Global anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and hazardous air pollutants have produced broad yet regionally disparate changes in climatic conditions and pollutant deposition in the Canadian boreal zone (the boreal). Adapting boreal resource management to atmospheric change requires a holistic understanding and awareness of the ongoing and future responses of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in this vast, heterogeneous landscape. To integrate existing knowledge of and generate new insights from the broad-scale impacts of atmospheric change, we first describe historical and present trends (∼1980–2015) in temperature, precipitation, deposition of hazardous air pollutants, and atmospheric-mediated natural disturbance regimes in this region. We then examine their associations with ecosystem condition and productivity, biological diversity, soil and water, and the carbon budget. These associations vary considerably among ecozones and likely undergo further changes under the emerging risks of atmospheric change. We highlight the urgent need to establish long-term, boreal-wide monitoring for many key components of freshwater ecosystems to better understand and project the influences of atmospheric change on boreal water resources. We also formulate three divergent future scenarios of boreal ecosystems in 2050. Our scenario analysis reveals multiple undesirable changes in boreal ecosystem structure and functioning with more variable atmospheric conditions and frequent land disturbances, while continuing business-as-usual management of natural resources. It is possible, though challenging, to reduce unwanted consequences to ecosystems through management regimes focussed on socio-ecological sustainability and developing resilient infrastructure and adaptive resource-management strategies. We emphasize the need for proactive actions and improved foresight for all sectors of society to collaborate, innovate, and invest in anticipation of impending global atmospheric change, without which the boreal zone will face a dim future.
Atmospheric change as a driver of change in the Canadian boreal zone1
Alex C. Y. Yeung,A. Paltsev,A. Daigle,P. Duinker,I. Creed
Published 2019 in Environmental Reviews
ABSTRACT
PUBLICATION RECORD
- Publication year
2019
- Venue
Environmental Reviews
- Publication date
2019-09-01
- Fields of study
Environmental Science
- Identifiers
- External record
- Source metadata
Semantic Scholar
CITATION MAP
EXTRACTION MAP
CLAIMS
CONCEPTS
- adaptive resource-management strategies
Flexible management approaches that adjust actions in response to changing conditions and new information.
- atmospheric change
Shifts in climate, deposition, and disturbance conditions driven by anthropogenic emissions in the boreal system.
Aliases: global atmospheric change
- boreal ecozones
Ecological subregions within the boreal landscape used to compare spatially varying responses.
Aliases: ecozones
- boreal water resources
The freshwater resources and hydrologic systems associated with the boreal region.
- business-as-usual management
Continuation of current natural-resource management practices without major strategic change.
Aliases: BAU management
- canadian boreal zone
The vast northern forested region of Canada that serves as the landscape focus of the assessment.
Aliases: the boreal
- freshwater ecosystems
Inland aquatic ecosystems in the boreal region, including lakes, rivers, wetlands, and related waters.
- resilient infrastructure
Infrastructure designed to withstand and adapt to changing atmospheric and disturbance conditions.
- scenario analysis
A forward-looking exercise that constructs alternative future conditions for boreal ecosystems in 2050.
Aliases: future scenarios
- socio-ecological sustainability
A management orientation that balances ecosystem integrity with human use and social objectives.
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