Search Results - Regime Shifts

11. 

    Kelp Transitions

    Kelp forests are marine coastal ecosystems located in shallow areas where large macroalgae ecologically engineer the environment to produce a coastal marine environment substantially different from the same area without kelp.  Kelp forests can u ... Read More
12. 

    Forest to Savannas

    Forest to savannas is a regime shift typical of tropical areas where forests, an ecosystem dominated by trees changes to a savanna dominated by a mixture of grasslands and shrublands. Several feedbacks play an important role in this regime shift ... Read More
13. 

    Tundra to Boreal forest

    The main driver behind the shift from tundra to boreal forest is the increasingly warm climate due to high concentrations of carbon in the atmosphere, allowing pioneer shrubs associated with the boreal forest regime to increase significantly. The act ... Read More
14. 

    Submerged to Floating Plants

    The shift from submerged to floating plants in aquatic ecosystems such as ponds, canals, ditches or tropical lakes generates a loss of ecosystem services such as freshwater, fisheries and biodiversity. This regime shift is primarily driven by nutrien ... Read More
15. 

    Salt Marsh to Tidal Flat

    The shift from a salt marsh to either a tidal flat or subtidal flat generates a loss of significant ecosystem services such as pollution filtration, storm protection, and fisheries enhancement. This regime shift is primarily driven by the rate of sea ... Read More
16. 

    River Channel Position

    In freshwater lake and river systems, a river channel position regime shift occurs when the main channel of a river abruptly changes its course to a new river channel. Meandering and braided rivers are especially vulnerable to such shifts. The actual ... Read More
17. 

    Sprawling vs Compact City

    Urban sprawl, i.e. expansion of cities into low density, single use development, is a growing problem across the world leading to loss of ecosystem services, air pollution, class segregation and increased energy use. It is mainly driven by population ... Read More
18. 

    Peatland transitions

    Two alternate regimes in peatland systems are described in this document: bogs, sphagnum-dominated peatlands with long-term carbon storage in peat, and fens, peatland in which vascular plants have a more dominant role, leading to higher-productivity ... Read More
19. 

    Seagrass transitions

    Regime shifts in seagrass beds are characterised by a collapse of seagrass beds and a transition into either an algae dominated regime or a barren sediment regime. The key drivers are nutrient loading/eutrophication from e.g. agricultural run-off, an ... Read More
20. 

    West Antarctic Ice Sheet collapse

    Indication exists for a possible regime shift of collapsed West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) due to the warming climate. As the atmosphere and oceans warm as a result of global warming, ice sheets are predicted to shrink in size, resulting in rais ... Read More