Climate change driving tundra plants to flower earlier

WASHINGTON

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Rising temperatures in tundra regions—such as the Arctic, the Antarctic and high elevation mountains—are causing plants to flower earlier, a phenomenon that can disrupt the food chain, a study has found.

Plants and animals in cold regions take cues from weather and day length to start their annual life cycles. Successful pollination relies on animals, including bees, beetles, birds and mosquitoes, being active at the same time plants are flowering.

Shorter flowering seasons can disrupt the food chain and how plants and pollinators in tundras interact with each other, said Steven Oberbauer, of Florida International University in the US.

Shorter flowering time in tundras could cause a mismatch if the animals are not following the same cues as plants. Specifically, it could limit food availability, increase competition and impact their ability to survive in a changing environment.

The research team also found earlier flowering time in tundras is more pronounced in plants that flower later in the growing season than plants that flower earlier in the growing season.

This is the opposite of what happens in temperate environments, including grasslands, mountains, meadows and deserts—rising temperatures there cause shorter flowering time in plants that flower in early spring.

"Our results suggest responses to warming can vary greatly among environments," said Oberbauer.

"Understanding what drives changes in flowering time can help scientists predict how plants and ecosystems will respond to climate change in the future," he said.

Tundra environments are found in the Arctic, the Antarctic and high elevation mountains. In these regions, temperatures are too low and and growing seasons are too short to support tree growth.

Tundras are home mostly to dwarf shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens.

The research team examined more than 10 years of data on the flowering times of more than 250 species from the tundra environments of North America, Europe and Australia. — PTI