While the higher temperatures and CO2 levels associated with climate change currently fuel plant productivity, a study finds that changing conditions could take a toll on photosynthesis rates in regions outside the Arctic within a decade.
Under a "business as usual" climate scenario, in which carbon emissions continue unabated, it is estimated that the melting of Antarctic ice will cause global sea level to rise up to three times as much as it did in the last century.
The decline in total occupied forest may not equate to an overall loss in butterfly numbers, but scientists are still concerned that their populations are suffering.
Simulations of Earth's climate 252 million years ago reveal that the same symptoms of modern climate change likely account for the time period's extensive loss of marine life.
If greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed, the country's economy, infrastructure, and health of its population will suffer, according to government scientists.
