• On land, there will be a tendency for polar shifts in major biomes such as tundra and boreal forest and associated animals, with significant impacts on species such as bear and caribou.

• Climate change is expected to lead to drastic shifts of biodiversity-rich biomes such as the Succulent Karoo in South Africa and many losses in species in other biomes.

• These models usually deal with ecosystems or biomes [i.e., the collection of ecosystems within a particular climatic zone with similar structure but differing species (e.g., the "temperate forest biome")].