as agriculture and city expansion [72]. The main
areas converted are forests (both tropical and temperate), savannas, and coastal marshes. This is
causing a major contribution to the extinction of
species.
People around the world are trying to preserve,
restore, and manage ecosystems, but with the
climate changing at a different speed in different
areas around the globe, these environmental management practices are difficult to prepare.
Not only does the coming climate change pose
a big challenge for restoration; the emissions over
the last several decades pose a challenge as well.
In a study from 2000, scientists found that the
proportion of herbaceous and woody components
of the savanna are connected to CO 2 in the air. As
a consequence, the savanna cannot be restored as
it was before the heavy CO 2 emissions, because it
will not grow back in the same way [70].
Species
Climate change is threatening global biodiversity
including the numbers of species, the numbers of
individuals, and the interrelationships between species. Many species are struggling to adapt to rising
temperatures and changing weather. The protection
of ecological systems and biodiversity depends on
existing systems, but given the increasing losses of
habitat and environmental quality, and increasing
losses of species and individuals, it is clear that the
existing systems are not sustainable.
Changes in net photosynthetic productivity at the
base of the food chain affect the entire ecosystem.
On land this is mainly plants and in the oceans,
algae. Plants are affected by, e.g., drought and
flooding, loss of habitat, and air pollution. Oceanic
productivity is affected by, e.g., nutrient availability,
ocean circulation, and pH. There is less space available for the ecosystem due to roads, buildings, and
agriculture, and the space that is there is changing,
due to flooding, drought, pollution, etc.
In a review on biodiversity management from
2008, scientists evaluated 113 papers and their recommendations for conservation of natural habitat
and species. A third of the papers point out that the
need for ecological information is greater than the
need for additional social or political information,
with the related conclusion that actions are more
important than just passing on information [73].
Seeds and Plants
Food security is of major concern worldwide;
food production is threatened by climate change.
In addition, with the ongoing degradation of the
ecosystem, preservation of the plants we eat has
become a concern. Gene- and seed banks are
emerging as a way of preserving seeds and plants
and their respective genetics. It is estimated that
there are currently 1750 gene banks worldwide.
One of them is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
located in Norway and owned by the Norwegian
government. The Vault can hold up to 4.5 million
seed samples and is surrounded by permafrost to
cool and preserve samples if power systems fail.
However with climate change and associated rising temperatures, the vault has experienced some
water damage due to the permafrost melting. Currently, it holds around 5000 different kinds of
species and far more samples. The Seed Vault is
considered a key operator in the preservation of
seeds and plants [74]. Another approach for preventing the extinction of seeds and plants is to
create more protected and monitored areas [75].
Ecological Restoration
Human societies are putting increasingly dangerous pressure on ecosystems that support life on
Earth, and the scientific studies that document
their destructive impacts on the global biosphere
are mounting [60–62]. These impacts have
become so widespread and severe that ecological
restoration has become a major form of environmental management [58, 59] and it is currently
going through an exciting growth period
[191]. For example, the Bonn Challenge attempts
to restore 150 million hectares of deforested and
degraded land by 2020 and 350 million hectares
by 2030 [192]. At the beginning of 2019, the UN
declared 2021–2030 to be a “Decade of Ecosystem Restoration” [193]. Restoration projects can
vary from local small-scale projects such as with
the Greene Prairie, a 47-acre restoration at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arboretum
in the United States, to large-scale projects such
as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration
Plan in the United States which is the broadest
and most expensive restoration project to date
298
Air Pollution and Climate Change: Sustainability, Restoration, and Ethical Implications
areas converted are forests (both tropical and temperate), savannas, and coastal marshes. This is
causing a major contribution to the extinction of
species.
People around the world are trying to preserve,
restore, and manage ecosystems, but with the
climate changing at a different speed in different
areas around the globe, these environmental management practices are difficult to prepare.
Not only does the coming climate change pose
a big challenge for restoration; the emissions over
the last several decades pose a challenge as well.
In a study from 2000, scientists found that the
proportion of herbaceous and woody components
of the savanna are connected to CO 2 in the air. As
a consequence, the savanna cannot be restored as
it was before the heavy CO 2 emissions, because it
will not grow back in the same way [70].
Species
Climate change is threatening global biodiversity
including the numbers of species, the numbers of
individuals, and the interrelationships between species. Many species are struggling to adapt to rising
temperatures and changing weather. The protection
of ecological systems and biodiversity depends on
existing systems, but given the increasing losses of
habitat and environmental quality, and increasing
losses of species and individuals, it is clear that the
existing systems are not sustainable.
Changes in net photosynthetic productivity at the
base of the food chain affect the entire ecosystem.
On land this is mainly plants and in the oceans,
algae. Plants are affected by, e.g., drought and
flooding, loss of habitat, and air pollution. Oceanic
productivity is affected by, e.g., nutrient availability,
ocean circulation, and pH. There is less space available for the ecosystem due to roads, buildings, and
agriculture, and the space that is there is changing,
due to flooding, drought, pollution, etc.
In a review on biodiversity management from
2008, scientists evaluated 113 papers and their recommendations for conservation of natural habitat
and species. A third of the papers point out that the
need for ecological information is greater than the
need for additional social or political information,
with the related conclusion that actions are more
important than just passing on information [73].
Seeds and Plants
Food security is of major concern worldwide;
food production is threatened by climate change.
In addition, with the ongoing degradation of the
ecosystem, preservation of the plants we eat has
become a concern. Gene- and seed banks are
emerging as a way of preserving seeds and plants
and their respective genetics. It is estimated that
there are currently 1750 gene banks worldwide.
One of them is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
located in Norway and owned by the Norwegian
government. The Vault can hold up to 4.5 million
seed samples and is surrounded by permafrost to
cool and preserve samples if power systems fail.
However with climate change and associated rising temperatures, the vault has experienced some
water damage due to the permafrost melting. Currently, it holds around 5000 different kinds of
species and far more samples. The Seed Vault is
considered a key operator in the preservation of
seeds and plants [74]. Another approach for preventing the extinction of seeds and plants is to
create more protected and monitored areas [75].
Ecological Restoration
Human societies are putting increasingly dangerous pressure on ecosystems that support life on
Earth, and the scientific studies that document
their destructive impacts on the global biosphere
are mounting [60–62]. These impacts have
become so widespread and severe that ecological
restoration has become a major form of environmental management [58, 59] and it is currently
going through an exciting growth period
[191]. For example, the Bonn Challenge attempts
to restore 150 million hectares of deforested and
degraded land by 2020 and 350 million hectares
by 2030 [192]. At the beginning of 2019, the UN
declared 2021–2030 to be a “Decade of Ecosystem Restoration” [193]. Restoration projects can
vary from local small-scale projects such as with
the Greene Prairie, a 47-acre restoration at the
University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Arboretum
in the United States, to large-scale projects such
as the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration
Plan in the United States which is the broadest
and most expensive restoration project to date
298
Air Pollution and Climate Change: Sustainability, Restoration, and Ethical Implications