Oene H van ,
Ellis WN ,
Heijmans MMPD ,
Mauquoy D ,
Tamis WLM ,
Vliet AJH ,
Berendse F ,
Geel B van ,
Meijden R van der ,
Ulenberg SA
320 p
in Dutch
2001
Toon Nederlands
English Abstract During the last century human-induced changes in
atmospheric deposition, land use and water management greatly affected
growing conditions of plant and animal species and dramatic changes in
biological diversity in natural ecosystems have been observed. Predicted
climate change as a result of increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations may
further threaten biodiversity. This project aimed at answering: what have
been the effects of changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, temperature,
precipitation and atmospheric nitrogen deposition levels on diversity and
distribution patterns of vascular plants and Lepidoptera (moths) species in
the past; and what will these effects be in the coming decades? The first
subproject described the changes in occurrence and phenology of species that
have occurred during the 20th century in the Netherlands and related these
changes to possible environmental causes. The second subproject focussed on
rain-fed bogs in order to study the relation between climate and species
composition over a time period of several centuries. The third subproject
modelled the effects of climate change on ecosystem variables that are known
to have major impacts on plant diversity such as nitrogen supply, soil
acidity, soil moisture and light conditions at soil surface level. The
results of the project demonstrate that climate change already has been a
strong contributing factor to changes in the occurrence and the phenology of
plant species and Lepidoptera species in the Netherlands. The historic
analysis of rain-fed peat bogs also demonstrated the impact of climate
change on changes in plant species occurrence. The model studies indicate
that future climate change may have further consequences for ecosystem
processes and species diversity.