Bluebell woods in being wiped out by climate change
Carpets of bluebells in woodlands are a much-loved sign of spring, but the flowers could struggle as the climate changes, a study suggests.
Researchers analysed hundreds of thousands of ‘citizen science’ records of the changing seasons to help predict the impacts of warming temperatures on 22 species of plants and trees found in the UK countryside.
Spring plants have an optimum time for coming into leaf and flower which gives them the best chance to grow and reproduce, but with rising temperatures caused by global warming that time is likely to shift.
Some plants such as bluebells may not be flexible enough to keep up with the shift in spring, and may suffer as a result, the research suggests.
The study drew on more than 200,000 records from between 1998 and 2014 from the Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar, in which members of the public submit sightings of the natural world’s seasonal changes such as first flowers and leaves.
Researchers used the data to look at species across their geographical range, where they would experience different environmental conditions such as temperatures, to help predict how they were likely to respond to warmer springs with climate change.
First leafing or flowering dates for all 22 species were sensitive to warmer spring temperatures, the study showed, and they would come into leaf or flower between three and eight days earlier for each 1C increase in temperatures.
Some seven of the 22 species – silver birch, alder, beech, ash, wood anemone, cuckooflower and cocks-foot – are likely to be able to keep track with future changes in climate, the study published in the journal Global Change Biology found.
But four species may struggle to keep up: bluebells, garlic mustard, sycamore and larch.
There were also indications lesser celandine may have difficulty keeping up with the changes.
Source: http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/10/bluebell-woods-in-danger-of-being-wiped-out-by-climate-change-6439114/
Researchers analysed hundreds of thousands of ‘citizen science’ records of the changing seasons to help predict the impacts of warming temperatures on 22 species of plants and trees found in the UK countryside.
Spring plants have an optimum time for coming into leaf and flower which gives them the best chance to grow and reproduce, but with rising temperatures caused by global warming that time is likely to shift.
Some plants such as bluebells may not be flexible enough to keep up with the shift in spring, and may suffer as a result, the research suggests.
The study drew on more than 200,000 records from between 1998 and 2014 from the Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar, in which members of the public submit sightings of the natural world’s seasonal changes such as first flowers and leaves.
Researchers used the data to look at species across their geographical range, where they would experience different environmental conditions such as temperatures, to help predict how they were likely to respond to warmer springs with climate change.
First leafing or flowering dates for all 22 species were sensitive to warmer spring temperatures, the study showed, and they would come into leaf or flower between three and eight days earlier for each 1C increase in temperatures.
Some seven of the 22 species – silver birch, alder, beech, ash, wood anemone, cuckooflower and cocks-foot – are likely to be able to keep track with future changes in climate, the study published in the journal Global Change Biology found.
But four species may struggle to keep up: bluebells, garlic mustard, sycamore and larch.
There were also indications lesser celandine may have difficulty keeping up with the changes.
Source: http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/10/bluebell-woods-in-danger-of-being-wiped-out-by-climate-change-6439114/
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