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Invasive plant species may be more resilient to climate change than natives, reports a new study of Midwest bloomers.
Led by researchers from the Indiana University Institute of Environmental Resilience (IU) (part of the Get Ready for Global Environmental Change Grand Challenge initiative) in collaboration with members of Michigan State University, the study reveals that global warming affects ways. Over longer periods, this can fundamentally change the appearance and composition of local landscapes.
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"The timing of a plant's life cycle is crucial for the survival of the species," said Jen Lau, co-author of the study, associate professor in the Department of Biology at the College of Arts and Sciences at UI Bloomington and a member of the Environmental Resilience Institute.
"When a flowering plant determines whether it will be pollinated by bees or other insects and how long it will take to produce seeds. Our data makes me fear a very invading world for the future. "
The results suggest that non-native flowering plants may change their flowering time, as opposed to native plants, a difference that may be important for the success of a species today and in future warmer climates. To achieve these results, Lau and his students planted 45 native and non-native species in fields and then simulated warmer climatic conditions (for example, future climate change). For example, some of the plots were heated using infrared lamps to simulate the conditions expected in the Midwest by the end of the century. The others were not and were used as controls. The team monitored all the plants to determine when they flowered for the first time and for how long.
The non-native flowering plants of the warm planters flowered 11 days earlier, on average longer than their "normal" flowering time. Native plants, on the other hand, did not change their flowering period at all.
"We also found that early-flowering non-native species had a greater geographic extent, suggesting that earlier flowering can help promote successful establishment over large areas," said Meredith Zettlemoyer, author Main of the study. a student at Michigan State University, where Lau was previously a professor.
The results suggest that there are important differences in the way native and non-native plant species respond to climate change. Previous results can also be incorporated into those of this study. Previous research has shown that species that were unable to change their flowering time in the last century were more likely to abate in abundance or extinguish altogether. Taken together, this indicates that native flowering species may be more affected by global warming than non-native species.
"Species around the world are showing us that the climate is changing in a way that affects them," Lau said. "Blooming earlier in the spring is an important sign that the climate is changing and can be a key strategy for weathering climate change."
"Maybe native species that are not very good at flowering earlier in warmer weather have other strategies to survive climate change, but if they do not, they could be seriously at risk."
The document "Phenology in a warming world: differences between native and non-native plant species" was published in the journal Letters of ecology.
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