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The pace of climate change is accelerating too fast for many plant and animal species to adapt, and leading to profound impacts on species’ ability to survive and food production, according to a new report from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Temperature, day length, and rainfall are key cues for major life phases. This includes flowering, fruit bearing, breeding, and migrating. As the climate warms, however, not all species are moving in the same direction or at a similar rate. Therefore, key phases of interdependent species are falling apart, UNEP reports. WarnsFrontiers 2022: Mismatches, Blazes, and Noise
The report also focuses on the increasing risks to human health from noise pollution, wildfires, and the environment. This report was published a few months before the second session. COP15 biodiversity talksIts stark findings in Kunming (China) serve as a reminder of the urgent need to take action on decarbonisation, conservation investment, and better integration of biodiversity and climate agendas.
Phenological shifts
The study of the cues and timing of species’ key phases and how they interact within a life cycle is known as phenology. Many species need to interact for their survival, though, as UNEP’s Frontiers report highlights, many of these well-established interactions are being thrown off by a rapidly changing climate.
Great tits, for example, have many offspring. This means that the adults must provide nearly one caterpillar per minute to their nestlings. Temperature is used to time their breeding so that nestlings arrive at peak numbers of caterpillars on oak tree. Caterpillar eggs hatch in the same way that oak trees produce new leaves. Some countries have seen a rise in great tit populations, which has resulted in increased egg-laying. However, this shift is not sufficient to match the peak population of caterpillars. This mismatch is expected to increase in the next decades, leading to food scarcity for songbirds.
The report warns species that migrate that are vulnerable to phenological shifts because local climatic cues, which usually trigger migration, may no longer accurately predict conditions at destination and resting spots along the route.
It cites the North American monarch butterflies as an example. They are triggered by shorter days and lower temperatures to travel 4,300km from their summer breeding grounds in North America to their overwintering areas in central Mexico. Over the past 29 years, studies have shown that they have delayed migration by six day per decade. Scientists believe that those who migrate later are less likely than those who arrived earlier to overwinter at the sites. This could be due to mismatches in food supply along their route.
UNEP claims that phenological shifts are also causing problems in the human body. Global agricultural systems are being affected by changes in growing seasons and drought damage. Already, there have been changes in the growth stages for grapevines, fruit trees and barley. Many commercially important marine species and prey have been affected. This has had significant consequences for stock and fisheries productivity.
The problems caused by shifting seasons could be partially resolved, the report suggests, through existing conservation measures, such as restoring habitats and building “corridors” that species can use to move between areas. Boundaries of protected areas could be adjusted as species’ ranges shift to help them adapt, it added. Promoting genetic diversity within populations is also important, as it will increase the chances of species adapting to new environments.
These mismatches could also be considered to ensure that biodiversity targets aligned to the Paris Agreement are met.
Frontiers 2022 report
The report emphasizes that such measures cannot delay the shifting seasons. “The only way to effectively reduce damages from mismatched phenological shifts worldwide is to rapidly reduce CO2 emissions,” it states.
Solutions are needed that integrate climate change and biodiversity loss, according to Maarten Kappelle, head of the thematic assessments unit at UNEP. “Most existing international biodiversity targets have so far overlooked climate change impacts. But that is changing,” he says.
The new international deal for nature being discussed at the COP15 talks in Kunming offers the opportunity to address the interactions between climate change and biodiversity, Kappelle says: “These phenological mismatches could be taken into account to ensure that we get biodiversity targets that are aligned better to the Paris Agreement and the UN sustainable development goals.”
Wildfires and noise pollution
The findings on phenology are just one part of UNEP’s latest Frontiers report, a publication launched in 2016 to spotlight emerging environmental issues. The 2022 edition also highlights urban noise pollution and wildfires, with the three issues representing the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, according to UNEP’s executive director Inger Anderson.
The report on noise pollution warns that excessive, long-lasting, high-volume sounds, whether from railways, road traffic, or leisure activities, can cause health and well-being problems. It states that stress and sleep disturbances can lead to severe heart disease, diabetes, hearing impairment, and poor mental health.
12,000
Premature deaths every year in the EU from noise pollution-induced illness
In many cities around the globe, acceptable noise levels are exceeded, including Algiers. According to the report, this problem causes 12,000 premature deaths per year in the EU. Its recommendations for possible ways of reducing noise include investing in alternative mobility to reduce traffic noise, and installing tree belts and green spaces in cities, which can instead create “soundscapes” that have a positive impact on health.
UNEP states that wildfires will continue to be more frequent, more intense, and last longer than they did previously. Each year between 2002 and 2016, an average of 423 million hectares – an area about the size of the entire EU – burned. Climate change is making it hotter and dryer. Land-use change, such as commercial logging and deforestation of farms and grazing land, is also increasing fire danger.
Numerous fire-related threats are listed in the report, including black carbon and greenhouse gas emissions, landslides and large-scale algal blooms in the oceans. These can cause long-term mental, and physical health problems in humans. The smoke and particulate matter can sometimes spread thousands of kilometers from the source.
UNEP called on governments to invest more in wildfire prevention, including through remote sensing technology.
The report’s publication was timed ahead of a major meeting of the United Nations Environment Assembly next week in Nairobi, which will consider creating a global and legally binding agreement to address plastic pollution and will also consider action on nature.
