The frequency and severity of climate extremes (e.g., drought, deluges, heat waves) is already increasing in many regions, and global climate models forecast that these events will become more frequent and intense with changing climate. As climate extremes intensify, the expectation is that large ecological impacts will result. When these ecological effects are extreme, this is referred to an extreme climatic event (ECE), whereby a statistically extreme climate condition elicits a statistically extreme ecological response. However, climate extremes do not always result in extreme ecological responses, and in turn extreme ecological responses may occur in the absence of climate extremes due to other drivers of change. Thus, to better forecast how ecosystem will respond to a future of intensified climate extremes, it is crucial to understand why and how ECEs emerge.
Results/Conclusions
The purpose of this talk is to identify gaps in our understanding of the impacts of extreme climatic events on ecological systems and propose a research agenda for the future that includes recommendations on the types of questions that need to be answered to further our understanding of ecosystem responses to this key aspect of both contemporary and future climates.