Climate change impacts on forests. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge a.o., pp.
Forests contain a wide range of species with complex life cycles.
Forests, particularly in the tropics, harbor as much as two-thirds of the world's biodiversity. They directly affect climate up to the continental scale by influencing ground temperatures, evapotranspiration, surface roughness, albedo, cloud formation, and precipitation. Models project that a sustained increase of 1 degree C in global mean temperature is sufficient to cause changes in regional climates that will affect the growth and regeneration capacity of forests in many regions. In several instances, this will alter the function and composition of forests significantly. Climate change is expected to occur at a rapid rate relative to the speed at which forest species can grow, reproduce, and reestablish themselves at new locations.