In a comprehensive study of nearly 20,000 species, University research shows that plant communities are shifting to include more heat-loving species as a result of climate change.
In a comprehensive study of nearly 20,000 species, University research shows that plant communities are shifting to include more heat-loving species as a result of climate change.
Although Live Oak trees are common in South Florida today, Ken Feeley, a University of Miami biology professor, said their time here may be fleeting. With climate change pushing up temperatures, the oaks, which favor cooler conditions, could soon decline in the region and be replaced with more tropical, heat-loving species such as Gumbo Limbo or Mahogany trees.
“Live Oaks occur throughout the southeast and all the way up to coastal Virginia, so down here we are in one of the very hottest places in its range,” said Feeley, who is also the University’s Smathers Chair of Tropical Tree Biology. “As temperatures increase, it may simply get too hot in Miami for oaks and other temperate species.”
Likewise, in Canada, as temperatures increase, sugar maple trees—which are used to produce maple syrup—are losing their habitats. And in New York City, trees that are more typical of the balmy South, such as Magnolias, are increasing in abundance and blooming earlier each year, news reports indicate.
Read more at University of Miami
Photo Credit: JamesDeMers via Pixabay
