This new synthesis summarizes the international research effort in the Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems (GCTE) Core Project of the International Geosphere Biosphere Programme in five major thematic areas: ecosystem physiology, ecosystem structure and composition, terrestrial production systems, global biogeochemistry, and ecological complexity (biodiversity). The editors present a summary of the integrated and interactive effects of global change on the terrestrial biosphere for four key regions of the world, as well as a projection of future trends in the terrestrial component of the global carbon cycle. The book also includes a section on tools developed or modified for global change research.