Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- I Introductory Chapters
- II Ecophysiology
- III Aquatic Bryophytes
- IV Desert and Tropical Ecosystems
- V Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic Ecosystems
- VI Sphagnum and Peatlands
- VII Changes in Bryophyte Distribution with Climate Change: Data and Models
- 17 The Role of Bryophyte Paleoecology in Quaternary Climate Reconstructions
- 18 Signs of Climate Change in the Bryoflora of Hungary
- 19 Can the Effects of Climate Change on British Bryophytes be Distinguished from those Resulting from Other Environmental Changes?
- 20 Climate Change and Protected Areas: How well do British Rare Bryophytes Fare?
- 21 Modeling the Distribution of Sematophyllum substrumulosum (Hampe) E. Britton as a Signal of Climatic Changes in Europe
- 22 Modeling Bryophyte Productivity Across Gradients of Water Availability Using Canopy Form–Function Relationships
- VIII Conclusions
- Index
- References
18 - Signs of Climate Change in the Bryoflora of Hungary
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 October 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- I Introductory Chapters
- II Ecophysiology
- III Aquatic Bryophytes
- IV Desert and Tropical Ecosystems
- V Alpine, Arctic, and Antarctic Ecosystems
- VI Sphagnum and Peatlands
- VII Changes in Bryophyte Distribution with Climate Change: Data and Models
- 17 The Role of Bryophyte Paleoecology in Quaternary Climate Reconstructions
- 18 Signs of Climate Change in the Bryoflora of Hungary
- 19 Can the Effects of Climate Change on British Bryophytes be Distinguished from those Resulting from Other Environmental Changes?
- 20 Climate Change and Protected Areas: How well do British Rare Bryophytes Fare?
- 21 Modeling the Distribution of Sematophyllum substrumulosum (Hampe) E. Britton as a Signal of Climatic Changes in Europe
- 22 Modeling Bryophyte Productivity Across Gradients of Water Availability Using Canopy Form–Function Relationships
- VIII Conclusions
- Index
- References
Summary
Introduction
As the average shift of isotherms in Central Europe has been some 200 km northeastwards during the past 60 years, we might expect changes in the flora of Hungary, especially among the cryptogams, owing to their superior dispersal ability by spores and gemmae. During the past 50 years of global warming in Central Europe the average temperature rose by 0.8 °C, which alone does not mean as much as the increasing extremes both in temperature and in the annual distribution of precipitation. In Hungary 1990 was probably the hottest year of the millennium, followed by 1997, 1995, 1999, and 2000. At the same time the winters have become milder with shorter very cold periods, and we have had prolonged summer droughts. According to the records of the Hungarian Meteorological Service (Szegő 2005; Takács-Sánta 2005) the number of hot days above 25 and 30 °C increased considerably in Hungary. The amount of precipitation, especially during winter, decreased.
It is highly likely that global warming is anthropogenic, due to the greenhouse effect of increasing CO2 and methane in the atmosphere (Vida 2001). Excessive CO2 emission began with deforestation in the Bronze Age and contributed to the end of the last glacial period. However, its sudden increase by the industrial revolution and especially during the last century (from 270 ppm to 380 ppm CO2 in the atmosphere) resulted in the 160 km NW shift of the annual isotherms in the Pannonian basin in Hungary.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Bryophyte Ecology and Climate Change , pp. 359 - 370Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011
References
- 2
- Cited by