Global climate change will induce large changes to the plant communities on Earth
The forest we are used to looking at is not at all in equilibrium. Since the Ice Age, a number of plants have been ‘missing’ in Northern Europe, i.e. species that have not yet arrived. The same applies in many other parts of the world. Similarly, there is evidence that — even today — it often takes a very long time before plants follow when glaciers retreat, or the climate changes. In future, such disequilibrium will become the norm in the plant communities on Earth. This has been demonstrated by a new synthesis carried out by two researchers at Aarhus University — Professor of Biology Jens-Christian Svenning and Assistant Professor Brody Sandel.
Professor Svenning explains: “In the climate debate, even researchers have had a tendency to overlook the fact that ecological dynamics can be slow. However, our forests take an extremely long time to adapt. For example, we still have a small amount of small-leaved lime in Denmark, which has held on since the warm period during the Bronze Age, i.e. about 3000 years. Perhaps it will now get another chance to spread when the summers once more get warmer. However, such expansion would take a long time, as lime is not a particularly fast-growing tree or particularly good at dispersing, even under optimum conditions. The climate will change considerably in the course of a single tree generation so we should not assume that the forest we’re looking at in a given place is suitable for the climate. Future climate will constantly shift, which will increasingly result in these strange situations of disequilibrium.”
Even fast spreaders such as some invasive exotic plants remain in disequilibrium for decades or centuries. Shown here is a Norway maple, a highly invasive tree species in North America that may nevertheless still take many decades to spread across even small landscapes.
The challenges we face
“Consequently, if you’re trying to practise natural forest management with natural regeneration, you may see completely different plants regenerating compared with what you had before, because the climate has shifted to become suitable for another set of species. This also makes it challenging to adhere to a management plan granting preservation status to a particular type of nature at a certain site. At such a site, the existence of a large number of fully grown specimens of an endangered species is no guarantee that there will be a next generation.
This would be challenging for everyone — for the managers, for the people who use the countryside in one way or another, and also for the researchers who are used to working with ecosystems that are much more balanced. Plant life and ecosystems will become much more dynamic and often out of sync with the climate.
We’re causing so many changes to the climate, but at the same time nature is SO slow. Just think of a tree generation. Our entire culture is based on something that was, if not in complete equilibrium, then at least relatively predictable. We’re used to a situation where flora, fauna and climate are reasonably well matched. In future, this equilibrium will shift on an ongoing basis, and there will be plenty of mismatches. That’s what we’ll have to work with.”
The Latest Bing News on:
Diseqilibrium in plant communities
- Community scientists invited to participate in worldwide City Nature Challengeon April 26, 2024 at 9:46 pm
With the information from the growing challenge, scientists worldwide gain an in-depth understanding of the status of natural areas around cities and dictate what decisions should be made to protect ...
- Things to do this weekend: Plants, festivals, Independent Bookstore Dayon April 26, 2024 at 5:32 am
It’s the last weekend in April and there are plenty of scheduled events in the Midstate. Here is abc27’s list of things to do from Friday, April 26 to Sunday, April 28. Harrisburg area Wetlands ...
- Virginia landfill partners with Archaea for RNG planton April 25, 2024 at 1:56 pm
The landfill, which receives more than 500 million pounds of waste per, is currently preparing for a scheduled startup in late 2025.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Diseqilibrium in plant communities
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Diseqilibrium in plant communities” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Diseqilibrium
- Markets are a frog in boiling water as Iran-Israel tensions escalateon April 26, 2024 at 11:38 am
Iran has directed a once-unthinkably large number of missiles and drones at Israel, responding to the Israeli attack in Damascus that killed a number of Iranian senior officials. Israeli retaliation ...
- Inheritance tax a needless debate, not suited for Indiaon April 24, 2024 at 10:24 pm
On April 23, Sam Pitroda, Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress, supported the Congress party’s stance on wealth redistribution and proposed implemention of an inheritance tax law in India, drawing ...
- Who Knew? Reform Is Happening in the UN Security Councilon April 24, 2024 at 5:38 pm
The Security Council failed to agree on admitting Palestine as a member of the UN, above, April 3, 2024, because of a US veto. As the Council’s reputation continues to sag, reforms in how it applies ...
- Opinion: A Legitimation Crisison April 24, 2024 at 11:26 am
Systematic limits and unintended side effects of administrative intervention in the cultural tradition are the core aspects of the legitimation crisis. The Act of appointing CEC and ECs effectively ...
- Will we know if TRAPPIST-1e has life?on April 23, 2024 at 10:18 am
The search for extrasolar planets is currently undergoing a seismic shift. With the deployment of the Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), scientists discovered ...
- Global Vestibular Testing System Industryon April 23, 2024 at 7:47 am
Global Vestibular Testing System Industry is set to hit US$ 202.4 Million at CAGR of 5.4% during forecast period 2023 to 2033 ...
- Justice Department outlines benefits rule for Havana syndrome victimson April 19, 2024 at 10:43 am
A new interim final rule details how the department would compensate employees and dependents with qualifying brain injuries from anomalous health incidents.
- China’s economy seeing ‘seismic shifts’ and imbalances like nothing Beijing predicted, senior economist sayson April 17, 2024 at 2:00 pm
Prominent government adviser Liu Yuanchun says the immediate future will be marked by disequilibrium, and more non-economic risks are emerging than economic ones, after first-quarter GDP growth ...
- What the Middle East Now Implies for the Global Economy, Marketson April 14, 2024 at 11:00 am
They are relatively well-placed to handle the immediate uptick in the geopolitical risk premium. They are not well-placed to navigate further escalations that would involve more parties in a more ...
- What Is Empathy Overload?on December 20, 2023 at 3:57 pm
On the other end are behaviors involving overidentification, enmeshment or excessive advocacy. Researchers also see empathic disequilibrium as a possibility for some people. With empathic ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Diseqilibrium
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Diseqilibrium ” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]