Green Group discussion
The Plant World
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Plants affected by climate change
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Mod
"The Key Largo tree cactus grew on a low limestone outcrop surrounded by mangroves near the shore. The site originally had a distinct layer of soil and organic matter that allowed the cactus and other plants to grow, but storm surge from hurricanes and exceptionally high tides eroded away this material until there wasn't much left.
Salt-tolerant plants that had been previously restricted to brackish soils beneath the mangroves slowly began creeping up the outcrop, an indication that salt levels were increasing.
Given enough time, these changing conditions would likely have killed the cactus. But other incidents occurred that hastened the pace.
"We noticed the first big problem in 2015," said study co-author James Lange, a research botanist at Fairchild. When he and his colleagues arrived to evaluate the plants that year, half of the cacti had died, apparently as a result of an alarming amount of herbivory.
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"In 2017, category 5 Hurricane Irma swept across South Florida, creating a 5-foot storm surge. The highest point on Key Largo is only 15 feet above sea level, and large portions of the island remained flooded for days afterward.
Once the storm had passed, the Fairchild team conducted triage with several cactus populations throughout the Keys, removing branches that had fallen on cacti and salvaging other ill-fated material. Conditions were so extreme that biologists had to put out kiddie pools of freshwater to keep local wildlife alive.
Exacerbating the already degrading Key Largo tree cactus habitat, king tides in 2019 left large portions of the island, including the extremely low-lying outcrop, flooded for over three months.
By 2021, there were only six Key Largo tree cactus stems left. As it was clear the population wasn't going to survive, the team allowed the plants to flower and fruit for the remainder of the year, then salvaged all remaining green material and replanted it in greenhouses or controlled settings outdoors. At present, researchers know of no naturally growing Key Largo cacti in the United States."
More information: First U.S. vascular plant extirpation linked to sea level rise? Pilosocereus millspaughii (Cactaceae) in the Florida Keys, U.S.A., Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (2024).
https://journals.brit.org/jbrit/artic...
Provided by Florida Museum of Natural History
Mod
"To study what even more CO₂ in the atmosphere will do to trees in future, we used a technique called Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (Face). This involves installing eight-story high pipes on the upwind side of various patches of forest, and then gently releasing air infused with extra CO₂. We then monitor the trees to see if the CO₂ has had any effect.
Our new study uses patches of 180-year-old English or "pedunculate" oak (Quercus robur). These trees are much older than those studied previously to see how they will behave in the atmosphere of the future.
Why did our research on oak trees generate different results from the research on Australian ecalyptuses, which found no link between CO₂ and wood growth?
The difference almost certainly lies in the nutritional condition of the two forests. Trees in forests need a balance of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) and a host of "micro-nutrients" if they are to grow well. The Australian forest grows in ancient, "highly weathered" soil where any extra phosphorus is in very short supply, so that, even when given an extra supply of carbon "for free," the trees are unable to use it to lay down more plant material.
Such intense nutrient shortage does not exist in our oak forest, so the experiment more directly tests whether the trees can make use of the new "free" carbon resource. And it seems they can, especially to form wood.
Although every forest is unique one way or another, our results are likely to be relevant to many of the world's "temperate deciduous broadleaf" forests—those which are neither exceptionally hot or cold and which drop their leaves each year."
Provided by The Conversation
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
https://theconversation.com/we-pumped...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4155...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4158...
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...
Mod
"The challenges we formulated by combining two important phenomena: changes in the plant's life cycle because of climate change and climate-related changes in fire patterns in each landscape.
We simulated climate-impacted life cycle changes observed or predicted in a range of species around the world.
This included a plant producing less seed, having higher adult mortality (death) rates, having fewer seedlings survive to maturity or taking longer to reach maturity.
Testing the changes in a computer-simulated environment is the best way to understand these potential impacts before we see them in nature.
It may also give us a head start in reducing the negative effects on plant survival.
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"The desert banksia and the swamp beard-heath, which both rely solely on producing seed, are more vulnerable than the species that could resprout after fire.
This is particularly true when changes in the plant's life cycle were combined with future climates that shortened the interval between fires.
If the plants took longer to reach maturity, and fires happened more often, this increases the risk that the plants are burnt before producing seeds.
Our novel approach means we can identify which species are more vulnerable to which facet of change—climate or fire (or both).
It can help target management to protect at-risk species by taking actions like:
Collecting seeds for storage.
Actively monitoring plant regeneration after extensive or severe fire.
Post-fire reseeding or replanting to ensure population persistence.
Targeted fire suppression to protect priority populations."
More information: Sarah C. McColl‐Gausden et al, Demographic processes and fire regimes interact to influence plant population persistence under changing climates, Ecography (2024).
https://nsojournals.onlinelibrary.wil...
Journal information: Ecography
Provided by University of Melbourne
Mod
"n Japan, four species of Camellia are found, with Camellia japonica and Camellia rusticana being the most well known. C. japonica has a broad distribution from Aomori Prefecture in the cool-temperate zone to subtropical Taiwan and the coastal regions of China, suggesting its high adaptability to different climates.
In contrast, C. rusticana is a Japan Sea element plant adapted to heavy snowfall areas. Plants categorized as Japan Sea elements are generally thought to have evolved from closely related species on the Pacific side, and C. japonica and C. rusticana were also believed to follow this pattern.
Following this idea, C. rusticana was hypothesized to have diverged from C. japonica as an adaptation to snow-covered environments. However, this hypothesis had not been fully tested scientifically.
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"These findings indicate that C. japonica, which originally migrated from the continent to the Japanese archipelago, later evolved and eventually recolonized the continent (reverse colonization). This provides key evidence that islands are not evolutionary dead ends but can serve as sources of genetic diversity for continental populations."
More information: Harue Abe et al, Evolutionary Histories of Camellia japonica and Camellia rusticana, Ecology and Evolution (2024).
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...
Journal information: Ecology and Evolution
Provided by Niigata University
Post about crops here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
We are learning that plants are leafing or blooming at earlier dates due to the season getting warmer. Other plants are infested by spreading beetles that would have been killed off in severe winters and can now survive.
Pollinators and birds are dependent on the trees, shrubs and plants surviving.
People are dependent on plants for food, materials and tourism.
While this may seem overwhelming on such a great scale, remember that individual actions count.
https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2024...
"The Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) declared that the country's most common and popular "somei yoshino" variety of cherry tree was in full bloom, four days later than average for the city.
While the agency attributes this year's tardy blooms to cold weather, it has raised the alarm that climate change is making the delicate petals appear sooner in the long term.
Last year's sakura began to flower on 14 March - the joint earliest date on record along with 2020 and 2021 - and hit full bloom on 22 March.
"Since 1953, the average start date for cherry blossoms to bloom in Japan has been becoming earlier at the rate of approximately 1.2 days per 10 years," the JMA says.
"The long-term increase in temperature is thought to be a factor" as well as other reasons such as the urban heat island effect, according to the agency.
Tourism to Japan has been booming since pandemic-era border restrictions were lifted, and an international crowd was also out enjoying the scenery today.
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"Katsuhiro Miyamoto, professor emeritus at Kansai University, estimates the economic impact of cherry blossom season in Japan, from travel to parties held under the flowers, at 1.1 trillion yen (€6.7 billion) this year, up from 616 billion yen in 2023."