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Forest growth (CLIM 034) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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The area covered by forests and other wooded land in Europe (39 EEA countries) has increased for many decades.
Forest biomass in the EEA region is also growing, and the average growth rate has increased from 1990 to 2010.
In some central and western areas of Europe, forest growth has been reduced in the last 10 years due to storms, pests and diseases.
Future climate change and increasing CO 2 concentrations are expected to affect site suitability, productivity, species composition and biodiversity, and thus have an impact on the goods and services that the forests provide. In general, forest growth is projected to increase in northern Europe and to decrease in southern Europe.
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Forest growth
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Phenology of marine species (CLIM 014) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Temperature increases in the ocean have caused many marine organisms in European seas to appear earlier in their seasonal cycles than in the past. Some plankton species have advanced their seasonal cycle by 4–6 weeks in recent decades.
Projections of the phenological responses of individual species are not available, but phenological changes are expected to continue with projected further climate change.
Changes in the plankton phenology have important consequences for other organisms within an ecosystem and ultimately for the structure of marine food webs at all trophic levels. Potential consequences include increased vulnerability of North Sea cod stocks to over-fishing and changes in seabird populations.
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Phenology of marine species
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Storms (CLIM 005) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Storm location, frequency and intensity have shown considerable variability across Europe over the past century, making it difficult to identify clear trends. A recent reanalysis suggests that storminess has increased over the past century in northern and north-western Europe but this finding is not yet robust.
Climate change projections for storms in the North Atlantic and Europe region show no clear consensus in either the direction of movement or the intensity of storm activity. However, a recent study involving 20 climate models projects enhanced extreme wind speeds over northern parts of central and western Europe, and a decrease in extreme wind speeds in southern Europe.
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Storms
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Forest fires (CLIM 035) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Fire risk depends on many factors, including climatic conditions, vegetation (e.g. fuel load and condition), forest management practices and other socio-economic factors.
The number of fires in the Mediterranean region has increased over the period from 1980 to 2000; it has decreased thereafter.
In a warmer climate, more severe fire weather and an expansion of the fire-prone area and longer fire seasons, as a consequence, are projected, but with considerable regional variation.
The impact of fire events is particularly strong in southern Europe on already degraded ecosystems.
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Forest fires
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River floods (CLIM 017) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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More than 325 major river floods have been reported for Europe since 1980, of which more than 200 have been reported since 2000.
The rise in the reported number of flood events over recent decades results mainly from better reporting and from land-use changes
Global warming is projected to intensify the hydrological cycle and increase the occurrence and frequency of flood events in large parts of Europe. However, estimates of changes in flood frequency and magnitude remain highly uncertain. In regions with reduced in snow accumulation during winter, the risk of early spring flooding would decrease.
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River floods
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Soil erosion (CLIM 028) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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105 million ha., or 16 % of Europe’s total land area (excluding Russia) were estimated to be affected by water erosion in the 1990s.
Some 42 million ha. of land were estimated to be affected by wind erosion, of which around 1 million ha. were categorised as being severely affected.
A recent new model of soil erosion by water has estimated the surface area affected in the EU‐27 at 130 million ha. Almost 20 % is subjected to soil loss in excess of 10 tonnes/ha./year.
Increased variations in rainfall pattern and intensity will make soils more susceptible to water erosion, with off-site effects of soil erosion increasing.
Increased aridity will make finer-textured soils more vulnerable to wind erosion, especially if accompanied by a decrease in soil organic matter levels.
Reliable quantitative projections for soil erosion are not available.
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Soil erosion
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Agrophenology (CLIM 031) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Flowering of several perennial crops has advanced by about two days per decade in recent decades.
Changes in timing of crop phenology are affecting crop production and the relative performance of different crop species and varieties.
The shortening of crop growth phases in many crops is expected to continue. The shortening of the grain filling phase of cereals and oilseed crops can be particularly detrimental to yield.
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Agrophenology
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Water-limited crop productivity (CLIM 032) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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Yields of several crops (e.g. wheat) are stagnating, whereas yields of other crops (e.g. maize in north Europe) are increasing; both effects are partly due to the observed climatic warming.
Extreme climatic events, including droughts and heat waves, have negatively affected crop productivity during the first decade of the 21st century, and this is expected to further increase yield variability under climate change.
Crop yields will be affected by the combined effects of changes in temperature, rainfall and atmospheric CO 2 concentration. Future climate change can lead to yield decreases or increases, depending on crop type and with considerable regional differences across Europe.
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Water-limited crop productivity
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Ocean heat content (CLIM 044) - Assessment published Nov 2012
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The warming of the World Ocean accounts for approximately 93 % of the warming of the Earth system during the last 6 decades.
An increasing trend in the heat content in the uppermost 700 m depth of the World Ocean is evident over the last 6 decades. Recent observations show substantial warming also of the deeper ocean (between 700 m and 2 000 m depth).
Further warming of the oceans is expected with projected climate change, but quantitative projections of ocean heat content are not available.
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Ocean heat content
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Production, sales and emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) (CLIM 048) - Assessment published Apr 2013
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Since 1990, EU-27 F-gas emissions have experienced significant growth, more than offsetting an intermittent decrease between 1997 and 2001. While PFCs and SF 6 emissions have been reduced to a significant degree, a major rise is observed for HFCs emissions which have tripled since 1990.
In addition to domestic EU production and sales of F-gases, significant amounts of F-gases are also imported and exported. Imports generally increased over the period 2007–2011, while EU production has stabilised at levels that are around 20 % lower than those reported in 2007. When expressed in metric tonnes, data for the reporting year 2011 show a decrease in production (-5 %), import (-6 %) and intra-EU sales (-12 %) of F-gases compared to the previous year.
Context: Fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases) covered by the UNFCCC’s Kyoto Protocol comprise hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF 6 ). These F-gases typically have very long lifetimes in the atmosphere and high global warming potentials (GWPs). The gases are mostly produced for use in products and equipment in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector, foams, fire protection etc. Emissions take place mainly due to leakage during the use phase or due to failure to fully recover the F-gases at the end of the product/equipment lifetime. Future F-gas emissions are thus largely determined by (i) present day consumption of F-gases and (ii) measures to prevent leakage and encourage recovery..
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Production, sales and emissions of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases)
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