Category: Climate Change
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We Cannot Count On Birds To Distribute Seeds Ahead Of Climate Change (study)
“As plants cannot move themselves, they require species like birds to disperse their seeds to new areas. We wanted to know how well migratory birds might be able to do this. We found that northward dispersal to cooler areas is done by only a small number of migratory bird species, some of which are under hunting pressure.” (Click on title for full story.)
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Planting More Trees To Halt Climate Change Is A Fools Errand
Instead of wasting money by planting lots of trees in a way that is destined to fail, it makes more sense to focus on keeping existing forests healthy so they can continue to act as carbon “sinks,” removing carbon from the atmosphere through photosynthesis and storing it in trees and soils, according to the researchers. At the same time, emissions must be reduced as much as possible, as quickly as possible. (Click on title for full story.)
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Tree Farts. A Global Menace. Yes,… Tree Farts
Found greenhouse gas emissions from standing dead trees in ghost forests—which the researchers charmingly describe as “tree farts”—do need to be accounted for when assessing the net environmental impact of these environmental changes. (Click on title for full story.)
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The Arctic Was Green Once And Will Be Again
“We have this really rare view into a particular warm period in the past that was arguably the most recent time that it was warmer than present in the Arctic. That makes it a really useful analogue for what we might expect in the future, (Click on title for full story)
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Climate Change Has Already Altered Plant Communities. Soon They May Be Unrecognizable
When people think of climate change, they need to realize that it’s not just about losing ice in Antarctica or rising sea levels—climate change affects almost every natural system in every part of the planet. (Click on title for full story.)
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Tree Planting Schemes Must Not Sacrifice Ancient Grasslands
“We are particularly concerned that recent research and emerging land-use policies, both meant to promote tree planting for carbon sequestration, are a threat to undervalued grassland biodiversity and ecosystem services. Fundamental to these afforestation efforts has been the assumption that old-growth grasslands that occur where climate-vegetation models suggest forest as the potential vegetation must be degraded. Our analysis shows that the reality on the ground is much more complicated. (Click on title for full story)
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Planting Trees Will Not Stop Climate Change
Enhanced tree cover is one of the best options to offset a portion of the greenhouse gas emissions driven by human activities, but they represent only a small portion of the carbon reductions that are needed—and estimates vary by more than tenfold depending on variables used in modeling. (Click on title for full story.)
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Can This South African Shrub Solve Climate Change?
In an age of climate doom, it is understandable that people turn to simple-sounding solutions, (Click on title for full story.)
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Climate Change Favors Evergreen Plants. Good-Bye Autumn Beauty
For example, evergreen climbers like ivy, and trees like holly – two of our iconic Christmas plants – may outcompete deciduous trees such as birch and oak if water becomes an even more precious recourse in the future. This is perhaps something that future gardeners, foresters and urban landscape architects should consider. (Click on title for full story.)
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A Warming Climate Could Make Rice Toxic
“Warmer temperatures, at levels expected under most climate change projections, can lead to higher concentrations of arsenic in rice grains.” (Click on title for full story.)