Climate change and the seasonality of woodland flora and fauna

 

Climate change: Impacts on UK forests - Chapter 6
By Tim Sparks and Robin Gill

Key findings

• Phenology is a significant resource allowing us to examine how species have responded to natural temperature variation in the past, and also to ongoing anthropogenically-driven climate change.
• The temperature response of spring activity has been examined for a wide range of native flora and fauna. 
• Documented changes in timing in recent decades have been very marked with spring activity of several species advancing by up to a month. 
• Changes appear to be more marked in the UK than elsewhere in Europe and are stronger for plants and invertebrates than for vertebrates. 
• Differences in species response to temperature may result in an altered competitive advantage and thus to a changed community composition in the future. 
• The consequences of a changed phenology must not be considered in isolation from other direct climate-change-related problems such as changed frequency of extreme events (drought, flood, storms) or through indirect effects such as land use change or habitat fragmentation. 
• Populations of deer and squirrels are adversely affected by cool, wet weather, through reducing food availability and increasing mortality. Predicted climate change is therefore likely to result in increased population densities and ranges if appropriate control measures are not put in place. 
• A phenology network has been established to provide monitoring information and to raise awareness of climate change issues.

Next: Chapter 7 - Effects of climate change on fungal diseases of trees

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