Effect on Tourism and the Economy
Tourism is crucial to the economic significance of a country and a region by
providing large weightage in country gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism is
mostly connected with environment, nature, and climate, so tourism can be called an
economic sector that is highly sensitive to regional climate. Tourism can be directly
affected by climatic change such as rising average temperatures of a region or
indirectly by rising sea levels, loss of snow cover, change in precipitation pattern
or impacts on the landscape. Thus, it becomes important to predict the consequences
of climate change on future demand in tourism.
The changes in phenology, physiology, and diversity of the forests caused by
climate change affect forest tourism as these changes lead to more frequent forest
fires, storm damage, difference in precipitation patterns, and loss in species diversity
(Hall et al. 2011).
Elevation in average temperature has caused winter seasons to shorten and
summer duration to become longer. Snow cover is also affected, challenging local
tourism. At higher altitudes, snow cover is being reduced and further decrease is
predicted from ongoing global warming; reduced snow cover may lead to an
appreciable decrease in future tourism for this natural attraction (Endler et al. 2010).
Other tourist destinations that are highly sensitive towards climate change are
greatly affected, such as coral reef exploration, and the proliferation of jellyfish. It is
also noticed that more effects of climate change might be experienced at lower
altitudes than at higher altitudes.
In a study in Europe, Hanewinkel et al. (2013) found that change of temperature
and precipitation is expected to decline an economically valuable species, Norway
spruce (Picea abies Karst), which is one of the major commercial tree species in
Europe. It is also predicted by models that Norway spruce may shift northwards and
probably lose large parts of its present range in central, eastern, and western Europe
in coming years (Hanewinkel et al. 2013).
Mitigation Strategies
Mitigation strategies towards reducing the effect of climate on forest health lie in
analysing forest health by taking into account the multiple environmental, ecological, and social factors influencing it. Phenology would be the most important factor
in developing mitigation efforts for the impact of climate change on forests. A
keyword search on the Web of Science for “forest,” “phenology,” and “mitigation,”
in the abstract, keywords, or title of articles, produced only 24 results. Most of the
literature originated in developed countries (Fig. 8.2), whereas less developed
nations are prone to exploit their forest resources. It has been argued in the 2019
IPCC special report on Climate Change and Land that planting forest and protecting
the existing forests, especially the dense forests, are crucial to limit the temperature
8 Forest Phenology as an Indicator of Climate Change: Impact and Mitigation. . .
199
Tourism is crucial to the economic significance of a country and a region by
providing large weightage in country gross domestic product (GDP). Tourism is
mostly connected with environment, nature, and climate, so tourism can be called an
economic sector that is highly sensitive to regional climate. Tourism can be directly
affected by climatic change such as rising average temperatures of a region or
indirectly by rising sea levels, loss of snow cover, change in precipitation pattern
or impacts on the landscape. Thus, it becomes important to predict the consequences
of climate change on future demand in tourism.
The changes in phenology, physiology, and diversity of the forests caused by
climate change affect forest tourism as these changes lead to more frequent forest
fires, storm damage, difference in precipitation patterns, and loss in species diversity
(Hall et al. 2011).
Elevation in average temperature has caused winter seasons to shorten and
summer duration to become longer. Snow cover is also affected, challenging local
tourism. At higher altitudes, snow cover is being reduced and further decrease is
predicted from ongoing global warming; reduced snow cover may lead to an
appreciable decrease in future tourism for this natural attraction (Endler et al. 2010).
Other tourist destinations that are highly sensitive towards climate change are
greatly affected, such as coral reef exploration, and the proliferation of jellyfish. It is
also noticed that more effects of climate change might be experienced at lower
altitudes than at higher altitudes.
In a study in Europe, Hanewinkel et al. (2013) found that change of temperature
and precipitation is expected to decline an economically valuable species, Norway
spruce (Picea abies Karst), which is one of the major commercial tree species in
Europe. It is also predicted by models that Norway spruce may shift northwards and
probably lose large parts of its present range in central, eastern, and western Europe
in coming years (Hanewinkel et al. 2013).
Mitigation Strategies
Mitigation strategies towards reducing the effect of climate on forest health lie in
analysing forest health by taking into account the multiple environmental, ecological, and social factors influencing it. Phenology would be the most important factor
in developing mitigation efforts for the impact of climate change on forests. A
keyword search on the Web of Science for “forest,” “phenology,” and “mitigation,”
in the abstract, keywords, or title of articles, produced only 24 results. Most of the
literature originated in developed countries (Fig. 8.2), whereas less developed
nations are prone to exploit their forest resources. It has been argued in the 2019
IPCC special report on Climate Change and Land that planting forest and protecting
the existing forests, especially the dense forests, are crucial to limit the temperature
8 Forest Phenology as an Indicator of Climate Change: Impact and Mitigation. . .
199