Climate change could render many of Earth's ecosystems unrecognizable

After the end of the last ice age, as sea levels rose, glaciers receded and global average temperatures soared as much as 7 degrees Celsius, the Earth’s ecosystems were utterly transformed.

Forests grew up out of what was once barren, ice-covered ground. Dark, cool stands of pine were replaced by thickets of hickory and oak. Woodlands gave way to scrub, and savanna turned to desert. The more temperatures increased in a particular landscape, the more dramatic the ecological shifts.

http://www.startribune.com/climate-change-could-render-many-of-earth-s-ecosystems-unrecognizable/492120111/