ResearchByte: How do plants adapt to climate change?
Many plants, and trees in particular, have been standing where they are today for 100s and even 1000s of years.听How have they been able to cope with the changing conditions over such a long time? Will this intrinsic ability to听stay put and cope with changing conditions help them survive the rapid and human-induced climate change of听today?
Plants can鈥檛 move like animals: an individual plant can鈥檛 fly, run or听swim into habitat that suits them more. But they can disperse their seeds听a long way, and with a helping hand from animals or wind, their pollen听can fly great distances too. So, does this ability to move their genes听great distances hold the key to their survival through climate change?
A new review in the journal from researchers at听the 成人大片 explores what plants will need to do to avoid听extinction under climate change. The authors provide an in-depth听review of the evidence about how plants are responding to climate听change. They extend their review into what is likely to be constraining听plants from successfully responding to climate change today.
鈥淭he biggest challenge for plants is that their environment has been so drastically changed.鈥 said lead author . 鈥淭he globe is a very different place now than during the pre-industrial era. Huge swathes of land have been听cleared, fragmenting many plant populations, and climate change is racing away at a very fast rate. These are massive听challenges for plants to overcome.鈥
How plants may overcome these challenges is one of the main focuses of this new review. Will plants establish in new听areas after 鈥榤igrating鈥 away from where they are today? Will pollen and seeds of plants come in from other populations听to help them adapt where they stand today? Do plants have the intrinsic ability to use water more efficiently or to cope听with hot spells and stay put?
After assessing the evidence of how plants have responded to climate change and what might be constraining plants to听successfully respond to future climate change, the authors went one step further. They put forward practical solutions that听should help plants overcome the long list of constraints to their future survival.
What can we do to help plants that need to migrate through an agricultural matrix? What can we do to help plants that are听in small, isolated populations? Are some populations of plants more important for future survival of the species than听others? The authors explore these and other questions to provide a framework of practical management options that听connects the latest science on how plants are responding to climate change with what is likely to constrain plants from听surviving through climate change into the future.
鈥淎 look to the future does raise global concern for plants,鈥 said senior author , Chair in Plant听Conservation Biology at the 成人大片, 鈥渂ut with some smart evidence-based policies and goal-orientated听decision-making, we 鈥 society 鈥 can maximise the chances that plants can continue to evolve and overcome these听colossal challenges. They鈥檝e done it before.鈥
The article is now available .
Plants can鈥檛 move like animals: an individual plant can鈥檛 fly, run or听swim into habitat that suits them more. But they can disperse their seeds听a long way, and with a helping hand from animals or wind, their pollen听can fly great distances too. So, does this ability to move their genes听great distances hold the key to their survival through climate change?
A new review in the journal from researchers at听the 成人大片 explores what plants will need to do to avoid听extinction under climate change. The authors provide an in-depth听review of the evidence about how plants are responding to climate听change. They extend their review into what is likely to be constraining听plants from successfully responding to climate change today.
鈥淭he biggest challenge for plants is that their environment has been so drastically changed.鈥 said lead author . 鈥淭he globe is a very different place now than during the pre-industrial era. Huge swathes of land have been听cleared, fragmenting many plant populations, and climate change is racing away at a very fast rate. These are massive听challenges for plants to overcome.鈥
How plants may overcome these challenges is one of the main focuses of this new review. Will plants establish in new听areas after 鈥榤igrating鈥 away from where they are today? Will pollen and seeds of plants come in from other populations听to help them adapt where they stand today? Do plants have the intrinsic ability to use water more efficiently or to cope听with hot spells and stay put?
After assessing the evidence of how plants have responded to climate change and what might be constraining plants to听successfully respond to future climate change, the authors went one step further. They put forward practical solutions that听should help plants overcome the long list of constraints to their future survival.
What can we do to help plants that need to migrate through an agricultural matrix? What can we do to help plants that are听in small, isolated populations? Are some populations of plants more important for future survival of the species than听others? The authors explore these and other questions to provide a framework of practical management options that听connects the latest science on how plants are responding to climate change with what is likely to constrain plants from听surviving through climate change into the future.
鈥淎 look to the future does raise global concern for plants,鈥 said senior author , Chair in Plant听Conservation Biology at the 成人大片, 鈥渂ut with some smart evidence-based policies and goal-orientated听decision-making, we 鈥 society 鈥 can maximise the chances that plants can continue to evolve and overcome these听colossal challenges. They鈥檝e done it before.鈥
The article is now available .
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