Effect of climate change on tropical forests and the need to reorient forestry research and education

Our planet is currently experiencing drastic changes in climate. Changes such as increased air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of ice and snow, and rising sea levels (IPPCC 2007) are a world wide phenomenon. Air temperature have warmed up by 0.6 plus minus 0.2 deg C during the past century, largely due to anthropogenic activities such as fossils fuel burning, tropical deforestation, forest fires and agriculture. The current scientific community nonetheless agrees that the Earth is entering a non-cyclical period of global climate change. Projected long term impacts of climate change on forests, ranging from pronounced increases in productivity in some northern countries to die back of some tropical forests, are reported (FAO 2007). Bawa and Markahan, 1995 reported that most significant threats to tropical forest ecosystems is likely to come from drying trends which maybe due to changes in rainfall pattern and seasonality. Further, certain types of tropical forest ecosystems may be especially vulnerable to climate change, particularly tropical montane cloud forest and closed evergreen forests since trees are not equipped to adapt quickly to environmental changes because of their long maturation period and inability to move (CIDA 2001). Some species are limited by their tolerance to drought, seasonality (e.g. strength of season) due to which their flowering and seedling survival is changed. Thus, climate change can affect species sustainability by directly altering the conditions needed to grow and survive. Significant changes in species distribution and composition could also be expected,leading to extinction of certain species in the most sensitive ecosystems. In case of forests which are managed at low intensity or not at all, particularly the tropical forests, fewer options exist and uncertainty is more pronounced regarding climate change adaptation. Further, Whitmore (1998) showed that among dipterocarps, greater seasonality-characterized by more extreme climate conditions-caused heavier flowering and mass fruiting for some species, and led to seedling non-survival for other in tropical forests. These results indicate that forest regeneration is likely to change, leading to differential canopy species composition in time. Thus, in changing scenario, there is a need to bring changes in forestry research and education being imparted in tropical countries. This paper will present review of a work on impact of climate change on tropical forests and suggest changes in forestry research and post graduate education with respect to tropical forests.