Role of Major Forest Biomes in Climate
Change Mitigation: An Eco-Biological
Perspective
Javid Ahmad Dar, Kothandaraman Subashree, Najeeb Ahmad Bhat,
Somaiah Sundarapandian, Ming Xu, Purabi Saikia, Amit Kumar,
Ashwani Kumar, Pramod Kumar Khare and Mohammed Latif Khan
Abstract The rapid alteration in the global climate due to anthropogenic activities
has profound eco-biological impacts, which invariably affect the ability of natural
communities to effectively perform ecosystem services. The eco-biological impacts
could be viewed across various dimensions including loss of biodiversity as well
as ecosystem goods and services, changes in phenology, prevalence of droughts
and forest fires, disease outbreaks, reduced crop yields and increase in intensity
and frequency of extreme weather events. Although, the natural ecosystems are
innately endowed with the ability to maintain homeostasis by means of resistance
and resilience, this ability to cope up is severely impacted by various other factors
like deforestation, habitat fragmentation, land-use change and biological invasion,
which exacerbate the effects of climate change. The eco-biological impacts of climate change are tied with socio-economic aspects by means of market values of the
produce, poverty, undernourishment, livelihood security, etc. At this crucial juncture,
forest biomes offer an immense ecosystem service towards climate change mitigation
through carbon sequestration. Nevertheless, the three major forest biomes, viz. tropical, temperate and boreal, with their unique characteristics, vary in their response
to climate change as well as mitigation potential and response. This review chapter
aims to understand the varied climate change impacts and the crucial roles of major
forest biomes in climate change mitigation and their various ecological services to
formulate better forest management strategies.
J. A. Dar · N. A. Bhat · A. Kumar · P. K. Khare · M. L. Khan (B)
Biodiversity Conservation Lab, Department of Botany, Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University,
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 470003, India
e-mail: khanml61@gmail.com
K. Subashree · S. Sundarapandian
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences,
Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
M. Xu
College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Jinming Avenue, Kaifeng 475004, China
P. Saikia · A. Kumar
School of Natural Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Brambe, Ranchi,
Jharkhand 835205, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions
in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_24
483
Change Mitigation: An Eco-Biological
Perspective
Javid Ahmad Dar, Kothandaraman Subashree, Najeeb Ahmad Bhat,
Somaiah Sundarapandian, Ming Xu, Purabi Saikia, Amit Kumar,
Ashwani Kumar, Pramod Kumar Khare and Mohammed Latif Khan
Abstract The rapid alteration in the global climate due to anthropogenic activities
has profound eco-biological impacts, which invariably affect the ability of natural
communities to effectively perform ecosystem services. The eco-biological impacts
could be viewed across various dimensions including loss of biodiversity as well
as ecosystem goods and services, changes in phenology, prevalence of droughts
and forest fires, disease outbreaks, reduced crop yields and increase in intensity
and frequency of extreme weather events. Although, the natural ecosystems are
innately endowed with the ability to maintain homeostasis by means of resistance
and resilience, this ability to cope up is severely impacted by various other factors
like deforestation, habitat fragmentation, land-use change and biological invasion,
which exacerbate the effects of climate change. The eco-biological impacts of climate change are tied with socio-economic aspects by means of market values of the
produce, poverty, undernourishment, livelihood security, etc. At this crucial juncture,
forest biomes offer an immense ecosystem service towards climate change mitigation
through carbon sequestration. Nevertheless, the three major forest biomes, viz. tropical, temperate and boreal, with their unique characteristics, vary in their response
to climate change as well as mitigation potential and response. This review chapter
aims to understand the varied climate change impacts and the crucial roles of major
forest biomes in climate change mitigation and their various ecological services to
formulate better forest management strategies.
J. A. Dar · N. A. Bhat · A. Kumar · P. K. Khare · M. L. Khan (B)
Biodiversity Conservation Lab, Department of Botany, Dr. Harisingh Gour Central University,
Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 470003, India
e-mail: khanml61@gmail.com
K. Subashree · S. Sundarapandian
Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, School of Life Sciences,
Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605014, India
M. Xu
College of Environment and Planning, Henan University, Jinming Avenue, Kaifeng 475004, China
P. Saikia · A. Kumar
School of Natural Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Brambe, Ranchi,
Jharkhand 835205, India
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
N. Roy et al. (eds.), Socio-economic and Eco-biological Dimensions
in Resource use and Conservation, Environmental Science and Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32463-6_24
483