Abstract Climate change is ten times faster now than in the last global warming event, 56 million years ago, with temperature and extreme weather dramatically increasing due to human activity. This rapid changes in climate affect all levels of biodiversity. However, despite their high global biodiversity, only 3 percent of global climate change literature is based on invertebrates. Evidence from the fossil record has revealed low extinction rates for insect families in past catastrophic global events and omic sciences have allowed a much deeper understanding of the insect physiological and phenological responses to heat and their genetic basis. Insects acclimate and adapt to climate change, but several fail and suffer important reductions in population sizes besides local and global extinctions. The challenge is mainly driven by climate change potentiating the negative effects of other stressful conditions such as deforestation and pollution. Some species, notably pests and vectors, benefit from current climate change and either expand their distribution ranges or invade new environments. Moreover, biotic interactions involving insects and other organisms are threatened by climate change, generating cascading effects and affecting ecosystem functions and human wellbeing. Refugia from climate change across continents are fundamental for insects to withstand climate change and are of priority protection. This book provides key reflections regarding what we know and ignore about

CO2 record. Find out more about ice cores (external site). The current warming trend is different because it is clearly the result of human activities since the mid-1800s, and is proceeding at a rate not seen over many recent millennia. 1 It is undeniable that human activities have produced the atmospheric gases that have trapped more of the Sun’s energy in the Earth system. This extra energy has warmed the atmosphere, ocean, and land, and widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and biosphere have occurred. Do scientists agree on climate change? Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate. Scientists demonstrated the heat-trapping nature of carbon dioxide and other gases in the mid-19th century. 2 Many of the science instruments NASA uses to study our climate focus on how these gases affect the movement of infrared radiation through the atmosphere. From the measured impacts of increases in these gases, there is no question that increased greenhouse gas levels warm Earth in response. Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks. This ancient, or paleoclimate, evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly 10 times faster than the average rate of warming after an ice age. Carbon dioxide from human activities is increasing about 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age. 3 The Evidence for Rapid Climate Change Is Compelling: Global Temperature Is

Over the instrumental record, global surface temperatures have increased in a step-like pattern. Two periods of rapid temperature rise (1910 to 1945 and 1976 to roughly 2000) are separated by periods of relative temperature stability (1945 to 1976 and roughly 2000 to present). There is no consensus as to the relative roles of internal variability and external forcing in generating this multi-decadal variability. Both mechanisms could cause decadal changes in the rate of warming. Changes in external forcings can modulate earth’s net energy imbalance; during periods where negative forcings are l

Climate change influences population demography by altering patterns of gene flow and reproductive isolation. Direct mutation rates offer the possibility for accurate dating on the within-species level but are currently only available for a handful of vertebrate species. Here, we use the first directly estimated mutation rate in birds to study the evolutionary history of pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). Using a combination of demographic inference and environmental niche modelling, we show that all major population splits in this forest-dependent system occurred during periods of increas

Global climate change represents one of the most critical environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. As a key component of the terrestrial carbon cycle, forest ecosystems play a pivotal role in mitigating global warming. This paper provides a systematic review of the dynamic measurement methods for forest carbon sequestration, examines the interaction mechanisms between forest carbon sequestration and climate change, and studies the feedback mechanism of forest carbon sinks on climate change and regional differences. Results reveal that climate change influences forest carbon sequestration through various pathways, including rising temperatures, shifts in precipitation patterns, elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations, and extreme climatic events. Simultaneously, forest carbon sequestration exerts a significant regulatory impact on the climate system. Future research should endeavour in the following areas: (1) Developing a consistent assessment system for forest carbon sequestration; (2) Quantifying multi-factor interactions; (3) Compound extreme climate events; (4) Make up for the observation shortcomings in key areas. This paper aims to provide references and guidelines for a systematic understanding of forest carbon sequestration and climate change interactions, as well as to promote scientific and technological developments in this field.