Introduction
The term Anthropocene emerged recently to describe the period of time during which mankind has significantly impacted the function of the Earth system, i.e., biosphere, atmosphere, geosphere, ocean, and cryosphere. The use of the term is intended to reflect the fact that since the start of the Industrial Revolution (c. 1750–1850), humans have caused global environmental change comparable with events that demark past geological epochs (e.g., the Holocene as the period of ∼12,000 years since the last ice age). The word Anthropocene has Greek roots, with anthropo- meaning human and -cenemeaning “new.” Human-induced changes in the Earth system are occurring today at an accelerating pace and are anticipated to continue for the foreseeable future. The resulting impacts on climate as well as ecosystem goods and services are a growing challenge to human well-being. Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon, in 2007 described climate change as “the defining challenge...
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Leakey, A.D.B. (2014). Plants in Changing Environmental Conditions of the Anthropocene. In: Monson, R. (eds) Ecology and the Environment. The Plant Sciences, vol 8. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7501-9_6
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