Climate Change: Plants May Not Grow Well Under Temperature Changes

As the climate changes, what will happen to the plants? Scientists have taken a closer look at the consequences of global warming to see how it will impact vegetation across the world.

A key potential "benefit" of global warming is that plants at northern latitudes may thrive in a warmer world. However, this assumption ignores the fact that plants in the north will be limited by the amount of solar radiation reaching the planet. In addition, the warming could surpass plant temperature tolerances in tropical areas around the world and may also cause drought.

"Those that think climate change will benefit plants need to see the light, literally and figuratively," said Camilo Mora, one of the researchers, in a news release. "A narrow focus on the factors that influence plant growth has led to major underestimations of the potential impacts of climate change on plants, not only at higher latitudes but more severely in the tropics, exposing the world to dire consequences."

In this latest study, the researchers used satellite-derived data. They identified the range of temperatures, soil moisture and light within which 95 percent of the world's plant growth occurs today. Then, the scientists used climate projections to count the number of days in a year that will fall within these suitable climate ranges for plant growth in the future.

The researchers found that warming trends will increase the number of days above freezing at higher latitudes by 7 percent. However, these same locations will remain limited by light, a trend that has previously been missed. This means that plants won't be able to take advantage of warmer temperatures.

The researchers also found that plants in tropical regions will suffer; conditions may become too warm and dry for most plant growth.

"Although plants that have already adapted to live in extreme hot and dry conditions could fare well under a warming planet, the challenge will be for tropical agriculture and forest ecosystems to adapt to conditions that will likely surpass what they can currently tolerate," said Jamie Caldwell, co-author of the new study, in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS Biology.

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