Climate change is affecting the duration and characteristic of seasons but also is influencing the fauna and flora of determined areas of our planet. Climate determines broad type and distribution of vegetation and ecosystems and thus impacts on the relative organisms and living creatures present in determined areas. Consequently, the characteristics of different ecosystems are changing as climate changes, and also the distribution of vegetation (i.e. a phytoclimatic one) is changing according to new climate conditions determined by global warming.

Climate change basically is causing a shift in vegetation zones. For example, the tree line in the northern hemisphere is shifting northwards, while in the mountains it is shifting to higher altitudes. The retreat of arctic and alpine ecosystems is a further example of a shift of vegetation zones.
In the same way also the climatic zones have changed. From 1950 to 2010, about 5.7% of the Earth’s surface has changed into a warmer and drier climate zone. Climate change also generates new, unprecedented combinations of climatic elements, making it very difficult to assess the consequences that could result though it is deemed that more extreme weather conditions could occur more frequently causing severe damages to things and persons.

Generally animals and plants adapt easily to the climatic conditions of the habitats in which they thrive, however climate change and global warming are changing these conditions and thus affecting fauna and flora of determined areas and their distribution and behavior, these new conditions can lead to a change in the entire ecosystem.

In general, species react to climate change in different ways. For example It has been noted that birds lay eggs earlier in the year than usual and plants bloom earlier. Distribution of animals is also affected by climate change with many species moving closer to the poles as a response to the rise in global temperatures. Butterflies are an example, they move in the direction of the poles or at higher altitudes, so as to avoid too high temperatures. It has been found that animals and plants living on earth are moving on average about 11 meters in altitude and about 17 km towards the poles every decade.

Those species who are unable to adapt to climate change, which reduces their habitats, in the most extreme cases are expected to become extinct in the near future. The faster the changes take place, the greater the risk that animals and plants cannot adapt and, therefore their extinction will be accelerated.

The concept of biodiversity substantially defines the diversity of all forms of life and ecosystems, as well as the interactions between individual living beings and ecosystems, and genetic diversity within species. Biodiversity and in general nature’s contributions to people which include food, water, timber, air purification, soil formation and pollination, is threatened due to human activities which cause biodiversity to decline. This is happening faster than at any time in human history posing a serious threat to the entire humanity.

A high level of biodiversity increases the robustness and therefore the adaptability of an ecosystem to adverse events, but if climate change accelerates ecosystems will be affected faster and if we do not act promptly human activities destroying nature and biodiversity will alter the capacity of healthy ecosystems to deliver this wide range of goods and services.

Nature and human well-being are strictly connected and all people should be more aware of this. Though more food and energy and materials than before are now being supplied to more people in most places, this is increasingly done at the expense of Nature’s ability to provide such contributions, so it would be better to safeguard it together with its biodiversity and ecosystems to grant a future to the entire humankind.

Climate change poses a serious threat to the existence of many species because their natural habitats are shrinking or disappearing also due to human activities (including intensive agriculture and poaching). There is a species that is particularly threatened by climate change because the warming temperatures are literally causing the cancellation of its habitat and this is the polar bear. The polar bear is probably the best known creature in the Arctic. The increasing melting of Arctic sea ice in summer reduces the time when polar bears can have a platform to hunt seals. Limited access to food can have a negative impact on the number of cubs and the success of their breeding.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) the estimated current global polar bear population (in 2020) is about 26000. This is an estimate only. However scientists have determined with 95% certainty that between 22000 and 31000 polar bears exist on Earth today, which means this species is threatened with extinction. Estimates of the population development of this species depend on assumptions about future global warming and its impact on sea ice. It is clear that the survival of polar bears as a species, is threatened by the melting of ice, and one thing is clear: more rapidly the polar ice melts, more rapidly these species disappear if we do not find a solution to global warming.

Coral reef ecosystems are a very delicate ecosystems where myriads of other marine species thrive, which are now threatened by Climate change: in fact warming oceans are now causing a thermal stress that contributes to coral bleaching. A spike of 1-2°C in ocean temperatures sustained over several weeks not only leads to bleaching, turning corals white, but If corals are bleached for prolonged periods, they eventually die.

Only limiting global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels provides the only chance for the survival of coral reefs globally, however the entire global community should pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit other damages to other ecosystems. If the Paris agreement is fully implemented, we will likely see a decrease in atmospheric carbon concentrations and thus a limitation of the warming effect. What’s more, increased concentrations of carbon dioxide are being absorbed by the oceans and this acidifies the oceans, provoking other damages and impeding the calcification of exoskeletons necessary for the survival of other marine creatures such as for example seashell and snails.

Although coral reefs occupy less than 0.1 percent of the ocean floor, coral reefs are home to a quarter of all marine fish species that’s more species than rainforests. Many marine species use reefs for shelter, and it also represents a convenient environment for laying eggs. Coral Reefs are vital for people too they protect coastlines by reducing the impact of storms and waves, which can cause destruction and land erosion.

Grasslands and savannas are two different ecosystems known together as tropical grassy biomes (TGBs). Their importance is evident in fact they are estimated to cover one third of Africa and a fifth of the world’s land area, however only recently conservationists are focusing their attention to the conservation of these two TGBs. These two ecosystems not only support a growing proportion of the world’s population but are also home to the majority of the world’s remaining megafauna (big animals such as elephants: here the most common thresholds used are weight over 45 kilograms which is 100 lb, i.e., having a mass comparable to or larger than a human, or over a tonne, 1000 kilograms (2205 lb), and they are a critical store of biodiversity).

Because of Climate Change Savannas are expected to be strongly affected in the coming decades by changing rainfall patterns, including increased dry periods and decreasing annual rainfall. Because of the increase of global temperature grass coverage will decrease in dry savannas and desertification will advance.

Savannas are usually a transitional zone between a forest and a grassland, this means that tall trees are still present but they are spread out and the ground is covered in grasses. This particular environment is seriously threatened by climate change, in fact extreme weather events such droughts have become increasingly severe, and also by human activities such as logging, development, conversion to agriculture, over-grazing by livestock and the introduction of non-native species of plants.

Deserts represent a particular environment characterized by low average annual rainfall, usually 100 millimeters (less than 4 inches) of rain per year or less. Desert regions are in fact characterized by the fact that more water evaporates from the ground than is replaced by precipitation, and in general they are extremely hot, but some, like the famous Gobi Desert located in East Asia (it covers parts of Northern and Northeastern China and of Southern Mongolia) experience very cold winters. Noteworthy, deserts that are hot during the day, may become cold at night. This drastic change is because of the lack of insulation which is provided by clouds and humidity. So the definition of desert does not always imply that they are inhospitable hot places, in fact plants, small animals and other organisms that live in deserts have evolved to survive harsh conditions.

Many desert plants, like cacti in the Americas, are able to absorb and store water, letting them survive long periods of drought. Certain animals have adapted to get water from the food they eat and to conserve nutrients from what they find in these particular environments. These animals living in deserts often come out only at night to avoid the worst of the heat.

However climate change, which is already threatening the existence of many species and ecosystems, is worsening the conditions of these particular areas. An evident and alarming signal about the changes caused by global warming has been evidenced in 2018 by a research conducted by the University of Maryland which highlighted the fact that the largest desert, i.e. the Sahara, has expanded by 10 percent since 1920. The Sahara is the world’s largest warm-weather desert, roughly equal in size to the contiguous United States Deserts. Other findings suggest that human-caused climate change, as well as natural climate cycles such as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), caused the desert’s expansion.