Prairies Will Be Hit Hard by Global Warming
23 February 1998
Contact: Professor Jay Malcolm
jay.malcolm@utoronto.ca
(416) 978-0142
University of Toronto
Prairie ecosystems in North America will be hit harder than many
areas on this continent by the effects of global warming, and the damage will become
apparent within the next few decades, suggests a University of Toronto researcher.
"Predictions are that global warming will have especially
strong, negative impacts on prairie ecosystems in the near future with water shortages
being a problem right off the bat," says Professor Jay Malcolm of the Faculty of
Forestry. Certain kinds of animals, particularly shore birds and waterfowl, are extremely
sensitive to water levels -- both the amount of water available and the timing of seasonal
rainfalls. Their migration and breeding is threatened by a drier climate.
Malcolm and Adam Markham of World Wildlife International have
just completed a year-long study on the effects of North American global warming by
comparing computer models of the earth's atmosphere and ecosystems with future scenarios
if society does not dramatically reduce its dependence on fossil fuels.
Many kinds of migratory birds take shelter in temporary marshes
that form on
farmland early in the year, Malcolm explains. As the climate warms, these
marshes will dry up earlier and farmers will be tempted to use these dry conditions to
cultivate their fields earlier. This will force the birds to fly further north for
acceptable nesting areas. Malcolm says a changing climate could cause even further
upheavals in an ecosystem that has already been heavily influenced by human activities.
For example, plants could be under greater stress in a dry
climate, a situation that would
allow nuisance plants
such as weeds to move in, forcing native species out. Funding for
the study was provided by World Wildlife Fund
International.
CONTACTS:
Professor Jay Malcolm
Faculty of Forestry
(416) 978-0142
E-mail: jay.malcolm@utoronto.ca
Michah Rynor
U of T public affairs
(416) 978-2104
E-mail: michah.rynor@utoronto.ca
I would like to thank Professor Jay
Malcolm for letting me reprint this article in the Nature's Reading Room.
Articles of this nature will help us all become more aware of what is taking place in our
environment.
  
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