Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20The following pages explain the potential impacts of climate change in Ontario and how they may affect waterfront properties. Management options are described that can help to reduce polluted runoff, erosion and shoreline loss, and impacts from flooding, as well as increase the environmental benefits of a healthy property. In some cases, a management option may be to take minimal-to-no action, and to allow species composition and structure to change naturally over time (natural succession). In other cases, the best management option may be to increase the resiliency of your property through some of the recommendations in this guidebook, such as planting more species, or building a buffer zone to reduce runoff. Within the last 40 years, Ontario has experienced changes in temperature, rainfall patterns, and extreme weather events that can have pronounced environmental and economic effects on lakes, rivers, nearshore habitats and wetlands. Within aquatic ecosystems in the Great Lakes Basin, surface water temperatures are on the rise, water levels are in flux, and the composition of plant and animal communities in wetlands, lakes and rivers is changing. Temperatures are increasing 40 years of data show that Ontario is getting warmer.¹ Minimum air temperatures have increased in northern Ontario between 1.4 and 3.8°C (averages shown on right). By comparison, temperature increases experienced in southern Ontario have been less: between 0.7 and 2.1°C. 03 Climate change is already occurring in Ontario 1. McKenney,D.W.,Hutchinson,M.F.,Papadopol,P.,Lawrence,K.,Pedlar,J.H.,Campbell,K.,Owen,T.2011.Customized Spatial Climate Models for North America.American Meteorological Society,1611–1622. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF), 2014 Change in Annual Average Climate Trends in Ontario By Ecozone: 1970-2010 Precipitation Minimum Temperature