The coastal fringe: Habitats threatened through global warming

Summary

Vegetation of the coastal fringe of Scotland (sea cliffs, dunes and salt marshes out to the depth limit of benthic algae and seagrasses) was subject to repeated cycles of glaciation, with low values of temperature, sea level and atmospheric CO₂, alternating with interglacials with higher temperature, sea level and atmospheric CO₂. The glaciations occasioned migrations of hundreds of kilometres south, and tens of metres downshore, to appropriate temperatures and zones on the shore. Losses of species from Scotland's coastal fringe flora as a result of these assaults are poorly documented, and direct evidence from fossils is lacking for seaweeds; more certainly, the present native coastal fringe flora must have managed to survive the last glacial-interglacial cycle although presumably not in Scotland. This does not necessarily mean that the coastal fringe species can withstand the current anthropogenic greenhouse effect (global warming) in which CO₂ partial pressure started to increase in about 1800, with subsequent increases in temperature and sea level, since the upper limits of the excursions of these three environmental factors during the last glacial- interglacial cycle may soon be exceeded. Furthermore, the rate of increase of these factors may be greater than that found in the glacial-interglacial transitions. Coastal fringe vegetation may also be threatened by more local anthropogenic actions, e.g. physical modification of the habitat by coastal defences against sea level increase, inputs of chemical pollutants, and direct harvesting of native plants or introduction of exotics. It is clear that, when the perturbation is removed, the vegetation can be substantially restored at least under present environmental conditions. Scottish botanists, while not able unaided to influence the global threats, can and should take action to minimize local anthropogenic threats, and monitor, and respond flexibly to, the response of the vegetation to the global and local changes.