A model of the effects of climate change on African vegetation from 1850 to 2100 predicts increases in woody plant cover, but considerable heterogeneity in the timing of these shifts dampens the shock that these changes in land-surface properties may represent to the Earth system.

Using information on current species distributions and dispersal traits, this study forecasts climate-driven range dynamics of plant species across the European Alps. Simulations predict moderate range contractions over the twenty-first century; however, more severe effects of climate warming on mountain plant diversity are expected in the longer term.

Increasing shrub cover on Arctic tundra is linked to climate warming, which is partially amplified by sea ice feedbacks, but the nature of these interactions remains poorly understood. Now research indicates that tundra plant productivity in late spring relates to sea-ice-driven temperature amplification but that the growing season peak is more closely associated with persistent large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns.

We investigated if elevated CO2 could alleviate the negative effect of high temperature on fruit yield of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. cv. Toyonoka) at different levels of nitrogen and also tested the combined effects of CO2, temperature and nitrogen on fruit quality of plants cultivated in controlled growth chambers. Results show that elevated CO2 and high temperature caused a further 12% and 35% decrease in fruit yield at low and high nitrogen, respectively.

The proportion of organisms exposed to warm conditions is predicted to increase during global warming. To better understand how bats might respond to climate change, we aimed to obtain the first data on how use of torpor, a crucial survival strategy of small bats, is affected by temperature in the tropics. Over two mild winters, tropical free-ranging bats (Nyctophilus bifax, 10 g, n = 13) used torpor on 95% of study days and were torpid for 33.5±18.8% of 113 days measured.