Global climate is changing and is projected to continue to change. Humans have become a major force in changing the world’s ecosystems since the beginning of industrial revolution. The combustion of fossil fuels resulted in increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and other green house gases. These, along with other anthropogenic activities, have been creating a deep impact on the global climate (IPCC, 2007). As a consequence, many natural ecosystems are under severe stress as the rate of genetic adaptation doesn’t match the speed of climate change. This change is already believed to have had an impact or is predicted to cause major changes to biodiversity for which new conservation paradigms must be established. While the magnitude of future climatic changes is disputed, what is not disputed is that climatic change will occur if greenhouse gases continue to be discharged at current rates.

India has varied physical features and climatic conditions that resulted in diverse habitats such as deserts, deciduous, evergreen and moist forests, mangroves and alpine grasslands. Climatic conditions determine the species of plants that can thrive. The species in some ecosystems are so strongly adapted to the long-prevailing climatic pattern while some are vulnerable even to modest changes. The alpine forests at high elevations in Himalayas exist where they do, because the plants that comprise these forests are adapted to the cold conditions that would be too harsh for other species. The desert vegetation is adapted to high summer temperatures and aridity of the region. Forests in the Western Ghats are adapted to moderate temperatures and high rainfall. Erratic rainfall in these regions can create problems for species regeneration. Rapid sea-level rise can surpass the ability of plants to disperse, making it impossible for inshore wetland ecosystems to sustain themselves. All these need to be investigated in detail before quantifying any changes which require ground and space based observation supported with experimental data.