Upslope migration of tropical plants due to climate change
Upslope migration of tropical plants due to climate change
September 14, 2015
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The Chimborazo volcano towers are at a height of up to 6,268 meters. In 2012, Danish researchers followed in Humboldt's footsteps up the mountainsides to study how much the plant species had migrated upslope during the last two centuries. Credit: Naia Morueta-Holme
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The plants on the highest mountain in Ecuador have migrated more than 500 meters to higher altitudes during the last two centuries. This is determined in a new study, in which Aarhus University researchers compared Humboldt's data from 1802 with current conditions.
Although most of the world's species diversity is found in tropical areas, there are very few studies that have examined whether tropical mountain species are affected by climate change to the same extent as temperate species. A new study has now determined that major changes have taken place during the last two centuries.
By comparing the migration of plant communities on the Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador with historical data from 1802, Aarhus University researchers found an average upslope shift of more than 500 meters. The entire vegetation boundary has moved upwards from 4,600 meters to almost 5,200 meters. The main explanation for this dramatic shift is climate change over the last 210 years.
In Humboldt's footsteps
The German scientist Alexander von Humboldt traveled to South and Central America around the 1800s to map the distribution of plants and to explore what determines the different vegetation boundaries. He collected plants over a period of many years, and his collections led to a better understanding of the link between climate and species' distributions, which he described in several works. One of his most noteworthy works was the Physical Tableau, a cross-section of the Chimborazo inscribed with the names of the plants he found on the mountainside.
More:
http://phys.org/news/2015-09-upslope-migration-tropical-due-climate.html#jCp
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112791134