Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems

In this chapter, global change and its impacts on terrestrial ecosystems are discussed. First, land use and land-use change are introduced, focusing on agriculture and forestry, in terms of both their characteristics and their consequences for the biogeochemistry of terrestrial managed ecosystems. Then these changes in land use are linked to observed and predicted climate change, which is described in detail, that is, radiative forcing of greenhouse gases, global warming, global dimming and brightening. Moreover, both the responses of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change and the feedbacks of terrestrial ecosystems on climate are discussed. Changes in global biodiversity are illustrated as well. The last section contains a discussion of global political agreements that have been put in place to address these global ecological challenges of land degradation, climate change and biodiversity.