Terrestrial Ecosystems at Risk of Major Shifts as Temperatures Increase

Terrestrial Ecosystems at Risk of Major Shifts as Temperatures Increase

Issue: Global

Summary: Terrestrial Ecosystems by the year 2100 are at risk of having an increase in temperature of up to 5 degrees Celsius. Nearly no region in the world is free of this threat if we continue on the environmental path that we have been taking since the industrial revolution. This is a ground-breaking discovery. If something like this were to happen on just a 2 degrees Celsius increase, about 20% of Earth's terrestrial ecosystems would undergo a major transformation. Natural Disasters would become much more prevalent, the seas would rise to an extreme degree, the unthinkable would occur in biomes across the globe. Researchers were able to uncover these theories based on the biogeochemistry of ecosystems around the planet.

Opinion: I think that humans need to continue their efforts to stop harming the environment across the globe. If this research is true, and our planet will be in jeopardy by the year 2100, then we need to work faster than I expected. Unfortunately, we are living in a very unstable world, economically and environmentally. We need to achieve a balance in which we maintain our economic success so people can have enough to live on and also save the environment in the process.

Definition:

Biogeochemistry-  The scientific discipline that involves the study of the chemical, physical, geological, and biological processes and reactions that govern the composition of the natural environment and the biosphere.