Part I. Preliminaries.
1. Putting it in perspective : the palaeorecord and climate reconstructions.
Methods of Palaeoclimatic reconstruction
Methods of chronology determination
Sources of Palaeoclimatic information
Causes of climatic variability
The history of the earth's climate
Conclusions
2. Projecting future climates.
What are scenarios?
From emissions to climate projections: general circulation models
Regional models and the problem of downscaling
Hindcasts and model validation
Model results and projections
Conclusions
3. Methods for studying the impacts of climatic change.
Observational methods
Experimental methods
Theoretical and statistical methods
Conclusions
Part II. Impacts from physiology to evolution.
4. Physiological responses.
Photosynthesis review
Photosynthetic responses to climate change
Nutrient- and water-use efficiencies
Growth responses
Phenological responses
Changes in plant quality and defences
Conclusions
4. Population responses in time and space.
What is a population and how do we study its response?
Functional trait and within-species responses to climatic change
Complex population dynamics in time: lags, cycles and regime shifts
Range shifts and spatial distributions
Clonal growth responses to climatic change
Conclusions
6. Community composition and dynamics.
Changes in the distribution and abundance of coexisting populations
The challenges of studying climate change effects on community
Evidence for global warming effects on community composition and diversity
Evidence for effects of altered precipitation on community composition
Evidence for effects of elevated atmospheric CO₂ on community compositions
Climate change, disturbance and succession
Multitrophic responses to climatic change
Conclusions
7. Ecosystem responses.
Ecosystems and carbon
Factors that regulate carbon sequestration
Impacts on net primary productivity
Impacts on heterotrophic respiration
Impacts on net ecosystem productivity
Impacts on nutrient cycling
Conclusions
8. Evolutionary responses to climatic change.
Phenotypic plasticity and ecological fitting
Genetic variation
Adaptive rescue
Rapid evolution
Experimental evolution
Correlated genetic traits
Conclusions


Part III. Applications.
9. Responses by soil organisms.
Responses of the detrital system
Responses of the biotrophic system
Soil food web responses
Plant-soil feedbacks
Conclusions
10. The future of forest productivity.
Impacts on net primary production
Carbon allocation patterns
Changes in disturbance regimes
Conclusions
11. The future of agricultural production.
Impacts on crop systems
Potential for adaptation
Future agricultural production
The future of crop protection
Conclusions
12. Impacts on biodiversity.
Consequences of biodiversity loss
Measures of biodiversity
Biodiversity patterns at local, regional and global spatial scales
Biodiversity decline and climatic change
Diversity-productivity, diversity-stability and diversity-disturbance relationships
Invasive species and climate change
Protected areas and other management practices in a changing climate
Conclusions
Part V. Final considerations.
13. Multiple stressors.
Global ecological changes and climatic change
Interactive effects and positive feedbacks
Stress versus disturbance
Climate change and disturbance events
CO₂ elevation, temperature and precipitation
Climate change and nitrogen deposition
Climate change and ozone
Climate change, land use and habitat loss
Conclusions
14.The limits of science.
Introduction
Factors limiting our ability to make predictions
Persistent uncertainty and the limits of science
Conclusions.