Monitoring the Responses of Freshwater Ecosystems to Climate Change - Climate Change Impacts on Freshwater Ecosystems - page 110

Table 5.3 ( Cont'd )

Category Response Indicator Justification of indicator

Bird migration Spring migrations start

earlier with warming. This
is more pronounced early
in the season and with
terrestrial and wetland
birds than with
waterfowl.

Beginning of spring
migration period

Ecosystem support Ecosystems potentially

will suffer if detritus and
species are lost due to
severe flooding and
runoff events, and if
drought levels exceed the
tolerance limits of
species.

Frequency and severity of
storms

Reduction of biomass and
species due to wash out.

Support of food webs Drought and flooding

both contribute to
mineralization and
release of nutrients from
organic matter. This can
increase the build up of
plant-available nutrients
in the sediments, which
are readily washed into
water courses and
wetlands in runoff.

Frequency and severity of
storms

Increase in eutrophication
may result from large runoff
events.

Food webs

Category: ecosystem component being affected by direct or indirect climate change effects. Response: describes how the variables change under the
stressor considered. Indicator: a judgemental selection of the variables that most clearly reflect climate change. As less data than for lakes and rivers is
available we do not distinguish between wetlands in different climatic regions.