Wednesday, August 12, 2015

As California wildfires burn, southern plant species are shifting northward

     As California wildfires burn tree canopies and the forest floors they hold up, the plants that are replacing the understory are beginning to be found in more southern areas of the West. With the climate change, the plants from drier and warmer areas are taking over. One example of a plant is the lupine and violets. These are typically found in Canada and Northern California. But they are seen to be replaced with flowers and shrubs found in drier climates like monkey flower and manzanita. 

    A solution to this problem could be the pockets of cooler microclimate still remaining in the forest. Species from both the northern and southern climates can be allowed to exist together, which can decrease the prediction of one becoming extinct.

    Barriers to this solution are the limited amount of Cooler microclimate pockets found in the forest. Not all of the species of plants will be allowed to coexist. 

   Personally I think that with the pockets of cooler microclimate, the species of plants from the northern and southern climates can exist together. Even though there aren't a lot of pockets, there are ways for the plants to be spread out. This wildfires will continue to happen due to the climate in California, but with this solution I feel that the plant species can be saved.


http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150810132122.htm

     

Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. UnknownAugust 12, 2015 at 9:04 PM

    What would happen if the microclimate pockets disappeared? It is sad to think that the diversity of our plants and even possibly animals could start depleting due to the growing problem of rising temperatures. Wildfires should also be more closely monitored to ensure that we are doing the best we can to protect the indigenous plants of California's forests. Climate change and global warming have been some of the largest causes of environmental problems, and those problems won't stop until we can finally become selfless enough to face the magnitude of these problems and end/reverse their effects.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownAugust 13, 2015 at 7:24 AM

      Microclimate Pockets

      I was actually wondering the same thing Andrea. Microclimates are local atmospheric zones where the climate differs from the surrounding area. Due to these cool microclimate pockets in the forest, it stopped the fire from burning all of the plants. If these microclimate pockets did not exist, all of the plants would have been destroyed in the fire. These microclimates also allow diversity, by letting different species of plants coexist. Without them, many plants would most likely cease to exist. If we had more microclimate pockets, it would allow more diversity.

      http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150810132122.htm
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microclimate

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)