant leaves, - leading to impaired performance - of the most ozone-sensitive plant species.
So, all of these - may have a negative impact on biodiversity.
