Vulnerability of riparian ecosystems to elevated CO2 and climate change in arid and semiarid western North America

Product Type: Journal Article

Year: 2012

Author(s): Perry, L.G., D.C. Andersen, L.V. Reynolds, S.M. Nelson, and P.B. Shafroth

Suggested Citation:
Perry, L.G., D.C. Andersen, L.V. Reynolds, S.M. Nelson, and P.B. Shafroth. 2012. Vulnerability of riparian ecosystems to elevated CO2 and climate change in arid and semiarid western North America. Global Change Biology 18(3): 821-842.

Abstract

Riparian ecosystems, already greatly altered by water management, land development, and biological invasion, are being further altered by increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations ([CO2]) and climate change, particularly in arid and semiarid (dryland) regions. In this literature review, we (1) summarize expected changes in [CO2], climate, hydrology, and water management in dryland western North America, (2) consider likely effects of those changes on riparian ecosystems, and (3) identify critical knowledge gaps. Temperatures in the region are rising and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense. Warmer temperatures in turn are altering river hydrology: advancing the timing of spring snow melt floods, altering flood magnitudes, and reducing summer and base flows...