Earth's ecosystems risk 'Major transformation' if climate change go unchecked: study

Forest fires like this one in the Cleveland National Forest in southern California are transforming the landscape by destroying pine forests and transforming the land into shrubland. [AFP]

The Earth's forests, deserts, landscapes and vital ecosystems risk a "major transformation" in the next century due to climate change, international scientists warned on Thursday.

Some of these changes are already under way in the southwestern United States, where massive wildfires are destroying pine forests and transforming swaths of territory into shrubland.